Dindigul after dark

For 27-year-old Mani Ram, a fourth-generation entrepreneur who runs Ponram — a restaurant that was founded by his great-grandfather Ponram Yadav in Dindigul in 1973 — curating the newly launched dinner menu, has felt like flipping through a family album. Each of the 10 dishes on the menu takes him back to his childhood — to memories of grandparents, aunts, and uncles, relishing carefully prepared meals and outings with his grandfather to neighbouring villages in search of specific local flavours.

“I vividly remember accompanying my thatha to Natham, about 20 kilometres from Dindigul,” says Mani Ram. “The region had several stone quarries and a large population of labourers. From as early as 6am, small eateries would open to cater to them serving poricha parotta, a staple for quarry workers. It was affordable, filling, and kept them satiated through long shifts.” These memories led to the inclusion of this regional speciality in Dindigul Nights, Ponram’s new evening-only menu.

The larger idea behind the menu is to introduce Dindigul’s local night-time cuisine to a wider audience. “That desire to preserve and popularise everyday traditions resulted in this menu, which is served exclusively in the evenings.”

Across the region, familiar dishes have evolved through subtle tweaks and additions. Take kothu parotta, for instance. In Madurai, it is typically prepared by adding eggs and salna — a flavourful, spicy gravy often served with parotta, idli, or dosa — before mincing the mixture on a hot tawa and serving it piping hot. In Dindigul, however, the dish takes on a different identity and is known as set parotta. Here, the parotta is torn by hand into a few large pieces, combined with chunks of meat, and finished with a ladle of thin, steaming salna poured over the top. “Even poricha parotta is prepared differently here,” says Mani. “In Dindigul, it is shallow-fried, unlike in Virudhunagar, where it is deep-fried.”

Seafood finds pride of place on the menu, with dishes such as idiyappam served with prawn sodhi, ilandosa paired with nethili karuvadu thokku, and mini idli accompanied by meen kuzhambu. Meat lovers can opt for kothu kari — made with mutton or chicken — served alongside mini poori, idli, dosa, or idiyappam.

Mani Ram recalls how his grandmother, Jaya Ramachandran, now 63, prepared her own versions of karuvadu thokku and meen kuzhambu at home, serving children mini-sized poori and idli. “We wanted to pass on that experience, so we retained the size,” he adds.

Karipaniyaaram here deserves a special mention. Painstakingly crafted in large paniyaarakkal, the dish requires a batter that retains its softness for a long time. Black gram is used, with the proportion of fenugreek carefully adjusted to achieve the right texture. The stuffing is made with either minced mutton or chicken, while the accompanying chutney steals the spotlight. “It’s a simple chutney made with dried red chillies, coconut, roasted channa dal, and garlic,” says Mani. “Traditionally, it is smeared over the paniyaarams before serving, and we follow the same method at the restaurant.”

With Dindigul Nights, Mani Ram says he hopes to celebrate the spirit of his hometown by offering a dinner menu that goes beyond biryani. The showcase brings back into focus dishes rooted in Dindigul’s several home kitchens and night-time stalls serving up lip-smacking meals.

Ponram is located at Ashok Nagar. Phone: 7824008301.