Chettinad cuisine is incomplete without black pepper. In olden days food was medicine and medicine was food. Those days people knew remedy for the different ailments from the items in the kitchen itself. Medicine was not much developed and the number of diseases compared to today was also less as the ill effects of pollution, pesticides and chemicals were not there. It is said that pepper was like a doctor in many homes. It is called as the king of spices or Gem of spices. There is a saying that “If you have 10 peppers you can have food even in your enemy’s house”. It implies that this spice act against food poisoning. The medicinal properties of black pepper are immense. The kashayam made out of pepper is very good for Respiratory tract infections, ordinary cold and cough. A pinch of nicely ground pepper along with honey is very good for cold. When somebody at home is suffering from cold the main menu for lunch will be pepper rasam only in all south Indian homes. It improves appetite by helping in digestion. It produces an increased flow of saliva and gastric juices. This is very good for intestinal disorders. In Ayurvedic medicine it is said to improve the quality of semen in men. I can understand what is going on in everybody’s mind now as how to take this spice in little large quantity as it will be very hot and spicy. In Chettinad cuisine there is wonderful gravy out of pepper corns called Milagu kuzhambu.I wanted to make this curry in the perfect chettinad style and was waiting for the holidays during which I visit chettinad to try this with the help of my mom. Last week fully I was there to attend some marriages. I attended a grand chettiar marriage and to my surprise the first dish served there was milagu kuzhambu.It was very unusual as they serve only paruppu and ghee first. But it was a good idea.The kuzhambu acted as an appetizer.I couldnt take proper snaps as I didnt take my camera.Somehow I managed to take some though not very clear
Ingredients
Small onion-30
Garlic-20 pods
Tamarind-small piece



To roast and grind
Black pepper-1 table spoon
Coriander seeds-2 table spoons
Grated coconut-3 table spoons
Fennel seeds-1 teaspoon
Small jeera-1 teaspoon
Garlic-5 pods
Green chillies-2
Red chillies-3
Small onion-5
Cashewnut-2
Cinnamon-1 small piece

In a kadai with 1 teaspoon coconut oil dry roast all the above items and grind to a smooth paste
Cut 20 small onions and 10 garlic pods into small pieces.
Keep the kadai in the stove. In two tablespoons of gingili oil season the gravy with little small jeera, curry leaves and fennel seeds. Sauté the onion and garlic pieces. In two cups of water dissolve a small piece of tamarind, and the salt required and add to the onion garlic pieces and allow the mixture to boil for 5 minutes. Mix the grinded mixture in ½ cup of water and pour into the kadai. Keep the stove in medium flame and allow the mixture to boil till it becomes semi solid. This gravy will taste excellent with idly. If the gravy is found too hot it can be given to small children with plenty of gingili oil or little ghee.