A popular cuisine of South India has a long tradition of using fermented, dehydrated appetisers. They are either deep-fried or recooked. These fermented, dry appetisers are called “vathal” or “mor milagai” in Tamil.

“Mor Milagai” refers to chiles that have been marinated in salted buttermilk. In south Indian homes cooking “vathal” is a daily activity. Women spend the majority of the summer drying raw or spicy foods. These could be leftover cooked rice, mangoes, or even shallots. They would then carefully store them in tins for use at a later time of the year.

However, in recent years with the growth of ready-to-serve food, vathal manufacture has become a flourishing cottage industry.

Boliyamanur village in Tamil Nadu’s Dindigul district appears to be taking the lead in the production of vathal.

Key facts!

• Before the dried veggies are placed in large sacks for shipment, workers clean them by hand, removing seeds, dust, and twigs.
• This is done in preparation for shipping.
• There is a line of trucks waiting to load the day’s supply of dried greens such as chillies, bitter gourd, mango, and others.
• These would be delivered to wholesalers in Dindigul.
• According to local farmers, even though the rains have thrown off the manufacturing schedule, demand has remained consistent all throughout the year.
• In the town of Boliyamanur, the drying and fermentation of vegetables is a significant source of income for up to two hundred families.
• Furthermore, the majority of these families are headed by female breadwinners.
• According to natives, “the recipes are verbally handed from generation to generation in almost every home.”
• The growth of ready-to-serve food culture would likely result in the use of automation to produce vathal.
• Some fear this could result in the loss of many jobs.
• Health-conscious companies have also begun producing unsalted versions of the product.
• The businesses in this area make a point of conspicuously displaying their food safety permits.
• In addition, the manufacturers of ‘vathal’  have also begun adhering to the instructions provided by the Pollution Control Board.
• Instead of discharging the residual liquids from their factories into the ground, they now dry the liquids in an elevated solar pan at their factories.
• The salt that has been so gathered is then given to a facility that is authorised to dispose of waste.

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