South Indian Recipes and Cuisine
South Indian Cuisine
South Indian cuisine is rice based.
Rice is combined with lentils to make wonderful dosas, idlis,
vadas and uttapams. These items are delicious besides being
nourishing and digestible (due to the fermenting process). They are combined with sambar
(dal), rasam (tamarind dal), dry and curried vegetable and pachadi
(yogurt). Their rice preparations are also masterpieces like the biryani from Hyderabad,
lemon rice and rice seasoned with coconut peanuts, tamarind, chilies, curry leaves, urad
dal and fenugreek seedsSouth Indian chutneys are made of tamarind, coconut, peanuts, dal,
fenugreek seeds, and cilantro. Meals are followed by coffee. South Indian dals and curries
are more soupy than North Indian dals and curries. South Indian cuisine is also hotter.
Coconut milk straight from the nut is a common beverage in South India. Coffee is very
popular in South India and Madras coffee is popular in South Indian restaurants throughout
the world.
The South Indian food is a brilliant blend of flavors, colors, seasoning, nutritional
balance, fragrance, taste, and visual appeal.
Parimaral
- The South Indian Tradition of Serving a traditional Meal
A typical traditional meal
in South India is served on a "vazhaillai", a freshly cut banana leaf.
The sappad or food that is served on a banana leaf (even the size
of the leaf varies from one community to another) is displayed like an identity card.
The top half of the leaf is reserved for accessories, the lower half for the
rice, and in some communities, the rice will be served only after the guest has been
seated. The lower right portion of the leaf may have a scoop of warm sweet, milky rice payasam,
which should be lapped up quickly. While the top left includes a pinch of salt, a dash
of pickle and a thimbleful of salad, or a smidgen of chutney. In the middle of the leaf
there may be an odd number of fried items like small circles of chips, either banana, yam
or potato, hard round discs of spiced, ground dal known as thin papads, or
frilly wafers, or vada.
The top right hand corner is reserved for the heavy artillery, the curries,
hot, sweet, or sour, and the dry items. If it is a vegetarian meal, the vegetables are
carefully chosen, between the country ones—gourds, drumsticks,
brinjals/eggplants—and the ‘English’ ones, which could be carrot, cabbage,
and cauliflower. If it is a non-vegetarian meal, in some cases, a separate leaf is
provided for the fried meats, chicken, fish, crab, and so on. But again, the variations
are presented carefully, one dry one next to a gravies one.
There may be a side attraction such as a puran poli, or sweetened dal
stuffed into a pancake, puris, sweet rice or any one of the famed rice preparations such
as pulisadam, or bisibela bath.
After having worked through the preliminaries, the long haul starts with the
rice, which is generously doused with ghee. Sambar, the highly spiced dal-based
dish containing whatever appropriate vegetable there is in season, follows and this is
succeeded by rasam.
After a final round of rice and curds, or buttermilk or both, a traditional
meal concludes with a small banana, a few betel leaves and nuts.
The Foundations of South Indian Cuisine
South Indian Meal Courses
Rice-
Saadum
Rice is the staple food and is divided into categories.
- Long White Grain Rice - most commonly used
- Short Grain Rice - used to make sweet dishes
- Round Grain Rice - not very popular for worship representing Health, Wealth &
Fertility.
Lentil-Paruppu
Paruppu ( dal/lentil ) is essential. Every meal includes Paruppu. It may be
made a soup, chutney, spicy powder, sambhar, snacks, and sweets.
Sweet
in Ayurveda is considered to be an appetite builder. Taking its cues from Ayurveda
the South Indian meal would generally begin with e-ne-ip-pu or sweet. It may consist of
the popular Mysore Pak ( Gram Flour Fudge).
Then
comes three courses of rice -
1. Rice with sambar. There are many forms of rice - such as the plain rice-
ghee- boiled lentil (sadam - neai- paruppu), coconut rice (thengai sadaam), lemon rice
(ellimbichai sadaam), tamarind rice (puliyodarai).
2. Rice with Rasam - Rasam is a tangy, spicy, watery and soupy tamarind concoction
with is served with rice
3. Yogurt with rice (thayir sadaam). This is served last to cool the mouth and the
digestive system. It may be served with non-spicy assorted vegetable dishes, namely
the avial (mixed vegetable stew), kari (dry masala vegetables) & kootu (coconut &
vegetable sauté which are not too wet and not too dry).
Finally
the palpayasam (milk sweet) a dessert is served.
After
the meal, paan or betel leaf & betelnut (vetrielai & paku), which freshens the
mouth and aids in digestion.
South
Indian cuisine has the following culinary schools -
Karnataka,
Andhra, Hyderabadi, Tamil, Chettinad, Kerala.
Andhra: Andhra cuisine is largely vegetarian but the
coastal areas have a large repertoire of seafood. Fish and prawns are curried in sesame
and coconut oils, and flavored with freshly ground pepper. Andhra food is served with
rice. Rice, sambar and other lentil preparations, and steamed vegetables delicately
flavored with coconut, spices and fresh herbs. Snack or tiffin time is made of many
preparations like onion pakodas; vadas or savory lentil doughnuts dunked in steaming hot
sambar; and steamed rice muffin like dumplings called idlis. Savories are murku, roundels
of rice flour paste deep fried; and appadams. Desserts include payasam, a pudding made
with rice and milk and the popular Sheer Khurma - a Hyderabadi delicacy with dry fruits
and dates.
Karnatak
Cuisine: A typical Kannad meal includes the following
dishes in the order specified and is served on a banana leaf: Kosambari, Pickle, Palya,
Gojju, Raita Dessert ( Yes, it is a tradition to start your meal with a dessert( paaysa!)
Thovve Chitranna Rice Ghee. What follows next is a series of soup-like dishes such as
saaru, majjige huli or Kootu which is eaten with hot rice. Gojju or raita is served next;
two or three desserts are served; fried dishes such as Aambode or Bonda is served next.
The meal ends with a serving of curd rice.
Some typical dishes include Bisibele Bath, Saaru, Vangi Bath, Khara Bath, Kesari Bath,
Akki Rotti, Davanagere Benne Dosa, Ragi mudde, and Uppittu.The famous Masala Dosa traces
its origin to Udupi cuisine. Plain and Rave Idli or pancake, Mysore Masala Dosa and Maddur
Vade are popular in South Karnataka. Coorg district is famous for spicy varieties of pork
curries while coastal Karnataka boasts of many tasty sea food specialities. Among sweets,
Mysore Pak, Dharwad Pedha, Pheni, Chiroti are well known.
Hyderabad:
This cuisine is a direct result from the kitchens of the Nizams or Muslim
rulers. The Hyderabadi cuisine is the amalgamation of Muslim techniques and meats
with the vibrant spices and ingredients of the predominantly local Hindu people.
Hydrabadi cuisine is the ultimate in fine dining. Its tastes range from sour and the
sweet, the hot and the salty and studded with dry fruits and nuts. One of India's finest
foods, the biryani or rice with meats and brinjal (or eggplant) or baghare
baiganis are the jewels of Hyderabadi cooking.
Tamil Nadu - Chettinad cuisine hails from the deep southern
region of Tamil Nadu. Chettinad cuisine is far from the bland cuisine of traditional
Tamilian Brahmins—it is one of the spiciest, oiliest and most aromatic in India.
Although the Chettiars are well known for their delicious vegetarian
preparations, their repertoire of food items is famous and includes all manner of fish and
fowl and meats, as well as delicate noodle-like dishes and carefully preserved sun-dried
legumes and berries that the Chettiar ladies make into curries. Oil and spices are
liberally used in cooking and most dishes have generous amounts of peppercorn, cinnamon,
bay leaves, cardamom, nutmeg, green and red chilies, etc.
Some of the popular dishes in Chettinad menu are varuval -- a dry dish
fried with onions and spices (chicken, fish or vegetables sautéed), pepper chicken, poriyal
-- a curry, and kuzambu which has the ingredients stewed in a gravy of coconut milk
and spices.
In the same range, one can include the numerous pickles, powders, specially
roasted and ground spices, dry snacks, papads, appalam and vada. Numerous
shops now sell pre-packed snacks like murukkus, small spirals of fried rice dough,
chips and other edible ‘hand grenades’ like thattai, masala vada and so
on.
The Tamil variation of Mughlai food can be savored in the biryani and paya.
The latter is a kind of spiced trotter broth and is eaten with either parathas or appam.
Tamil Nadu is famous for its filter coffee as most Tamils have a subtle
contempt for instant coffee. The making of filter coffee is almost a ritual, for the
coffee beans have to be roasted and ground. Then the powder is put into a filter set and
boiling hot water is added to prepare the decoction and allowed to set for about 15
minutes. The mix is then added to milk with sugar to taste. The final drink is poured
individually from one container to another in rapid succession to make the ideal frothy
cup of filter coffee.
Kerala is noted for its variety of pancakes and
steamed rice cakes made from pounded rice. For the Muslims, the lightly flavored
Biryani-made of mutton, chicken, egg or fish-takes pride of place. In seafood, mussels are
a favorite. For the Christians, who can be seen in large concentration in areas like
Kottayam and Pala, ishtew (a derivation of the European stew), with appam is a must for
every marriage reception. Kerala also has it's own fermented beverages -the famous kallu
(toddy) and patta charayam (arrack). Arrack is extremely intoxicating and is usually
consumed with spicy pickles and boiled eggs (patta and mutta).
South Indian Food Recipes
south Indian Food Recipes, vegetarian Indian cuisine, Tamil Recipes, Andhra
recipes, Kerala recipes, Karnataka recipes
Avial -
Mixed Veggies Kerala Style Recipe
Carrot
Pachadi Kerala Style Recipe ,
Yogurt with Bananas
Raita - Yogurt Salad Recipe
Sambhar or
Lentil Vegetable Stew Recipe- South Indian
Shammi Kebab
Recipe
South
Indian Shrimp Curry in Coconut Milk Recipe
South Indian
potatoes with Mustard Seeds Recipe
Chicken
with Coconut Milk Recipe
Shop Online for South Indian Food Ingredients
Curry
Leaves (Fresh) - ships Tues only ,
Ginger
Root (Fresh) - ships Tues only ,
Garlic
Cloves (Fresh) - ships Tues only ,
Green
Chilies (Fresh) - ships Tues only ,
Fresh
Mint Leaves - ships out only on Tuesday ,
Mace
Powder or Javentri ,
Whole
Nutmeg , Kasturi
Methi or Fenugreek Leaves (Shambalileh). ,
Fried
Onions ,
Panchpuran-
Indian Five Spice Blend - magical flavor for tomatoes, squash, zucchini, fish , Saffron
, Asafoetida
or Hing (Vandevi) ,
Mustard
seeds or Rai. ,
Black
Pepper (Ground) , Cardamom
Pods Green Whole ,
Red
Chili Ground ,
Turmeric
Ground or Haldi ,
Coriander
Seed or Dhania ,
Coriander
Ground ,
Cumin
Seed or Indian Jeera ,
Cumin
Ground , Fennel
Seeds or Saunf ,
Cloves
,
Fenugreek
Seed ,
Amchur
- Green Mango Powder ,
Poppy
Seed or Khas Khas ,
Ajwain
Seed, Bishops Weed, Carom ,
Black
Salt - Rock Salt or Saindhav ,
Whole
Round Chilies ,
Garam
Masala (WholeSpices) Blend ,
Curry
Powder ,
Cinnamon
(Malabar Cinnamon) ,
Ginger
Ground , Black
Cardamom ,
Black
Pepper (Whole) ,
Sesame
Seeds Natural ,
Coconut
- Shreded and Unsweetened ,
Coriander-Cumin
Blend , Garam
Masala Powder ,
Cardamom
Seeds , Green
Cardamom Powder ,
Nutmeg
Powder ,
Spice
Box - Traditional Indian ,
Spice
Box with 7 Spices - Traditional Indian Masala Dubba ,
Fennel
Powder , Clove
Powder. ,
Tamarind
Paste - Tamarindo, Tamar Hind ,
Ghee
- Clarified Butter 64oz ,
Ghee
- Claified Butter , Ghee
- Clarified Butter ,
Jaggery
- Dried Sugarcane Juice ,
Ghee
- Clarified Butter ,
Ginger-Garlic
Paste ,
Garlic
Paste ,
Ginger
Paste ,
Coconut
Milk ,
Coconut
Cream Powder .
Kerala Traditional Fish Curry Recipe
King fish – ½ kg
(cut into flat pieces)
Chilly powder - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Ginger(paste or crushed) - 1 tbsp
Button onions(Kunjulli) - 1/2 cup
Kerala tamarind/Puli - 2 - 3 pieces
(soaked in water)
Curry leaves - A few
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Salt - As reqd
Coconut oil - ¼ cup
Preparation Method
Wash and soak the fish pieces in curd and keep aside.
In Kerala earthen pot or a heavy bottom vessel, add oil and heat.
Splutter mustard seeds.
Add ginger and button onions.
Soak chilly powder, turmeric, salt and sauté them too until the oil separates.
Add 1 ½ cups of hot water and let it boil.
Add pieces of washed fish and let it boil.
do not stir with any spoon or wooden spoon. If you need to rearrange the piece, take the
vessel and rotate the entire dish.
Add the puli/tamarind pieces and cover the dish to cook on medium heat.
Until the pieces are cooked and the gravy is thick, add more curry leaves and leave the
dish open until the curry is cold.
Naadan Chemmeen Masala Shrimp Recipe
Ingredients
Shrimps(Chemmeen) - 1 lb
(deveined and cleaned)
Onion(diced) - 1 cup
Tomato(finely chopped) - 1 cup
Green chillies(finely chopped) - 1/2 cup
Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Cumin(Jeerakam) powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 2 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala - A pinch
Coriander leaves for garnishing
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Oil - 1/2 cup
Salt - As reqd
Preparation Method
Heat oil in a kadai or in a pan.
Add onions, curry leaves and green chillies and ginger-garlic paste.
When onions turn translucent, add chopped tomato.
When it becomes a little pulpy, add all the powders.
Fry well till raw smell is gone and oil separates.
Add shrimps.)Cover and cook till the shrimp is done.
You can add 1 cup of water if you want. Usually, shrimps have some water in it and once it
is added to the masala, the liquid will ooze out.
So use water only if it is needed.
Turn off the heat once the gravy is thick and the shrimp is well done.
Garnish with cilantro leaves.
Sanna Khotto Recipe
Ingredients :
½ pav green gram/toovar dal
¾ pav rice
2 cups coconut gratings
tamarind lump (marble size)
15 roasted red chillies
1 small piece asafoetida
salt to taste
Method :
Soak rice with green gram or toovar dal for 2 to 3 hours in water.
Grind coconut gratings with tamarind, asafoetida and roasted red chillies and make a
smooth paste.
Put salt and grind for some time.
Cook the masala over steam, under cover (in the same way as idli) in greased idli cups.
It can also be cooked in cups stitched with leaves of jackfruit tree (khotte) or in the
inner container (greased) of a pressure cooker, like sannan.
Chopped onion can be mixed with masala, if desired.
Asafoetida is not required in that case.
Tomato Pachadi Recipe
Ingredients :
1 big tomato
2 cups yogurt
a few curry leaves
¼ tsp mustard
a small pinch hing
2 to 3 green chillies, chopped
1 ½ tsp cooking oil
a small bunch cilantro, finely chopped
½ tsp salt
Method :
Submerge entire tomato in water, and boil for 10 to 15 minutes, till it gets cooked.
Peel the skin and mash it well and keep it aside.
Fry mustard, hing, and curry leaves in oil, and add this to the
mashed tomato.
Mix yogurt, green chillies, salt to the mashed tomato and mix it well.
Decorate with chopped cilantro.
Goanese Potatoes Recipe
Ingredients:
½ kg potatoes, peeled and cut into large cubes
2 tomatoes
½ cup boiled peas
2 tbsp ghee
salt to taste
To be ground to a paste
¼ grated coconut,
7 dry red chillies
4 to 5 peppercorns
1 cinnamon stick
2 cloves
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 onion, roasted on an open flame
1 tsp white poppy seeds
4 large garlic cloves
2 tsp oil
Method:
Heat 1 tsp of oil in a frying pan and sauté cinnamon, poppy seeds, cloves, peppercorns,
coriander seeds, red chilies for a few minute.
Shift to a plate. Put 1 tsp of oil in the pan and fry the grated coconut.
Take out and let it cool for a few minutes. Combine all these ingredients, onion and
garlic and grind to make a smooth paste.
Chop the tomatoes into big pieces and cook them in 2 cups of water.
When cooked, prepare a soup by passing it through a strainer.
Heat the ghee in a large pan and sauté the potatoes till they become soft.
Put the ground paste, tomato soup, peas and salt.
Cook till the potatoes are cooked.
Ready to serve.
Bittergourd Pachadi Recipe
Ingredients :
4 bittergourd
8 green chillies
1 red chilli
¼ tsp mustard
1 tsp urad dal
1 tsp channa dal
3 tsp jaggery
a small pinch hing
½ tsp tamarind paste
2 tsp cooking Oil
½ tsp salt
Method :
Fry mustard, hing, urad dal, channa dal, red chilli, green chilli and bittergourd in oil,
until the bittergourd becomes brown.
Put salt, tamarind paste and 1 cup of water, and allow it to cook for few minutes.
Put jaggery and cook for 5 minutes.
Stuffed Brinjal Sagle Recipe
Ingredients :
12 brinjals (small variety)
1 cup coconut gratings
10 roasted red chillies
tamarind lump (marble size)
½ tsp fenugreek seeds
salt to taste
2 tsp coriander seeds
2 tbsp oil
1 small piece gur
½ tsp mustard seeds
1 sprig curry leaves
Method :
Remove stalk of brinjal (small variety).
Cut 3 or 4 slits lengthwise from top.
Wash and keep aside.
Grind coconut gratings with roasted red chillies, tamarind, gur and salt to thick masala
(without using water).
When masala is almost ready, put fenugreek and coriander seeds (both previously roasted)
and grind for more time.
Stuff brinjals (through slits) with the masala.
Spread the excess masala over them.
Keep aside water used for washing the grinder.
Prepare seasoning in frying pan with mustard and curry leaves in oil.
Drop stuffed brinjals gently, along with water (kept aside) into the seasoning.
Turn over. Cover pan. Cook.
Open lid 3-4 times at intervals and turn over to prevent sticking to bottom.
When brinjals become sufficiently soft, take out from flame.
Indian Cooking Recipe : Coconut Rice
Ingredients :
2 cups rice
¾ cup coconut grated
¼ tsp mustard
1 tsp channa dal
1 tsp urad dal
2 red chillies
1 green chillies
A small pinch hing
A few curry leaves
Peanuts
Cashewnuts
3 tsp coconut oil
1 tsp ghee
¾ tsp salt
Method :
Cook rice with less water as you would cook for pulav.
Dry roast grated coconut with 2 tsp of coconut oil until it turns brown.
Combine the roasted coconut, salt and cooked rice, and keep it aside.
Sauté mustard, urad dal, channa dal, hing, red chilles, green chillies, and curry leaves
in oil.
Add this to the rice and mix properly.
Fry cashews and peanuts with ghee and add it to the above.
Dahi Bhaath Yogurt Rice Recipe
Ingredients :
½ pav rice
4 green chillies
1 tsp table salt
1 small piece ginger
2 tsp ghee
a few coriander leaves
2½ cups curds
1 tsp chana dal
1 tsp black gram dal
½ tsp mustard seeds
1 sprig curry leaves
Method :
Wash rice and cook. Keep aside.
Put chopped green chillies, minced ginger and salt in the curds..
Mix cooked rice with the curds and turn over gently.
Season with mustard, black gram dal, chana dal and curry leaves in ghee, using a ladle.
Put chopped coriander leaves. Turn over and serve.
Nimbu Rice Lemon Rice Recipe
Ingredients :
1 cup rice
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard Seeds
1 tsp urad Dal
1 tsp chana Dal
2 tbsp cashews
¼ tsp haldi
1 cup mixed veg
Juice of one lemon
Salt to taste
Method :
Cook the rice in salted water.
Heat the oil and put all other ingredients except lemon juice.
Sauté for a while and put the rice and lemon juice.
Mix well and take care not to break the rice grains.
Ready to serve.
Thair Sadam (Bagala Bath) Rice Recipe
Ingredients :
2 cups rice
1½ cups milk
3 to 4 cups yogurt
½ tsp mustard
½ tsp urad dal
a small piece ginger, finely chopped
2 to 4 green chillies, finely chopped
Cilantro, finely chopped
A small pinch hing
2 tsp butter
½ cup white grapes
Salt
Method :
Wash and cook rice in 3 cups of water and milk. Keep aside.
Sauté mustard, urad dal, and hing in little oil and add it to the above.
Put the chopped ginger, green chillies, cilantro, butter, grapes, and yogurt and mix
properly.
Ready to serve.
Tamarind Rice
Ingredients:
3 cups rice
1 onion, finely chopped
50 gms tamarind water
200 gms garlic, finely chopped
½ tsp coriander powder
1 tsp chilli powder
100 gms peanuts
coriander leaves
salt to taste
For garnishing
Chana dal, urad dal, mustard seeds, red chillies
Method:
Heat some oil in a pan and sauté the mustard seeds, chana dal,urad dal and the red
chillies
Put onions in the oil fry them well
Put chilli powder, peanuts and coriander powder in the oil and let them blend with the
mixture
Put the tamarind water and allow it to boil along with some salt to taste
Lastly, put the cilantro leaves.
Carrot Payasam Pudding
Ingredients :
4 carrot, grated
2 cups milk
sugar
¼ cup badam
1 can condensed milk
1 can evaporated milk
1 tsp saffron
¼ cup cashews
2 to 3 tsp golden raisins
2 cardamom
Method :
Soak saffron in little cold milk, and keep aside.
Soak badam in hot water for 1 hour.
Peel skin and grind it with grated carrot and milk.
Measure the amount of carrot/almond paste, and keep the same amount of sugar aside.
Cook the carrot/almond mixture in a pan for 5 to 10 minutes till the flavour comes out.
Add the measured sugar, and allow it to cook for a few minutes.
Add one can of evaporated milk, and condensed milk and bring it a boil.
Fry cashews, raisins and cloves in little ghee and add this to the above.
Pound cardamom and add this to the payasam.
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