Tamil Nadu cuisine is full of delicacies having south Indian taste but Tamil Nadu’s food is unique and different from other regions of South India like Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka.
Tamil Nadu cuisine is an ocean of delicious dishes. The versatility of Tamil food reflects an incredible meeting of cultures. Tamil food is not just about dosa and vada. There is a big list of Tamil Nadu’s special food.
Here is the list of food of Tamil Nadu-
- Uttapam – Uttapam is a South Indian dish prepared with a batter of rice and lentils, topped with chopped vegetables like onion, tomato, carrot, chili, and corn. Uttapam is served hot with sambar.
- Banana Bonda – Banana Bonda is a sweet snack stuffed with banana. It’s a unique and amazing dish of Tamil Nadu served with a cup of tea.
- Rasam – Rasam is a soup-like dish prepared with tomato, pepper, and cumin seed. This is a famous dish of Tamil Nadu served with rice and can also be served as a soup.
- Dosa – Dosa is not only popular in Tamil Nadu, but is a famous dish in all over India. Dosa is the pancake prepared with a fermented batter of rice and black gram, served with sambar and coconut chutney. There are many varieties of Dosas. Davangere Benne Dosa is prepared with a large amount of butter, Mysore Masala Dosa prepared with spicy potato fillings, Set Dosa is prepared with ragi and rava, and NeerDosa is prepared with soaked rice.
- Murukku – Murukku is a famous snack of Tamil Nadu. This dish is prepared with the batter of rice flour, urad dal with some salt, water, and cumin seeds.
- Sambar – Sambar is a curry dish prepared with lentils and vegetables. This dish is originated in Tamil Nadu, but famous all over India. Sambar is served with rice or various types of Indian flatbreads.
- Coconut Chutney – Coconut Chutney is known by its local name, Uruttu Chammanti in Tamil Nadu. Prepared with grounded coconut, dry red chili, ginger, and mustard seed. Coconut chutney is served with Dosa, Idli, Vada and enhance the flavour of the dish.
- Idli and Vada – Idli is prepared with a mixture of urad dal and rice. On the other hand, Vada is prepared with fermented gram mixed with curry leaf, cumin seed, and mustard seed. Both are eaten with sambar and coconut chutney.
- Lemon Rice – Lemon rice is a unique dish of Tamil Nadu prepared with rice, onions, tomato, curry leaf, red chili, salt, groundnut, and lemon juice. It is served with chutney or vegetable salad.
- Nei Payasam – Nei Payasam is a dessert of rice, jaggery, ghee, cashew nuts, raisins, and a pinch of cardamom powder. This dish is specially prepared on occasions and festivals of Tamil Nadu.
- Poriyal – Poriyal is a sauteed vegetable dish having mustard seed, onion, urad dal, turmeric, dry red chili, spices, and coriander. When garnished with grated coconut and served with sambar, rasam, and tayirsadam gives the best taste.
- Pongal – Pongal can either be sweet or spicy. But in Tamil Nadu, Pongal is made little bit spicy by adding equal proportions of rice and moong dal. It is a healthy dish that provides protein and carbohydrates.
- Paniyaram – Paniyaram is a south Indian dish prepared with the batter of rice and black lentils. It can be spicy, sweet, or savory. Also called as gulittu, gundponglu, ponganalu, guliappa, appe, etc.
- Koozh – Koozh is prepared in a clay pot from Cumbu flour or broken rice. It’s a vegetarian dish but can also be prepared using fish, chicken, and crab. onion, buttermilk, curry leaves, and coriander leaves are added to enhance the flavor. Koozh is served with raw onion, green chili, pickles, and mango spiced with pepper and red chili. This dish is distributed in Mariamman temple across the rural areas of Tamil Nadu.
- Filter Kaapi – Filter Kaapi is the common type of coffee in Tamil Nadu. This coffee is prepared with fresh ground coffee beans, milk, and sugar.
- Sundal – Sundal is the healthy snack of Tamil Nadu prepared using soaked beans, onion, chili, and grated coconut and served as a salad in the evening.
All these are the unique dishes of Tamil Nadu that will make you crazy if you’re a foodie. So, try and get mad over the food of Tamil Nadu.