Chettinad catering at RASA is cooked by a chef who cooks only Chettinad: freshly roasted masalas, kalpasi and marathi mokku in the pot, Chettinad chicken and mutton chukka, kara kuzhambu, and the vegetarian Chettinad table — kathirikai, vazhaipoo vadai, paniyaram — that hotels forget exists. Reception menus of this kind run about ₹650–₹1,200 a plate in Bangalore in 2026.
The seat
The Chettinad chef roasts and grinds every morning of an event. A Chettinad masala that was ground last week is, in this kitchen, not a Chettinad masala.
Chettinad is the cuisine most often faked on a Bangalore buffet: a chicken curry with extra pepper, called Chettinad, cooked by the same hand that made the paneer butter masala. Real Chettinad cooking is a spice discipline — stone flower, marathi mokku, star anise, a particular ratio of pepper to chilli — and it is unmistakable when it is cooked by someone who does it every day.
The vegetarian side matters too. The Nattukottai Chettiar community's own wedding meal is vegetarian, elaborate and quite different from a Tamil Brahmin leaf. The seat cooks it: kathirikai, vendakkai mandi, vazhaipoo, paniyaram, and the black-rice kavuni arisi that ends it.
For a Bangalore reception this seat is the one to pair with the North Indian seat — the two do not fight, because two chefs are cooking them.
What the Chettinad chef cooks
- Chettinad pepper chicken
- Mutton chukka
- Kara kuzhambu
- Meen kuzhambu
- Kuzhi paniyaram counter
- Vazhaipoo vadai
- Kathirikai mandi
- Idiyappam with kurma
- Kavuni arisi
From the other seats
Dishes we pair with this cuisine at one event — each cooked by its own chef, never by this one.
- A North Indian tandoor counter from the North seat; guests choose a side of the room
- Kerala appam from the Kerala seat under the Chettinad stew
- A Karnataka vegetarian leaf at lunch and Chettinad at night
Menu
Sample only. Every menu is built with you and cooked for the tasting by the chef who will cook the day.
Chettinad catering in Bangalore — questions
Is Chettinad food only non-vegetarian?
No. The Chettiar wedding meal itself is vegetarian, and the seat cooks both — the vegetarian Chettinad menu is a speciality in its own right.
What does a Chettinad reception cost per plate in Bangalore?
About ₹650–₹1,200 a plate in 2026 with two non-vegetarian mains, a paniyaram counter and idiyappam-appam. Crab or prawn courses push the upper end.
Can you serve a Chettinad and a North Indian menu at the same event?
Yes — that is the reason the house exists. Two chefs, two counters, one plan. Neither cuisine is cooked by the other's chef.
How spicy is the food for guests who do not eat much chilli?
The signature dishes are pepper-forward rather than chilli-forward, and the chef keeps a milder version of the main curries without changing the masala base.
Build a Chettinad menu with the chef
Date, head count, the cuisines you have in mind. Enough for the first reply to carry a menu and a number rather than a brochure.
What happens after you send the ticket
- A written reply, usually the same day. A first menu built for your occasion, the per-plate figure it comes to, and the two or three questions we need settled before the number is firm.
- A tasting. For weddings and events of size we cook the shortlist for you before you sign. Each cuisine on the menu is cooked by the chef who will cook it on the day.
- The plan for the day. Counters, service staff, timings against your muhurtham or your agenda, and the venue's rules on outside catering, checked with the venue by us.