TAMIL NADU – Poshan Maah – 28 Days, 28 States
Tamil Nadu is famous for its deep belief that serving food to others is a service to humanity, as is common in many regions of India. The region has a rich cuisine involving both traditional vegetarian, as well as non-vegetarian dishes.
The food from down South is very different from North India – much lighter and dominated by spices, seafood, and vegetables. Rice is a staple and a type of short-grained, fluffy variety called Ponni is used most often.
Tamil cuisine in its authentic form is that of the Iyengars or Tamil Brahmins which remains true to its roots. It originated from the ritual of Annadana, a custom of serving food to God and then distributing it to the people in Tamil temples. The meal is pure vegetarian and served on banana leaves. It is called Ilai Sappadu. ‘Sappadu’ means a full-course meal that accommodates all six tastes – sweet, sour, bitter, salty, pungent, and astringent. It consists of a never-ending array of dishes such as Poriyal, Rice, Varuval, Pachadi, Idli, Payasam, Sambar, Thokku, Vadai, Rice, Kuzambu amongst others.
The Sambar from Tamil Nadu varies from other Southern regions. It’s tangy and thicker with more of lentils and local vegetables like drumsticks, brinjal, white and red pumpkins, and doodhi. It has a distinct flavour and aroma that comes from adding asafoetida or hing. In Kerala, they use coconut. The one from Karnataka has a subtle sweetness and in Andhra, it is on the spicier side.
Here is a list of Tamil Nadu food specialities that will leave you craving a South Indian spread!
DOSA:
There are so many types of Dosas. There are a few famous kinds of dosa which are available all over the country. it is made by a batter with a mixture of urad dal and rice, spread over a pan and cooked mildly. It is then shaped into a thin paper-like layer and served in a cone shape along with some chutney and sambar. All the other dosas are made in the same way but depending on their names the extra ingredients are added.
PARUPPU PAYASAM:
One of the best sweet dishes of Tamil Nadu is the Paruppu Payasam. It is made by roasting Moong dal and cooking it in a pressure cooker. Some jaggery syrup is added to the mashed moong dal and stirred till completely cooked. This is then served with roasted cashew nuts and tastes very rich and creamy.
IDLI:
The most famous dish in Tamilnadu, as well as the whole southern region, is Idli. Prepared with a ground mixture of soaked rice and white lentil, Idli is best to eat at breakfast time.
CHICKEN CHETTINAD:
For all non-veg lovers, one of the ideal dishes in Tamilnadu is Chicken Chettinad. Dipped in the authentic flavours of roasted spices, this dish brings a new taste to your palate.
PONGAL:
Pongal is a traditional cuisine where rice is cooked in a matki (earthen pot) with water and milk. The word (Pongal) directly translates to the action of boiling over the container due to the starch. This is a staple meal during every auspicious festival of Tamil Nadu. Besides the rice and sweet milk, the dish is cooked with ingredients like cardamom, green gram, raisins, and cashew nuts. According to traditional beliefs, Pongal is cooked in an open space in the sunlight, as it is dedicated to the sun god. The dish has two variants- one that’s sweet and another that’s savoury which is served on banana leaves.
BANANA BONDA:
Stuffed with banana and deep-fried in oil, Bonda is savoury preparation in the state of Tamil Nadu, best to eat at snack time with tea. Contrasting the usual spicy Bonda, this is sweet but tastes as good as it looks.
RASAM:
Tamarind forms the base of this soup-like dish and added to it are tomatoes, pepper, and cumin seed. The rasam is almost a pre-meal appetizer, which is light and doesn’t fill you up too much before a meal. The rasam is a famous dish that is poured over the rice like a normal curry. Though it is almost colourless, it has a burst of flavour. You can also drink it as you would have soup. It is good for a sore throat too.
MURUKKU:
Murukku is one of the most famous snacks that got its origin in Tamil Nadu, and its name means twisted. Again, the batter for the murukku is made from a mixture of rice flour and urad dal with some salt, water, cumin seed etc. It is then deep-fried in oil in various shapes until it turns hard.
FILTER COFFEE:
The making of the famous filter coffee is traditional, where coffee beans are first roasted and then ground. The powder is then added into a filter and boiling hot water is added to it, to prepare the decoction. The decoction is then added to milk with sugar. The drink is poured from one container to another in rapid succession to make an ideal frothy cup of filter coffee. It is also known as meter kapee as it is poured from a small steel glass into a bowl (katori) and vice versa from almost a distance of a meter to make it frothy.
Tamil cuisine is quite incredible and it’s not all dosas, idlis, and sambars. The versatility of their food reflects a meeting of cultures. Be it Kongunadu or Arcot, Chettiars, or the Iyengar Community – food assumes different characteristics across borders. Yet there’s one thing that binds all, every dish demands your attention when you sit down to savour. Be it Chettiars, Arcot, Kongunadu, or the Iyengars; Tamil Nadu Cuisine is an Ocean of scrumptious dishes.
