Can anyone explain what Chettinad is, and which region it originates from?

ta

See here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chettinad

There's a Madhur Jaffrey recipe for this. My wife doesn't like it, because she says it's too 'busy' (too many spices, she feels: almost everything that you ever use in Indian cooking). It adopts the method whereby you first stir-fry whole spices, and THEN grind them.

I really like it, so I cook it for myself when my wife's out of town.

Phil