South Indian Cuisine

 

The cuisine of South India is extremely diverse and is well-known for its light, low-calorie appetizing meals. Traditional South Indian cuisine is mainly rice based and there are many dishes like dosas, vadas and uttapam that are made by mixing rice with lentils. Considered as extremely healthy, South Indian food is a perfect blend of flavor, color, taste and nutrition. In other words, South Indian food comprises of dishes from four major states including Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Both the geography and cultural influence of the South has an influence on the region's cuisine. As with most countries, there are large regional differences and each state's cuisine can vary greatly even within a specific state. There are typically vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes for all five states. Additionally, all regions have typical main dishes, snacks, light meals, desserts, and drinks that are well-known in their respective region.

Andhra, Tamil, Hyderabadi, Mangalorean, and Kerala cuisines each have distinct tastes and methods of cooking. Each of the South Indian states has a different way of preparing sambar; a connoisseur of South Indian food can easily tell the difference between sambar from Kerala, sambar from Tamil cuisine, Sambar from Karnataka and pappu chaaru in Andhra cuisine. Some popular dishes include the biryani, ghee, rice with meat curry, seafood (prawns, mussels, and mackerel) and paper thin pathiris from Malabar area.

Tamil cuisine is generally famous for its different species and also for spicy foods. Tamil Nadu cuisine is of wide variety of tasty dishes and offers wide range of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes.
Tamil cuisine generally classifies food into six tastes: sweet (milk, butter, sweet cream, wheat, ghee (clarified butter), rice, honey); sour (limes and lemons, citrus fruits, yogurt, mango, tamarind); salty (salt or pickles); bitter (bitter gourd, greens of many kinds, turmeric, fenugreek); pungent (chili peppers, ginger, black pepper, clove, mustard) and astringent (beans, lentils, turmeric, vegetables like cauliflower and cabbage, cilantro).Tamil cuisine has well known curries for instance Sambar, Rasam or perhaps kuzhambu. Food is not just important for eating, but it is also a way of socializing, getting together with family, relatives and friends.

The cuisine of the Andhra Pradesh is known for its hot, spicy and delicious dishes and diverse culinary culture. Andhra Pradesh is the largest producer of red chilli and rice; these ingredients are naturally used in abundance in Andhra cuisine. Ragi is popularly used in the Rayalaseema region, while the Uttar Andhra region is known for its use of jaggery, shallots and fenugreek paste. The food in this region bears a sweeter flavour. Coastal Andhra has a lot of meat and seafood simmering in its local pots which is paired with tangy hot curries and served with rice.

Karnataka’s cuisine takes influence from its neighbours like Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. However, the flavours change from region to region. Mangalore and Uttara Canara are famous for their tangy seafood. South Karnataka is known for various types of Bath. North Karnataka food is much spicier in comparison to the other parts of Karnataka. Food grains such as ragi, rice, jower, urad dal, semolina are some staples. Palm jaggery is also an important ingredient in Karnataka’s cuisine. Traditionally, meals are served on a banana leaf.

Surrounded by the sea, Kerala is home to numerous lip-smacking dishes prepared out of seafood, some of which include mussels, crab, tiger prawns, king prawns, tiny prawns, oysters, sardines, mackerel, tuna and gorgeous red lobsters. One just cannot stop salivating when walking the streets of Kerala. Unlike its neighbours, Kerala takes a lot of pride in its long list of non-vegetarian food that the state has to offer to its perpetually hungry tourists!