   thumb|right|chettinad palace. thumb|200 px|chicken chettinad, a popular dish from the region. chettinad is a region of the sivaganga district of southern tamil nadu state, india. ==demography== in the 19th and early 20th centuries, many residents of chettinad emigrated to south and southeast asia, particularly ceylon and burma. by 2010 only 74 villages remained of the original 96according to guy trebay, "houses of the holy," (new york times, 17 november 2010): "by the best available estimates, there are 74 chettiar villages remaining of the 96 that once dotted a 600-square-mile region. the rest have been erased, lost either to neglect or to the avarice of antiques dealers who bought and razed them after first stripping out their irreplaceable materials." (retrieved 28 nov 2010 from nyt at http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/17/houses-of-the-holy/?scp=3&sq=tamil%20nadu&st=cse.) including its principal towns of karaikudi and devakottai. the people of chettinad speak tamil. ==community== chettinad is the home of the nattukottai chettiars (nagarathar), a prosperous banking and business community. it is also known for its local cuisine, architecture, and religious temples. ===chettinad cuisine===  thumb|right|chettinad cuisine. the word "chettinad" means a social caste specialising in the preparation of food. consequently, the chettinads are considered master chefs, and chettinad cuisine is one of the spiciest and the most aromatic in india. the dishes are usually topped with a hard boiled egg. meals also consist of cooked lentils, brinjal curry, drumstick sambar, ghee for flavouring rice, and sweet meats like payasam and paal paniyaram. for example, kara kolambu is a highly regarded south indian sambar, while aadi kummayam is a sweet delicacy, made from pulses. in general, beef and pork dishes are not served. some well-known local dishes are chicken chettinad (spicy chicken curry), vegetable chettinad (a vegetable curry) and dishes featuring seafood. ===architecture=== thumb|right|a palatial house in chettinad. the chettinad region is well known for its 18th century mansions, whose wide courtyards and spacious rooms are embellished with marble and teak. construction materials, decorative items and furnishings were mostly imported from east asian c
Sivaganga_district