The South Indian cuisine comprises of the cuisines of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Pondicherry and Kerala. Though there are many differences among these cuisines there are some similarities also. Rice is the staple food in all and the lentils and spices are used. Similar types of vegetables are used in all these places. The usage of tamarind, plantain, garlic and ginger are common features. The food is mostly served in plantain leaves commonly during festival times and in restaurants.

The Andra Pradesh cuisine is the hottest of all because the chilli powder is used generously. This includes the cuisine of Hyderabad in which the Gosht ki Biriyani and Murgi Biriyani is the main dish. The famous vegetarian dishes made are pulihaara, gongura, palakura pappu, methi pappu, gutti venkaya, sorakaya pulusu, chekkalu, chaaru, dosa, upma, etc. The non vegetarian dishes of this South Indian cuisine is sheer khurma, kodi pulusu, cheppa pulusu, biriyani, etc. Pickles of various types are famous. Pickles are made with almost all the available vegetables. Appadam, muruku, payasam and rice pudding are commonly seen.

The Karnataka Cuisine is one of the South Indian cuisines in which the spices are used mildly. However jiggery and palm sugar are extravagantly used in day to day cooking. Udupi cuisine and Coorgi cuisine are included in the Karnataka cuisine. You can see Udupi hotels in many parts of India. The rice is served with saaru and palya. Saaru is the watery gravy mixed with rice and the palya is the side dish made of vegetables. Tambli, gojju, pickles and happala goes with them. Bisi bele bath, chitranna and hulianna are the traditional meals together with usili, upma and huli. Masala dosa, akki rotti and uppittu are included in the daily diet.

The Kerala cuisine uses coconut and coconut oil generously. This includes the Malabar cuisine, Mughlai cuisine and Syrian Christian dishes. Due to the long coastal area in Kerala, this South Indian cuisine includes many sea food varieties like fish fry, meen thoran, podimeen fry, karimeen, shrimp masala, fish pickle, etc. The tapioca or kappa kilangu is mainly used. The snacks like kozhukatta, neyyappam, banana fry, nethram chips, payasam, upperi are prepared. Puttu or idiyappam with some type of curry is eaten for breakfast. Idli, dosai, chutney and parotta are also common here. Kaalan, aviyal, thooran, theeyal and olan are the vegetable side dishes. Kerala is called as the home of spices and so the Kerala cuisine is mostly spicy.

The Tamil Nadu cuisine includes rice, paruppu, rasam, morkuzhambu, puli kuzhambu, pappad, koottu, poriyal, payasam, pickles, etc. The boiled rice is called as saadham and is served in plantain leaves during special occasions. The spices like cardamom, cinnamon, pepper, cloves, nutmeg, red chilies and legumes are used. Kuzhambu is the gravy used to mix rice with. There are both vegetarian kuzhambu items like paruppu kuzhambu, puli kuzhambu vendaikkai kuzhambu, etc. and non-vegetarian kuzhambu items like meen kuzhambu, kari kuzhambu, kozhi kuzhambu, etc. Coffee and tea has a prominent place in the Tamil Nadu cuisine. Chettinadu cuisine in Tamil Nadu is considered to be the tastiest varieties.

The serving style, usage of sunflower oil, coconut oil and ghee, usage of spices like curry leaves, pepper, ginger, garlic and tamarind and some varieties like idli, dosa, vada and payasam are the common features of all these South Indian cuisines.

Article Posted By : Sumazla  On November 22, 2011lView All Articles

Suhaina Mazhar is a freelance content writer and blogger with five years experience in content writing. http://sumazla.blogspot.com is her blog.

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Keywords :
south indian cuisine , tamil nadu cuisine , andhra pradesh cuisine , kerala cuisine , karnataka cuisine