CGH Earth’s Mantra Koodam in Kumbakonam has unveiled Diraviyam, a culinary experience dedicated to the lesser-known food traditions of Tamil Nadu’s historic cultural regions. While the property’s existing restaurant, Annaprasana, has long celebrated Chola Nadu cuisine, Diraviyam turns its attention to Thondai Nadu, Nadu Nadu, Kongu Nadu, and Pandya Nadu, bringing centuries-old recipes and indigenous ingredients back to the table.
Three women from neighbouring villages, trained specifically for this purpose, lead the kitchen, their personal knowledge of regional cooking lending the experience a lived authenticity that no menu alone could achieve. Dishes are prepared over wood-fired stoves and cooked in earthenware pots, methods that preserve both flavour and the spirit of traditional Tamil food systems.
Ingredients are sourced from organic gardens, and guests are served a vegetarian feast of 28 dishes on banana leaves, honouring the communal dining customs of the region. The dining space itself, with thatched-roof architecture, natural materials, and an open-air setting, evokes the feel of a Tamil village rather than a conventional restaurant.
For CGH Earth, Diraviyam is as much about cultural preservation and community as it is about food, continuing the group’s long-standing approach to hospitality rooted in place and people.
