Cookgramam reopens in Chennai with a refreshed farm-to-table concept, celebrating authentic Tamil vegetarian cuisine, organic ingredients, rustic ambience, traditional flavours, and creative presentations that evoke village warmth and modern culinary finesse
Devi Umapathi, founder and CEO of the diner, started G Organics in 2014, after completing an MBA in the United Kingdom. “The exposure I received there pushed me to come back to my roots. Witnessing Italians boasting their food and culture pushed me to think why Indian cuisine is widely recognised with just paneer butter masala in foreign lands. Food is an identity to us and I decided to shed light on our traditional recipes,” starts Devi.
Why Cookgramam? "We do not restrict ourselves just to the village. But we are delving more deeply into the remote parts of villages to get authentic recipes of the Tamil land. We cook original savours from the gramam. So, Cookgramam," Devi notes.
The time when Devi jumped into the business, organic farming was booming in Chennai. Her grandfather, who was an agriculturist, became her inspiration to move forward with organic and millet-based cooking. “Cookgramam came into existence when our customers asked for recommendations on how to cook tasty dishes using millets. When we think about healthy or mindful eating, our mind immediately jumps to some continental cuisine. But the reality is that the food we have been relishing for ages is healthy as well as tasty,” she elucidates. After travelling extensively to research forgotten recipes, the founder got traditional recipes passed down for generations and decided to elevate them.
“When one looks around for an authentic Tamil restaurant, there are hardly any. Our aim is to highlight the forgotten recipes, document and pass on the same to the upcoming generations,” she adds. In their menu, the malai kanji, inspired by tribal cuisine, is a wholesome one-pot dish, perfect for people looking for simple yet healthy eating.
Karuppu kavuni halwa
and akkaraiadisal
Palkatti Kola UrundaiWe sit down on the hand-woven chairs and begin with sembrathi poo sarbath. For the soup, manjal poosani chaaru strikes a balance with taste. However, the coconut milk taste closely misses on being tasty in Pollachi thenga paal kaikari saaru. The starters are clear winners, with the spicy sennai neela varuval and potato dip, super-soft uppu urundai and palkatti kola urundai. Among these, the palkatti kola urundai is the winner.
The meals are quite balanced and holistic with red rice, ghee rice, rasam, poriyal, senai kizhangu roast, aviyal and sweet. The poondu kuzhambu and Pollachi patti kuzhambu are flavourful with the right amount of spice.
In the desserts, the silky texture of karuppu kavuni halwa and the subtle sweetness and aroma of ghee in akkaraiadisal win our hearts.
Located on the 13th Main Road in Anna Nagar, relish the authentic Tamil cuisine at Cookgramam, with per meal costing Rs 1,500 for two people.