Stepping Out Of Babylon

Travel & Photography

South Indian food

To all the attractions that southern India has, in particular the state of Tamil Nadu, we must add the food, which here presents a greater diversity of vegetables and spices, resulting in a wide variety of flavors, colors, and aromas, dominated by spicy, served on banana leaves and accompanied with the ubiquitous cooked rice, which in the south replaces the chapatis that in the north always accompany them with meals. What is also never missing are papadis, a thin sheet of grain pasta seasoned with spices and which is fried and crispy.

For breakfast, dosas are served, a kind of very thin and crispy crepe, made with rice and lentil flour, stuffed with vegetables (almost always potatoes) and served with a fresh and spicy coconut chutney, and with the sambar, a light vegetable curry, where the dosa is soaked.

This combination of sambar and chutney can also accompany iddlys, unfermented bread made from lentil flour, which is steamed, or wadas (or vadas), rings of pasta made with lentil flour, flavored with spices and fried in oil.

But the new was pongal, a paste made from overcooked rice, seasoned with cumin, mustard seeds, pieces of fresh ginger and cashews, all wrapped in ghee and cooked with many leaves of rail. Like other breakfast alternatives, pongal is also served with coconut chutney and sambar or another vegetable curry..

The curry tree leaf, which is used here fresh, appears in almost all dishes served in traditional meals, thalis, consisting of rice and a set of three or more side dishes. Many of the meals include the so-called buttermilk, which is a kind of milk, waterier and slightly fermented that gives it a slightly acidic flavour and is served lightly seasoned with salt..

But more often than buttermilk, it is yoghurt that is mixed with rice and the other side dishes that make up a typical South Indian meal.

In traditional southern dishes, coconut, a flower and the banana tree trunk are often used. The panner (fresh non-melting soft cheese made by curdling milk) that was a constant in the north of India, here in the south has a very discreet presence, away from the Muslim areas.

As for the bread… no naans, no chappati or rotis… here are parathas (here pronounced parotta), made of very elastic dough that is spread with the help of oil, beating the dough on the counter until it is thin and starting to tear, when it occurs a knot tying the ends so that after resting it is extended again with a rustic hand and cooked on a plate, often heated with firewood; they are cute and separate into layers… and of course they accompany with a vegetable curry, usually served in the afternoon, as a snack, but never as a side dish of a meal.

The dahl, stewed with lentils, which is served here in the south, thick and consistent, does not compare with what is usually found in the north of the country: very liquid, more like a soup.

The ever-present chai is drunk at any time throughout India, both after meals and as an accompaniment, also serving as an excuse to take a short break during the workday. In Tamil Nadu, chai is often replaced by coffee, which is also sweetened and drunk with milk, served in metal cups, which in turn come in a cylindrical cup, also made of metal; before serving the coffee is poured from one container to another, several times, before being drunk.

Also in the south, with the characteristic tropical climate, there is a greater variety of vegetables. In addition to the potatoes, carrots and herbs, which are ubiquitous in Indian curries, here is common the use of green leafy vegetables, kelas (a kind of nutty cucumber with an intensely bitter taste but which is quite beneficial for purifying the blood), drumstick (or moringa), coconut (the fruit as also the “milk” and oil), banana (trunk and flower also) and jackfruit, as also a wide variety of legumes that often I cannot identify.

As for fruit, mangoes and bananas dominate, which come in many varieties, not only on the outside but also in flavour. Coconut is also sold everywhere, and its pulp is eaten, with the help of a sliver of coconut skin, cut with a machete, after drinking the liquid from the inside.

Thali típico do sul da Índia, servido sobre folha de bananeira e composto por uma grande variedade de caris, servidos em pequenas taças... o arroz veio mais tarde!
Thali typical of South India, served on a banana leaf and composed of a wide variety of curries, served in small bowls, a puri, often served as breakfast and a papad… rice came later!
Porothas acabadas de fazer
Freshly made porothas… always a bit oily but delicious when warm even plain without the usual sambal
um das muitas bancas que na rua sevem snacks e refeições ligeiras. A massa das porothas, é estendida e esticada até ficar muito fina , sendo depois enrolada formando um nó para depois de repousar, ser estendida com a mão
one of the many stalls serving snacks and light meals on the street. The dough of the porothas is extended and stretched until it is very thin, and then rolled into a knot so that after resting, it is extended by hand
Os pequenos pães brancos são iddlys, que juntamente com a wada acompanham um sambar e um chutney de côco. Como este pequeno-almoço foi comido num restaurante com mais categoria, foram servidos ainda mais dois condimentos, um à base de menta e o outro uma pasta vermelha e muito picante
The small white breads are iddlys, which together with the wada accompany a sambar and a coconut chutney. As this breakfast was eaten in a restaurant with more category, two more condiments were served, one based on mint and the other a red and very spicy paste
Preparação dos iddlys, em que a massa liquida é deitada sobre um prato metálico próprio, com pequenas concavidades. O pano serve para impedir que a massa escorra pelos pequenos orifícios do prato que permitem aos iddlys serem cozinhados ao vapor, em grandes panelas metálicas
Preparation of the iddlys, in which the liquid dough is placed on a metal plate, with small concavities. The cloth serves to prevent the dough from dripping through the small holes in the plate that allow the iddlys to be steamed in large metal pots
pongal... uma especialidade servida ao pequeno-almoço por todo o estado de Tamil Nadu, acompanhado por um chutney de côco e pelo sambar. A mistura vermelha é uma pasta de malagueta que nunca cheguei a utilizar pois o prato em si já é picante e bastante condimentado. Come-se misturando os acompanhamentos e o pongal com os dedos.
pongal… a speciality served for breakfast throughout the state of Tamil Nadu, accompanied by coconut chutney and sambar. The red mixture is a chilli paste that I never got to use because the dish itself is already spicy and very spicy. You eat by mixing the side dishes and the pongal with your fingers.
Experimentai o pongal por sugestão deste rapaz nepalês com quem partilhei a mesa de um restaurante em Madurai. Como é tradicional por aqui, o pequeno-almoço é acompanhado pelo café, com leite, servido num copo metálico, e que é servido juntamente com uma taça, para a qual o café é vertido diversas vezes antes de ser bebido pelo copo.
Try pongal at the suggestion of this Nepalese guy with whom I shared a table in a restaurant in Madurai. As is traditional here, breakfast is accompanied by coffee, with milk, served in a metal cup, which is served together with a cup, into which the coffee is poured several times before being drunk from the cup.
Este foi um dos mais tradicionais restaurantes que encontrei em Thanjavur, em que nem prato havia, sendo a comida servida directamente em folha de bananeira colocada em cima da mesa. As doses de arroz são sempre exageradas. Os acompanhamentos vão sendo servidos sempre que um empregado passa com pequenos baldes e se apercebe que não são suficientes para acompanhar a dose de arroz, podendo-se repetir as vezes que se quiser.
This was one of the most traditional restaurants that I found in Thanjavur, where there was no dish, the food being served directly on a banana leaf placed on the table. The doses of rice are always exaggerated. The accompaniments are served whenever an employee passes with small buckets and realizes that they are not enough to accompany the dose of rice, being able to repeat as many times as you want.
Num dos restaurantes tradicionais de Thanjavur, onde repousam em cima da mesa os "baldes" de onde é servida a comida
In one of the traditional restaurants in Thanjavur, where the “buckets” from which the food is served rest on the table
paan... mistura de nóz moscada partida em pequenos pedaços e que pode ser misturada com vários outros ingredientes, incluíndo tabaco. Esta é uma versão adocicada que é frequentemente consumida após as refeições, sendo colocada na boca até humedecer e posteriormente mastigada. Acredita-se que reduz a acidez da boca após a refeição e assim previne as cáries. Contudo o consumo diário e excessivo de paan provoca manchas vermelhas nos dentes que se vêm frequentemente entre a população mais pobre.
paan… mix of nutmeg broken into small pieces and that can be mixed with several other ingredients, including tobacco. This is a sweet version that is often consumed after meals, being put in the mouth until moist and then chewed. It is believed to reduce the acidity of the mouth after a meal and thus prevent cavities. However, daily and excessive consumption of paan causes red spots on the teeth that are often seen among the poorest population.
Uma fruta frequente do sul que não consegui fixar o nome: O sabor e textura assemelham-se a uma anona, mas o exterior parece um kiwi
A frequent fruit from the south that I was unable to name: The taste and texture resemble an annona, but the outside looks like a kiwi
Encontra-se uma grande variedade de bananas nos mercados e nos vendedores ambulantes que percorrem as ruas das cidades por onde passei.
You can find a wide variety of bananas in the markets and in the street vendors that roam the streets of the cities where I passed.
Este vegetal encontra-se em quase todos os pratos de caril que comi. É cozinhado cortado em pequenos troços, mas mesmo assim, somente se pode comer o seu interior, pois a parte exterior é demasiado fibrosa
Drumstick aka moringa, is vegetable found in almost every curry dish I’ve ever eaten. It is cooked cut into small pieces, but even so, you can only eat the inside, because the outside is too fibrous
Um dos mais conhecidos restaurantes de Madurai, onde no piso de baixo é servida comida de modo informal, e no piso de cima, geralmente reservado a homens de negócios e a estrangeiros, a mesma comida é servida com acréscimo de 20% no preço devido ao serviço melhorado e ao ar-condiconado... quase que à força tentaram.me encaminhar para o piso superior, mas consegui vitoriosamente comer onde queria
One of the best-known restaurants in Madurai, where food is served informally on the ground floor, and on the top floor with air-con , usually reserved for businessmen and foreigners, the same food is served with a 20% increase in price due to improved service and air-conditioning… they try to push me to top floor, but I managed victoriously to eat where I wanted
Hotel Saravana Bhavan... uma das maores cadeias de restaurantes do sul da Índia. Em Tamil Nadu é frequente os restaurantes chamarem-se de "hotel"... os hoteis são geralmente denominado de "lodge" mas nem sempre é assim, e acaba por causar alguma confusão.
Hotel Saravana Bhavan… one of the largest restaurant chains in southern India. In Tamil Nadu, restaurants are often called “hotel” … hotels are usually called “lodge” but this is not always the case, and it ends up causing some confusion.

For me, South Indian food, especially in the state of Tamil Nadu, is one of the best in the whole country, with only the food of the state of Gujarat as its rival, with a wide variety of flavours and ingredients, intense, spicy and with a certain tropical exoticism, making it simple and unpretentious. All of this makes a meal a delicious experience for the senses.

South India is a vegetarian paradise, with “pure veg” restaurants as well as street food without animal products. However, dairy products are present in both chai and yoghurt, which is often part of thali.

Each visit to Chennai, commonly called Madras, is a delight for the palate, with many options to explore the gastronomic specialities of southern India, from sophisticated restaurants to simple dining halls, not to mention street food !!

South Indian food…. what a delicious memory !!!