South Indian Cuisine!

इस व्यंजन को हिन्दी में पढ़ें

South Indian food has always been a temptation all over India. The steam cooked Idlis, variety of Dosas, vegetables filled Uttapam, different flavors of Rasam, Sambhar, huge range of chutneys and pickels, a wide range of rice delicacies and mouthwatering desserts, the list is never ending.

A South Indian Platter

In India, the same ingredients give very different taste when cooked in different ways. For example; Arhar dal (lentil) is made with cumin seeds seasoning in North India, while the same dal tastes so different in Sambhar with curry leaves, and mustard seeds seasoning… While in North India wheat is a staple, in South India, most of the delicacies are rice and lentils based.

In India, almost every family has its own recipes for day-to-day and festival foods - sometimes the recipes are passed down for generations. It is not possible to zero in on a single perfect recipe or the most authentic recipe…take what pleases your palate!! I hope you enjoy these recipes and yes, your valuable comments are always welcome…

Happy Cooking,
Shuchi

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• Curd Rice with Pomegranate

  Curd rice is a highly favored delicacy in South India, also referred to as dahi bhaat in North India. The preparation of curd rice is a breeze, making it a hassle-free dish to make. In North India, curd rice often fails to appeal to people due to the perception that it is a plain and uninspiring dish. However, I have come up with a desi tadka that...

  

• Moringa with Coconut

  Moringa is a very popular plant belong to family Moringaceae. The same plant produces drumsticks, the pods which are also commonly known as Sahjan in Hindi. Moringa is rich in various vitamins, protein, Iron and many other minerals. Moringa leaves have a strong smell so I decided to add some nuts and coconut to make it milder...

  

• Mini semolina Podi Idli

  Podi idli is a delicious breakfast dish from South India. Freshly steamed idlies are tossed with a spiced mix called podi and pure ghee and then served hot. Idlies are steam cooked savory cakes made of a fermented batter like a rice and lentil batter, oat batter, ragi batter or any other grain or flour batter.

  

• Malgapodi | Podi

  Malgapodi or idli podi, is a spicy South Indian spice mix traditionally served with idlis. In North India, malgapodi is often known as idli chutney powder. Malgapodi is also known as gun powder probably because it is a very spicy preparation. In some families malgapodi powder is served with desi ghee (clarified butter) to balance the heat of red chili.

  

• Rasam

  Rasam is a very popular South Indian dish or in simple words soup. There are so many different variants of rasam like tomato rasam, tamarind rasan, lemon rasam, dal rasam etc. Here we are making lentil/dal rasam. Rsam is usually a very spicy and thin in consistency but I prefer to make a mild spicy and thicker .....

  

• Tamarind Rasam

  Rasam is a very popular South Indian Soup. There are many varieties of Rasam . This recipe of Tamarind rasam comes to you from one of my very dear Mallu friends. Traditionally Tamarind Rasam does not have tomato as an ingredient but to enhance the flavor....

  

• Sooji/Rava Idly

  Sooji/Rava Idlies are steam cooked savory cakes of fermented batter of Semolina (sooji/ rava ). Usually in South India Idlies are served with Sambhar and chutneys for the breakfast. This is a very delicious preparations and very popular throughout the India......

  

• Idly

  Idly (Steamed rice and lentils dumplings) are steam cooked savory cakes of fermented batter of rice and lentils. This is a healthy and filling meal. Usually in South India Idlis are served with Sambhar and chutneys for breakfast. ...

  

• Tri Color Idlies

  On the special occasion of Independence Day let’s make these delicious and nutritious tri-color Idlies. To make three different color layers, I have used spinach to give green color and carrots to make saffron/kesariya color of tri color idlies. You can make semolina batter for idlies or can use lentil or rice batter....

  

• Healthy Idlis

  Idlis are steam cooked savory cakes. These healthy and delectable idlis are made with oat, semolina, carrots, yogurt, and raisins, and have been seasoned with mustard seeds and curry leaves. A very dear friend of mine shared this recipe over the phone and advised me to try it. I wasn't very sure how kids will...

  

• Cheese Dosa

  Dosas are fine pancakes of fermented lentil and rice batter. Dosas can be made with different flavors by adding different stuffings, such as - masala dosa, onion dosa , paneer dosa, etc… Cheese dosas are easy to make and loved by kids. My daughter is not a big fan of dosa but when a friend introduced this variation of regular masala dosa...

  

• Rava Uttapam

  Rava Uttapam or semolina uttapam is a very popular South Indian dish. Uttapams are made with fermented batter. These are thick pancakes. Traditionally onions, bell pepper, and tomatoes are added in the batter. Uttapams are served with typical South Indian accompaniments like; Sambhar.....

  

• Masala Dosa

  Dosas are fine pancakes of fermented lentil and rice batter. Dosas can be made with different flavors by adding the stuffings, such as -  masala dosa, onion dosa , paneer dosa... Dosa is served with Sambhar , and a variety of chutneys...

  

• Dose Ka Masala

  This is the most traditional aloo masala for dosas, this filling is commonly called as masalaa for dosa. for masala dosa, boiled potato is cooked with onion and spices to make delicious filling for dosa.....

  

• Tomato Rice

  Tomato Rice is a very popular rice preparation from Southern India. I have eaten so many different versions of Tomato Rice at my friends ... This is an easy to follow recipe for delicious Tomato Rice . I have used homegrown Heirloom variety of tomatoes but you can follow the same recipe for any variety of tomato you get in your part of world...

  

• Tamarind Rice

  In North India we do make different kinds of rice delicacies such as mangaudi ki tahri, badi ke chawal, pulavs, vegetable rice etc. My South Indian friends have taught me about a variety of rice preparations such as Bisibele bhaat, dahi chawal, vamingi bhaat, lemon rice, tamarind rice etc......

  

• Curd Rice

  Curd is an Indian word for yogurt. This is a very popular delicacy from South of India. It is a complete dish and makes a very light meal. Curd rice has calcium, protein and carbohydrates in it . Make this very healthy yet delicious dish..

  

• Karela/ Bitter Gourd Thoran

  Thoran is a special Keralite dry dish made from vegetables like cabbage, raw jackfruit, peas, bitter gourd etc. with grated coconuts. Thoran is a Malayali word. In North India these preparations are also known as Fugat. The very first time I came across the word "Fugat" was while exploring a cookbook ...

  

• Rava Upma

  Upma is a very popular south Indian breakfast dish. Upma is made of rava/suji/semolina. Different vegetables can be added to make it more delicious as well as nutritious. It is absolutely low-fat so if you are health conscious, this is the right choice for you.....

  

• Sambhar

  sambhar is a South Indian lentil preparation. It is a delicious and very nutritious dish, as it has, vegetables, lentils, tamarind juice and spices in it. Sambhar is made in different ways in each state of Southern India. It is served with rice, idli, Dosa, Uttapam etc ....

  

• Coconut Chutney

  coconut chutney is a South Indian variety of chutney. This delicious chutney is made with coconut, peanuts (groundnuts) and flavored with green chili, coriander leaves. It is seasoned with mustard seeds and curry leaves. It best goes with idly, dosa, uthappam, upma, etc......

  

• Onion Tomato chutney

  Onion tomato chutney is a variety of South Indian chutney made with cooked onions and tomatoes. I had this chutney in a vegetarian south Indian restaurant in Paris, France. It tasted so good and fresh that I decided to give it a try at home. Ever since I have tried a lot of variations of this chutney....

  

• Malgapodi

  Malgapodi or idli podi, is a spicy South Indian spice mix traditionally served with idlies. In North India malgapodi is often called as idli chutney powder. Malgapodi is also known as gun powder probably because it is a very spicy preparation. In some families malgapodi powder is.....

  

• Paneer65

  Paneer 65 is a very popular appetizer from South India. For this dish, paneer is marinated in a spicy batter and then deep fried. I am not very sure about the origin of the name paneer 65 but can assure you that it is a mouthwatering snack and can be a great finger food ..

  

• Onion Bhajji

  Pyaj ke pakaude (onion fritters) is a very popular deep fried snack. I like to make pakoras for the big parties also, because it is easy to serve and everybody loves pakore. In some parts of India pyaj ke pakores are also known as bhajiya...

  

• Medu Vada

  These are South Indian snacks served usually in breakfast menu. Medu vadas are specific kind of vadas which have a hole in the middle (like American doughnuts). This deep fried lentil preparation is served with Sambar and coconut chutney....

  

• Mirchi Vada

  Mirchi vada (chili cutlet) is a very popular deep fried snack from Rajasthan . Mirchi vada are stuffed with potato filling and then coated with gram flour (besan) paste before frying. It is also called as mirchi bhajii in Southern India.....

  

• Cucumber Chaat

  Cucumber Chaat is a road side chaat from Karnataka. I have learnt this recipe from my friend Ashwini who is from Mysore and often makes this delicious cucumber chaat. Ashwini says that this chaat goes by ‘soutekayi’ which means cucumber in Kannada. This chaat is very easy to make but superb in taste..

  

• Rava Kesari

  Rava Kesari- Rava is a Hindi word for semolina and Kesari is for saffron. As the name shows this is a sweet porridge (halwa) preparation made with semolina and saffron. Rava kesari taste different than North Indian sooji ka halwa. There are different recipes of making semolina halwa ...

  

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