Priti Gress, Editorial Director, Hippocrene Books, New York, NY

Chettinad cooking and foods have recently gotten long-deserved attention at several major national events in the U.S.—thanks to Kandanur, Chettinad-native Alamelu Vairavan, who now lives in Milwaukee, Wiscon-sin with her husband Dr. K. Vairavan. Many years ago when Alamelu came to the U.S. after her marriage, she barely knew how to make even a proper cup of coffee. She studied cooking with a Chettinad chef, now famously known as America Natesan, in her aunt Visalakshi Alagappan‘s home in New York. Little did she know how well those lessons would serve her and others in the decades that followed.

In a sold-out workshop by Alamelu on April 26, 2009, Chettinad cooking made its debut at the prestigious James Beard Foundation (JBF), in Manhattan, New York. JBF is a famous center for the culinary arts in America that regularly brings top chefs from around the country to New York City for special presentations and food events. With her singular charisma, Alamelu captured the participants‘ attention from the start. She cooked several unique and healthful dishes such as Chettinad Chicken Masala, all the while keeping up a lively discussion about the fan-tastic health benefits of the various spices used in Chettinad cuisine.

In October 2009, Alamelu was a featured celebrity chef at the Wine and Dine Wisconsin event held in Milwaukee and at the Annual Kohler Food and Wine Experience in Kohler, Wisconsin. At these events, Alamelu wowed atten-dees with culinary delights like Chettinad Chicken Kurma and Eggplant Masala. In the nationally renowned Kohler event, Alamelu‘s presentation also featured a wine expert from Sonoma Vineyards, California who discussed appro-priate wine pairings to balance the rich, spicy flavors of Chettinad dishes. (Incidentally, a Rodney Strong Chardon-nay complemented beautifully the Chettinad dishes she had prepared.)

As a culinary educator, Alamelu shows students easy ways to prepare healthful South Indian foods with a focus on Chettinad cooking. Her classes are offered at culinary arts institutes and community education programs sponsored by organizations including the Medical College of Wisconsin and the Froedtert Hospital. Interestingly, Alamelu has also tailored her Chettinad cooking classes into team-building and wellness programs for employees of companies such as GE Health Care, Johnson Controls, and Manpower International.

Alamelu has co-authored three cookbooks: Art of South Indian Cooking (1997), Healthy South Indian Cooking (2001, 2003, 2007) and Healthy South Indian Cooking-Expanded Edition (2008), Hippocrene Books, NY. Alamelu also contributed recipes to the American Die-tetic Association cookbook, Cooking Healthy Across America (John Wiley, 2004). Her cookbooks, co-authored with her friend and neighbor Dr. Patricia Marquardt, feature easy-to-follow recipes for classic and modern Chettinad foods.

Her most recent cookbook is truly a tribute to Chettinad flavors. To keep them accessible and appealing to both American and Indian audiences, each recipe is presented in a step-by-step format with complete nutritional analysis, and the book includes a shopping list for spices. Sample menus offer complementary dishes and creative sugges-tions for preparing fusion meals—even a festive Thanksgiving dinner uniting American and Indian flavors. A sec-tion in the book titled, ―A Glimpse of South India‖ explores the Chettinad community‘s hospitality and its cuisine. And of course stunning color photographs of several Chettinad favorites bring the culture and cuisine alive for read-ers.

Alamelu has appeared on national and regional television programs on PBS, NBC, CBS, Fox and the Discovery Channel. Her books and Chettinad recipes have also been featured in the national press, including The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Baltimore Sun, Philadelphia Enquirer, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Wisconsin Woman, India Today and India Abroad. The Los Angeles Times raved ― Coconut infused curries, brilliant vegetable dishes…..What could be complex becomes rela-tively simple in Vairavan’s approach.

Alamelu has collaborated with Chris Hateli, Executive Chef at the Calatrava Café, Milwaukee Art Museum, to introduce several Chettinad dishes in the café and at museum events. Chef Hateli says: I am all about Alamelu’s in-terpretation of Indian cuisine, and I feel that her style of cuisine is exactly what this country needs now. She cooks super tasty and super healthy foods and all the ingredients she uses are easy on the wallet.