School going children are at the end of their summer holidays and looking forward to the new accademic year with excitement. The joy of reconnecting with classmates, exchanging stories about all what happened during the holidays is what makes the first day of school so special.
School going children are at the end of their summer holidays and looking forward to the new accademic year with excitement. The joy of reconnecting with classmates, exchanging stories about all what happened during the holidays is what makes the first day of school so special.
As parents we have to go back to making schedules, meal plans etc etc So while we were in the process of discussing after school snack options, a suggestion that was quick to pop up was the thenga maanga pattani.
It’s also referred to as a sundal but for me and so many of my generation, we are just used to calling it by three words - thenga maanga pattani. It’s a snack that is unique to this part of the country. Indians who don’t have an idea of Tamil Nadu will be unsure about this dish.
The highlights of this food lies in the simplicity of it’s ingredients. The three most prominent being, the thenga (coconut), maanga (green mango)and pattani (dried peas). Summer is when the green mango is in season and most delicious. These chopped bits were added to fresh coconut, allowing the sweetness of the coconut to take the edge off the sour green mango. The pattani or the dried white peas add substance and soft texture to this dish.
This simple snack, bursting with flavours is more than just something that we ate off the streets. It evokes powerful nostalgic emotions of simpler times spent chatting with cousins and siblings about any topic under the sun. The thenga maanga pattani was dished up in paper cones made out of squares of old newspaper. By the time we made our way down to the end, the tip would be soggy, stained yellow from the masala and would just about be ready to tear. But that was when it was at it’s delicious best. Eager fingers would chase the last morsels into the paper crevices and ferret each bit out like it were a special prize. Even today I think this tastes best when eaten out of a paper cone. Alas the elderly gentleman who strode down our neighbourhood selling this soul food is now nowhere to be found. That taste of the thenga maang pattani from his rectangular metal container can never be replicated. However it’s the memory of that, for me, which plays a pivotal role in enjoying this snack today.
That’s how my children have also acquired a craving for this snack. The way the coconut is combined to add flavour to this dish is quite interesting. Unlike the usual sundal where the coconut is grated and mixed into the tempering, it’s mixed in differently for the thenga maanga pattani.
The coconut is ground along with green chillies and ginger. This paste is added to the cooked peas after a tempering of nallennai (cold pressed sesame oil), mustard seeds and curry leaves. The whole things is given a quick stir in a pan along with the green mango bits and quickly taken off the fire.
Over the years street vendors have added their own twists to the traditional thenga maanga pattani. Shavings of carrot or beetroot, juicy red tomato bits, fine pieces of pearly white onion and garlic, peanuts….the list goes on. These vendors also create a big mound of this thenga maanga pattani in the centre of their carts to catch the eye of passersby and tempt them in mid stride to pause for quick mouthfuls of this protein rich snack. I'm told that on the beaches of Chennai, it's also known as beach sundal.
Like all great street food, this one too is a winner. One taste experience will probably not suffice. In today’s food exclusions which involve vegan, sugar free, low carb, dairy free, protein rich and so on, this concoction of coconut, unripe mango and peas manages to tick all of those boxes.
So if you are interested in snack options that are a win-win for both parent and child,add the thenga maanga pattani to your list !