SOUTH INDIAN FOOD

  
     The similarities in the four states' cuisines are the presence of rice as a staple food, the use of lentils and spices, use of dried red chillies and fresh green chillies, coconut and native fruits and vegetables like tamarind, plantain, snake gourd, garlic, ginger, etc.
     Overall all the four cuisines have much in common and differ mostly in the spiciness or hotness of the food.
A typical Tamil meal consists of many spicy and non-spicy dishes and is predominantly vegetarian. Many of these dishes are typically mixed and eaten with steamed rice, which is the staple food of the region.
Tamil cuisine groups dishes under four slightly overlapping categories. First are the dishes that necessarily are mixed with rice; various Kuzhlumbu, Shambar, Paruppu, Rasam, Thayir, Kadayils and the likes belong to this category. The second are the side dishes that accompany such mixtures; Kootu, Kari, Poriyal, Pickles, Papadams fall into this category. Third are the short snacks and their accompaniments; vadai, bonda, bajji, soups, various chutneys, thayir pachadi and the likes belong to this category. The fourth category is usually the rich, sweet dishes that serve as desserts; Payasam, Kheer, Kesari and a plethora of Indian sweets belong to this category.
An everyday Tamil meal consists of at least three to four courses, with steamed rice serving as the staple. The food usually starts with some paruppu (steamed, mashed lentils in a gravy) and ghee; this mix is eaten with rice and serves as an appetizer. The second to follow would be a kuzhlumbu or sambhar; mixed with rice, this is usually the main course. On leisure or festive days, there would be at least two such main courses with one Kuzhambu (Puli Kuzhambu, Vatha Kuzhambu and the likes) variety and one Sambhar variety. Third to follow will be the Rasam; again, mixed with rice, one usually eats this accompanied by crisps. The last of the courses will invariably be rice with curd or yoghurt; this is usually taken along with pickles. Throughout the meal, the side dishes are served and eaten with the courses, depending upon one's taste or choice; side dishes are constantly replenished during any meal. As a last course, the desserts are served. Finally guests retire to the living room and conclude the meal with banana and freshly made paan consisting of betel leaves, betel nuts and lime. paan is considered a digestive aid.
The situation is similar with Tamil non-vegetarian meals, except that the first and second courses are usually replaced by various Briyanis and non-vegetarian gravies.
In either case, a typical meal (Lunch or Dinner) will be served on a banana leaf. Meals are often accompanied by various pickles and appalams.
Food is generally classified into six tastes - sweet, sour, salt, bitter, pungent and astringent and traditional Tamil cuisine recommends that you include all of these six tastes in each main meal you eat. Each taste has a balancing ability and including some of each provides complete nutrition, minimizes cravings and balances the appetite and digestion.

• 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)
• Astringent (Beans, lentils, turmeric, vegetables like cauliflower and cabbage, cilantro)

Chettinad cuisine is famous for its use of a variety of spices used in preparing mainly non-vegetarian food. The dishes are hot and pungent with fresh ground masalas, and topped with a boiled egg that is usually considered an essential part of a meal. They also use a variety of sun-dried meats and salted vegetables, reflecting the dry environment of the region. The meat is restricted to fish, prawn, lobster, crab, chicken and mutton. Chettiars do not eat beef and pork.
Most of the dishes are eaten with rice and rice based accompaniments such as dosais, appams, idiyappams, adais and idlis. The Chettinad people through their mercantile contacts with Burma, learnt to prepare a type of rice pudding made with sticky red rice.
Chettinad cuisine offers a variety of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. Some of the popular vegetarian dishes include idiyappam, paniyaram, vellai paniyaram, karuppatti paniyaram, paal paniyaram, kuzhi paniyaram, kozhakattai, masala paniyaram, adikoozh, kandharappam, seeyam, masala seeyam, kavuni arisi and athirasam.