TAMIL NADU

INTRODUCTION: Tamil Nadu provides its visitors with a variety of delicacies, both
vegetarian as well as non-veg, though most food in Tamil nadu consists of grain, rice, lentils
and vegetables.
Situated on the southernmost part of India is referred as the cradle of Dravidian
culture, the ancient Indian culture distinguished for its unique languages, customs,
architecture. uge temples with towering !opurams, intricate roc" carvings, classical music,
dance and of course, the cuisine give proof of it.
CULINARY ASPECTS
#ice has been the staple diet of the Tamilian and Than$avur is regarded as the
%granary of the south& usually parboiled rice is consumed due to its nutritive value. #ice
predominates in all dishes of the Tamilian and preparations of rice for all meal of the day.
'entils too are consumed e(tensively as accompaniment to the rice preparation. )eing on the
seacoast * seafood and coconut is also available in plenty.
+hile tamarind is used for adding tang, peppercorn, and chili, both red and green
are used to ma"e the food hot. To neutrali,e the effect of the chili and soothe the stomach,
curd is used in a variety of dishes. -ther spices li"e mustard, cumin, garlic, etc. are used for
tempering and seasoning.
The Tamils believes that the ideal food should cater to the si( variety of tastes-
)itterness, acridity, sweetness, saltiness, sourness and astringent taste. .nnapurna the
goddess of food is worshipped in all houses.
/eals served on banana leaves, consisted of rice, with flavorings or plain topped
ghee. Sambar, meat curries, vegetables are added separately for the rice. Side dishes include
0oriyals, 1seasoned vegetables2 3arayil 1fried crisp2, 0achidi 1salad form or raita2 along with
.ppalsm and 3athals- followed by 0ayasam or "heer. The second course is rice and rasam
1dal water2. The third course is curd rice with pic"les. 4urd is supposed to be cooling for the
body system. #asam is religiously made in %Iyya 4hombu& or lead vessel to right flavors.
)rea"fast and afternoon snac"s called %Tiffin& include Idli, Dosai, 3ada, 0ongal, 5pma, etc.
dosai is made in different "inds with variations and is accompanied by coconut chutney,
sambar and /uluga podi.
Tamil nadu is renowned for its filter coffee made in a special way with coffee
decoction.
CHETTINAD CUISINE
6nown for its spicy, hot fare, 4hettinad cuisine hails from the deep southern region
of Tamil nadu. This cuisine is very spicy, oily, and most aromatic.


.lthough the 4hettiars are well "nown for there delicious vegetarian preparation, there
repertoire of food items is famous and includes all "inds of seafood, fowl and meats as well
as delicate noodle li"e Idiappams.
The 7.achis8 or lady of the house commands the "itchen. 4hettias traditionally
ban"ers and financers used to travel to countries li"e /alaysia, )urma, Singapore, Thailand,
4hina, Tibet, etc. .nd when they used to come bac", they also brought the food culture of the
foreign lands.
. lot of items in the 4hettinad cuisine are a native replica of the foreign cuisine.
Idiappam originates from rice noodles in 4hina. 6avunarisi 1blac" rice2 and 0anigaram from
/alaysia. Spices from these places were incorporated into 4hettinad cuisine.
The 4hettiar ladies carefully preserved sun dried legumes and berries and later made
them into curries. .part from liberal use of oil and spices, most dishes have generous
amounts of peppercorn, cinnamon, bayleaves, cardamom, nutmeg, green and red chillies,
pepper, chic"en, poryal, .appams, etc. The /uslim influence is seen in the form of Payas
1trotters2 and %Khuska& 1)iryani2.
4ulinary .spects9 4hettinad 4uisine is basically spicy, aromatic, oily and rich. They have a
varied selection of Seafood dishes, 3egetables preparations, Tiffins, Snac"s and desserts.
There is minimum wastage of food and every part of lamb or chic"en is used to create a local
delicacy with different flavorings. Special cleaning procedure are used to clean the meat and
then incorporated to dishes. 4hal" and lime are used for cleaning the intestines of lamb, curd
used for cleaning small silver fish, ash and salt for cleaning the slimness of fish, turmeric
powder, ginger and lemon used for cleaning and tenderi,ing meat. 0ic"ling, Salting and
0reservation of 'amb, :ish and 3egetables is done during the sunny days. During the rainy
season, the rain water is harvested and used later. The water available in the region has a very
special taste and has a lot of effect on taste of the final product.
SPECIAL INGREDIENTS: 4hettinad food co"ed in the region owes its special taste to
the locally available water, spices and vegetables. Items li"e Sambar onions, star anise,
:ennel, 6alpasi or pathar "a phool, /aratti mugga, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, )lac"
/alaysian rice or %6avunarisi&, 4astor oil, 4oconut oil, !ingerly oil, :enugree", Dried and
preserved 3egetables, etc. are incorporated to create food with variations.
SEQUENCE OF MEAL AND SERVICE: . typical 4hettinad meal is served in
)anana leaves with the tapering end of the leaves facing the left of the person having the
meal. -n the top left, the fried items li"e .ppalam, 0ic"le, salt, banana are placed. This is
followed by vegetables or dried meat preparations which are served on the top half. In some
houses, meat dishes are served in small cups or %6innams&. .ll the dishes prepared for the
day are displayed in vessel or %Pah!a"& in front of the diners so that they can request for
more helpings. During any occasion a soups made with left over bones, meat trimmings,
vegetable trimmings and boiled stoc" or lentil water is served. Ne(t the rice is served along
with
Some home made ghee or %N#y&. .fter this the K$%ha"&u is served on top of the rice.
6o,hambu can be made with vegetables, fish, and lamb. The 6o,hambu is blended with the
rice and is eaten with small helpings of dry vegetables or meat. Sambar made with drumstic"
and lentils is served ne(t followed with #asam. The fried 3athals and .ppalam are bro"en
and mi(ed with the blended rice while dining. /oru or seasoned buttermil" is served at the
end of the meal. -n festive occasions- payasam or sweet is served after rasam. During the
summer months a local coolant made with $aggery, tamarind and ginger is served when a
guest has $ust arrived from outside. )ananas are eaten last. The household and guests have
)etal leaves with nuts after the meals and discuss local affairs and welfare.
TAMIL 'RAHMIN CUISINE
Tamil )rahmins are strict vegetarians and highly revered by all. The )rahmins used to
ta"e care of temples but today they have ta"en to other fields also. )rahmin coo"s are very
much in demand during special occasions for coo"ing traditional meals. Today even non-
)rahmins invite a )rahmin to coo" for the occasion because of the diversity of invitees. The
Tamil )rahmins owe it to Swami San"aracharya who bought religion, people and customs
together. e gave a sense of direction and laid a set of do&s and don&ts.
CULINARY DETAILS:
-nion and garlic is not used in many of the preparations. #ice is prepared for all
meals in different variations. This cuisine is less spicy and soothing for the body system.
6ootu, /ilagootal, Sambar, #asam, 0oduthool, 0uli 0achadi, 0ulin$i, .vial, /ore "olambu,
etc. are some of the food items made for lunch and dinner. 5se of fresh erbs, 3egetables and
spices is very predominant and has strong ayurvedic root. The .yurvedic system divides the
body into three %0ra"hriti&;3atha, 0itha and 6apa. Special diet is designed for each body
system whenever required. The traditional coo"ing depends on measures of %olloc"s&, %padi&,
and %"aipidi&. There are also variations during seasonal changes to help the body to adapt.
The %tiffin& is usually had in the evenings and included Idili, Dosai, 3ada, .dai,
0ongal, 6o,ha"atai, upma etc. /uru""us, 4heedai, Thattai, masala vada, 0arruppu vada, etc.
are some of the popular savouries. They also speciali,e in 0ayasams. 0alpayasam, Semia
0ayasam, Neipayasam, Idichu 0i,hun$a 0ayasam are all favourites.
SPECIAL INGREDIENTS: #ice, lentils, !rams, and coconut and tamarind are basic
ingredients of this cuisine. :or some dishes parboiled, rice is used and some raw rice is used.
The measures are always in quantitative measurements and not in 6!S. 4urd is used to ma"e
%/ore"o,hambu& or buttermil" stew, .viyal and Sambharam. )lac" tamarind is used for
some dishes li"e Sambhar, pitlay, 0ulin$i etc. and new tamarind is used in some dishes li"e
chutneys and rasams. 5se of fenugree", cumin, peppercorns, 4oriander and curry leaves,
turmeric powder etc. is done in balanced proportion in different dishes. There is lot of
emphasis on use of different types of lentils, pulses, vegetables and herbs. The South Indian
%filter coffee& is a must early morning in every household and for every guest visiting the
house.
SEQUENCE OF MEAL AND SERVICE:
Traditionally a )rahmin meal is served in banana leaves and had on the floor. The
guests sits on a %palagai& or wooden seat and does a %Neividyam&, before the food is
consumed. -n the top left of the leaf, pic"le, chips and appalam is served. This is followed by
vegetable served on the top half of the leaf. -nce all the vegetable preparations are served,
#ice is served with home made ghee or&neh&. Some homely preparations include 6ootu,
0orial, Thuvayal, more"o,hambu, pitlay, vatha"o,hambu etc. Sambar is served on top of the
rice and blended by the diner. .fter sambar, rasam is served. -ne has to be careful not to
allow the rasam flow out of the leaf. The a((a)a" a*+ ,a+a-a" is crushed and mi(ed with
the blended rice and eaten. The payasam or the dessert immediately follows the rasam during
festive season. The meal ends with the service of rice with buttermil" which is consumed
with pic"les.
RELIGIOUS CUSTOMS AND EFFECTS ON FOOD:
During most festivals, only vegetarian fare is coo"ed. 0ongal in <anuary is an important
arvest festival and newly harvested rice and dal are coo"ed together in a mud pot and
worshipped. During Diwali festival, the woman of the house prepares several sweets and
other gastronomical delights.
During the .adi festival, there is total absistence from meats. -ther festivals celeberated are
!anesh festival. #ama Navami, 6rishna $anmashtami, Navarathri 1Dushera2. The elders fast
during .mavasya and ="adasi.
=very auspicious event ta"es place after chec"ing the panchangam or Tamil 4alendar. The
lunar cycle and their movement of the stars are followed closely in their daily life routines.
Tamil New->ear day is celeberated on .pril ?@.
FAMOUS PRODUCTS FROM TAMILNADU9
MEEN POONDU KO.HAM'U9 It is spicy red colored fish gravy full of garlic
flavor. It should be coo"ed in a mud pot over a charcoal fire.
NAADAN PAAL PAYASAM9 0ayasam is made of )engal gram, moong dal, sago
and bro"en rice. Sweetened with $aggery and coo"ed in coconut mil".
MASURU ANNA9 .lso "nown as yoghurt rice or curd rice.
DOSAS9 0anca"es made with rice and lentil, may be eaten with chutney or stuffed
with spicy potatoes.
IDLY9 This is a steamed rice panca"e en$oyed all over south India and eaten with
chutney.
IDIAPPAM9 These are called string hoppers and are made rice flour and steamed.
KA.HANI KOOTU: 3egetables with raw mango coo"ed in tamarind water till
coo"ed and finished with coconut mil".
SAM'AR SADAM9 )oiled rice tempered with crushed $eera, peppercorn, slit green
chillies, cashewnut and curry leaves.
RASAM9 Tempered dal water, can be flavored with other ingredients.
MORKHOLOM'U9 )uttermil" and vegetable curry.
AVIAL9 /i(ed vegetables in coconut gravy.