Chetti Peranakan culinary staples

The Chetti community's dishes have evolved over centuries and include a lot of local ingredients like lemongrass and coconut milk. Clockwise from bottom left: ikan goreng, pindang nenas udang, sambal telur belimbing, timun cili cuka, acar, urap kulit timun and pindang ikan parang (centre). - SAM THAM/The Star

A large feast is laid out on a table in Wenila Nadarajan’s home in Kampung Chetti, Melaka. Wenila smiles as she introduces half a dozen foreign-sounding dishes to a crowd of people who have travelled mostly from Kuala Lumpur to savour the dishes of the unique Chetti community, also known as Peranakan Indians.

“I learnt how to make all these dishes from my mother-in-law and she learnt from her sister-in-law who is Chetti. When we enter this house, we must learn the Chetti cuisine,” says Wenila, an Indian from Indonesia who integrated into the community after her marriage.