The Taste Of Coorg

The distinctive fl avours of Kodava cuisine will leave you richer in more ways than one.

- Abhinanda Bhattacharya

THE LOWER HALF of the Indian peninsula is flanked by the Western and Eastern Ghats. These stretches of mountains running along the coasts are unperturbed by their lack of height as they are of incredible ecological significance. The Western Ghats have earned a place in the UNESCO World Heritage Centre as one of the eight ‘hottest hotspots’ for biodiversity. Also called Sahyadri, meaning ‘benevolent mountain’, these western ranges are suspected to be older than the Himalaya. On the inner slopes of this massif, in southwest Karnataka, is a hilly district called Kodagu or Coorg.

Kodgagu is the land of Kodava, the umbrella term for the language, culture, and people here. The native Kodava inhabitants were the dominant people of the region, and even today every child has a Kodava first or middle name. Many Kodava girls are also named Kaveri after the auspicious river that originates at Talakaveri in the mountains of Coorg. Agriculturists by profession, the Kodavas were also warriors, with their own chieftains and weapons, and the patrilineal tradition of handing down weapons from one generation to the next is still prevalent. At present, the inhabitants of Kodagu thrive on forestry and agriculture, most having homes in sprawling coffee plantations.

The Simpler, The Better

The word Kodava means indigenous people. This ethos comes out in all their life practices. It sets them apart from the rest of Indian sites lending a sense of wonder and curiosity towards the community. The cuisine of the people of Coorg, too, is unique to this region. I would recommend a homestay as an ideal option to sample authentic dishes marked by the region’s history and culture. School Estate (schoolestate.in), Kabbe Holidays (kabbeholidays.com) and Nova Woods (novawoodscoorg.com) are some notable homestays.