Mountbatten Mani Iyer, one of South India’s most popular wedding caterers, died on September 22 at the age of 92. Mount Iyer, as he was fondly called, took South Indian weddings by storm by creating delicious versions of familiar dishes. He specialized in cooking for huge functions and had an illustrious career spanning six decades.
Mani Iyer serving his guests at a gathering canteen in 2003. Photo courtesy: The Hindu
Born on October 24, 1932, in Harikesanallur, Tirunelveli, H, Kulathumani Iyer, popularly known as Mani Iyer, arrived at the age of 20 in Chennai, then Madras, where he apprenticed under DS Appaswamy Iyer, an established cook and wedding caterer, After a few years, he set up his own catering service, and operated it continuously for over six decades until his son M Srinivasan took over, Mani Iyer was hospitalized for a week before dying due to multiple organ failure, His two sons, K Hari and K Srinivasan, are alive, ,
Mani Iyer in Sabha canteen in 2003 Photo courtesy: The Hindu
How did he get the nickname Mountbatten? In 2003 he told The Hindu How, as a young chef, he served Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of India: “In 1948, Lord Mountbatten came to the Governor’s house and we made lunch. There was almond halwa, dahi vadai and sambar sadam… He ate it and said ‘Very good food. South Indian food is very good.’ Since then I have come to be known as Mountbatten Mani.” In an earlier interview published in The Hindu In 2016, he was quoted as saying: “I looked at Mountbatten and was mesmerized by his personality, his looks and style.” His visiting card proudly bore the name HK Mani Iyer (Mount Mani).
In the same article, Iyer recalled his visit to Odisha in 1963, where he cooked for 10,000 people at a feast hosted by a minister. He said, “I can’t remember their names, but I remember Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Kamaraj being there. Two hundred and forty of us, including cooks, servers and assistants, went here by train. We took three coaches. The menu included dosa, sambar, rasam and poriyal.”
Mani Iyer demonstrated some of his popular recipes in this workshop in Chennai on 24 December 2016. Photo Credit: Raveendran R
Mani Iyer used to show off a gold ring engraved with the alphabet G, and when asked about it he would say: “Gemini Ganesan (Tamil actor) got it made for me because he was thrilled with the food I cooked for his daughter’s wedding.”
Mani Iyer’s popularity further increased when he set up his canteens at gatherings during music sessions in Chennai in the early 2000s. He reached out to the younger generation through his Chocolate Dosa, Paniyaram, Neeravi Dosa, Vazhaipu Vada and Appam.
In 2016, when she conducted a cookery workshop with food historian Rakesh Raghunathan, where she shared some cookery. Rakesh says, “I have very fond memories of him and I learned the intricacies and nuances of cooking during the workshop. He was someone who dared to experiment and his watermelon rasam is an example. He paid attention to details and while making the rasam podi, even the last residue of podi in the mixer jar was important. For such a simple dish, he was meticulous in preparing it to perfection.”
His son Srinivasan says that his father was known for his almond halwa, akkaravadisal, katherinaka pitala and pal payasam. He claims that his father developed two popular dishes: cauliflower roast and watermelon rasam.
N Sridhar, son of the famous wedding caterer late Arusuvai Natarajan Iyer of Arusuvai Arasu Catering Services, says that during his heyday, Mani Iyer had served food at the weddings of most of the celebrities and industrialists in the state as he was a maestro when it came to bulk cooking.
Mount Mani Iyer Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Sridhar says that “Mani Iyer was known for preparing traditional South Indian dishes in an impeccable, uncompromising manner. His sambar was extremely popular and so were his kootu, curry, rasam and payasam varieties. He did not innovate, but focused on maintaining the authenticity of the traditional dishes.”
He adds, “He could handle any number. My father and Mani Iyer were contemporaries who achieved popularity at the same time… He was a kind person.”
