TRADITIONAL TAMIL FOOD HABITS
Do you love the varieties in the Tamil cuisine?
Do you know we our ancestors ate in banana leaf or used earthen utensils?
Tamil people are known for is their Hospitality and their love for food. A traditional Tamil meal has a variety of dishes of different flavors starting from Hot spicy pickles to sweet delicious Payasam. Our ancestors had a vast list of food habits. We are going to talk about some of those habits in this blog.
ANCIENT TAMIL FOOD VARIETIES
The people of Tamil Nadu mostly had porridge and mixed vegetables for breakfast. Turmeric, pepper, Tulsi and other spices with medicinal properties were added to the food adding medicinal properties to the food. This led way to the popular saying, “UnaveMarundhu (Food is Medicine)”. We have a rich variety of foods, Briyani was also a part of ancient Tamil cuisine, according to Tamil literature, the warriors or soldiers were served meat rice (Briyani) before they went to war and after they’ve won a war.
According to Sangam literature, the ancient Tamil lands were classified into 5 based on their geography, the food of each land varied according to the flora and fauna available in that region.
- Kurunji (Mountains)- Honey, Tubers, Goat Meat, White Paddy
2. Mullai (Forest)- Varagu (Millets), Thinai, Horse Gram, Ghee and yogurt from Buffalo milk
3. Marudham (Plain Lands for cultivation)- Red and White Rice, Mango, Jack Fruit
4. Neytal (Lands near the sea)- Fish
5. Paallai (Desert)- Red Rice and animals hunted by them.
EATING HABITS
Our ancestors practiced a variety of food habits which had a lot of logical and scientific reasons that most of us are ignorant of,
Eating with Hands
Westernization might have cutlery introduced proposing that it is more hygienic but they did not fully understand why we eat with hands. When you eat with hands you can feel the temperature of the food and its texture. This can help prevent you from burning your taste buds. When you eat with hands you eat slower and can measure the food portions. According to Ayurveda eating with hands activates the nerve endings on the fingertips, which alerts the brain and induces digestion
Sitting on the Floor with Legs folded
We followed the practice of eating on the floor with our legs folded. This is a yogic posture which massages the abdomen muscles, increases circulation in the lower part of the body and increases flexibility. It also aids the digestion process.
Eating in Banana Leaf
The most prominent practice in most South Indian States Including Tamil Nadu is eating food in banana leaf. This is called Elaisapadu in Tamil. You might think that our ancestors made use of Banana leaf as they had little knowledge of the alternatives such as Metal, glass or plastic. But that is not the case, they did have copper utensils, there are various reasons for choosing banana leaf. The Banana leaf is Bio-degradable, it can be recycled, the banana leaf adds flavor to the food.
Order in which they eat
Our ancestors had a specific order in which food was supposed to be eaten, the meals were started with something spicy and ended with sweets. This was because spicy foods activated digestive juices and acids ensuring smooth digestion process, meanwhile, sweets slowed down the digestion process that is why they were recommended to eaten in the end. So save the sweet best for the last.
Well, the next time you ignore some of our traditional practices for posh western practices remember that our ancestors were geniuses who knew which practice will suit the geographical conditions and lifestyle of their people and devised them accordingly.
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