Chettinad Cuisine at The Raintree

Set under a beautiful canopy of rain-trees, the natural décor is not the only thing that stands out in this restaurant. The Raintree at the Taj Connemara in Chennai serves authentic Chettinad cuisine, a rare meat-based cuisine in an area that is predominantly vegetarian.

The Chettinad region is located in the southern part of Tamil Nadu and this cuisine - one of the most spiciest and most aromatic of South Indian cooking - originated from the kitchens of the Chettiars. From what I can gather, the Chettiars were families of money-lenders and accountants, and their services were in much demand during the 19th century, both in India and in the Far East. I was intrigued when I heard the Raintree has been serving Chettinad food for the last 18 years; in fact, many attribute this restaurant to popularizing what one rarely found outside of Chettiar homes at that time.

It had rained the week before, which was probably why the evening was so pleasant. There was a chill in the cool breeze blowing tonight. We were seated close to the open-air stage under the dark sky and surrounded by trees and string lights. As the musicians began setting up their instruments for the evening's entertainment, a pair of aachis -Chettiar women- in bright saries prepared fresh savory starters in front of us.


We nibbled on these complimentary starters and sipped on Vasantha Neer - tender coconut water infused with honey and mint in a copper goblet. After perusing the innovative cocktails on offer, I finally settled on a karuvepilai martini infused with South Indian spices and curry leaves. My friend chose the thengai ootru, a cocktail of tender coconut, lime and sugar floated with dark rum. I enjoyed the martini - which went rather well with the excellent Pesarattu starter.

The Chef's tasting menu in the form of a thali changes every evening. Tonight, the thali consisted of Uppu Kari - boneless pieces of mutton cooked with a multitude of spices, Kozhi Melagu - very tender pieces of chicken cooked in dry pepper masala, and Meen Varuval - spicy fried seer fish. The thali also had bowls of steamed rice, lemon-rice, sambhar, rasam, curd, white pumpkins cooked in spiced yogurt and gulab jamuns. We were served fresh appams and a variety of lip-smacking chutneys, pickles and papads.

We slowly savored the spicy delights as local musicians regaled us with South Indian classical music: with the flute, the mridangam, and Bharatanatyam dances. I particularly liked the Kozhi Melagu and the Meen Varuval which were promptly replenished on our plates until we could have no more. The appams were excellent, as were the many chutneys -which I enjoy most when dining in the South.

Finally, we ordered an exotic dessert made of rose petals; sadly, that was the only thing tonight that didn't live up to our expectations. All in all, this was probably the best Chettinad restaurant I have eaten in. If you love spicy food, you must try this place when you are in Chennai next!

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