Here's how Chennai's classical singer is reviving forgotten traditional recipes

Music runs in the family of Yogambal Sundar a trained classical singer from Chennai Her mother is a bhajan composer while her sisters are artistes at All India Radio ldquoIt just felt right for me to toe the linerdquo she says Post marriage her husband R Sundar an avid foodie inspired her to explore traditional Tamilian Brahmin cuisine ldquoOver the years he helped diversify my interests and encouraged me to cook and refine my skillsrdquoMarundhu kozhambu is a flavourful south Indian rice accompaniment It is also a healthy postpartum recipeToday Sundar has a hyphenated identity as singer and chef Her YouTube channel has more than 375K subscribers and her food series Rusikalam Vanga on Pudhu Yugam TV is gaining fans for showcasing littleknown recipes from Tamil Nadu ldquoAfter he husband passed away there was a void My son and daughter egged me to share my culinary knowledge with rookie chefs and those who are new to the tradition of cooking Brahmin cuisinerdquo Using the digital medium she has been working towards reviving forgotten traditional recipes What makes these recipes unique is that they are usually circulated only within the joint family set up and handed down generations ldquoAncient Tamil people followed the principle of unave marundhu marundhe unavu which means food is medicine medicine is food The dishes they cooked were healthy and made with herbs spices sprouts and vegetablesrdquo She believes the recipes although nutritious have lost out to modernisation ldquoNonavailability of ingredients and the lost processes once employed are contributing factors Also in the olden days recipes werenrsquot documentedrdquoAn immunity boosting drink made using tulsi ginger turmeric cumin pepper betel leaves and ajwainPresently over 400 recipes are available on the channel What dish makes the cut depends on seasonality availability of ingredients and whether a festival is around the corner One of her popular videos is about the kandan thippili rasam long pepper rasam Loaded with medicinal herbs it is a potion to alleviate cold and body pain ldquoOnce common this rasam has fallen out of favour in the last 60 years Long pepper black pepper and jeera are known to aid digestion as well as treat stomach ache heartburn indigestion intestinal gasrdquo The angaya podi on the other hand is a nutritious powder made with spices and herbs and is given to lactating mothers postdelivery ldquoDry turkey berry helps in reducing gastritis and can be taken by people of all age groups Manathakkali vathal also called dry black night shade helps as a coolant and is used in treating mouth ulcers and gastritis Dry neem flowers expel worms from digestive system and are also good for skinrdquo The tangy Narthangai kozhambu helps fight nausea ldquoNarthangai is the Tamil word for kaffir limes It is cured in salt and given to pregnant women and people who have gastric ailments Narthangai is also a citron that helps to prevent cancer lowers blood pressure and boosts the immune systemrdquoFunnily her first video was about an instant peda recipe She calls it a fun experiment that fetched her decent hits ldquoIt took a while but when we hit the critical milestones I felt even more motivated to offer something uniquerdquo In her videos she follows the original method to the T no matter how tedious ldquoOur traditional food culture is built on two pillars wellness and sustainability I believe you should not tamper with itrdquoKandanthipilli rasam Long pepper rasamIngredientsFor two persons45 Kandathipilli sticks long pepper sticks1 tsp toor dal1 tsp dhania or coriander seeds12 tsp black pepper1 red chiliTamarind gooseberry sized ball12 jeeraSalt to tasteFor tempering1 tsp ghee12 tsp asafoetida12 tsp mustardCurry leavesMethodgtgt Roast all of the ingredients mentioned in Point A Note that the stove can be turned off once the toor dal turns goldenbrowngtgt At the same time boil one cup of tamarind juice with required salt and a pinch of turmericgtgt Let the roasted ingredients cool down and then grind it coarsely in a mortargtgt Tomatoes are normally used for rasam but for this rasam we do not add tomatoes Because the medicinal value gets reduced when addedgtgt Boil the tamarind juice for 5 mins The quantity will get reduced while it boils Add the roasted mixture to the boiling juice and let it boil for 2 minsgtgt While itrsquos boiling add the exact one cup of water to the juice Let it further boil When you see the froth like formation turn off the stovegtgt Finally for tempering follow the ingredients mentioned in Point B Add the tempering to the juice and close the vessel with a lid Serve hotFollow Yogambal Sundar on YouTubehttpswwwyoutubecomchannelUCG3B5UDD0rgEgKrpn1hZz3w