Culinary Cosmopolitanism through Porotta Shops of Rural and Coastal Tamil Nadu

Free
Culinary Arts
Exhibition

The Old GMC Complex

14th December - 21st December

11:00 AM - 07:00 PM

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Culinary Cosmopolitanism Through Porotta Shops of Rural and Coastal Tamil Nadu explores the cultural, economic, and social significance of Porotta eateries across the state through an exhibition at Old GMC Building and a presentation at the Food Lab. The project investigates how these establishments—serving the flaky, layered Porotta and its quintessential companion, Salna—operate not only as culinary spaces but as vital community hubs. While Porottas have become central to Tamil food culture, their presence is relatively recent, emerging over the past six decades yet now perceived as tradition. The project moves beyond popular representations of new-age variations (like Kizhi Porotta or Ceylon Porotta) to focus on the makers, spaces, and socio-economic dynamics of these eateries. It examines how Porotta shops support food sovereignty by offering calorie-rich meals at low cost, often to labouring and migrant populations.

This work documents an unorganized but essential food infrastructure that shapes contemporary Tamil identities, labour narratives, and gastronomic modernity.

The project is supported by Serendipity Arts through Food Matters Grant 2024. The Food Matters Grant supports projects that aim to contribute to the discourse around food and create a knowledge network to promote inquiry into food practices in India and South Asia. Through this grant, we hope to create a space for the exchange of ideas around food habits, traditions, and futures.

Artists:

Sumaiya Ahamed Mustafa

Noor Nisha (photographer)