South Indian Food Best 15 Dishes Easy To Recipes

South Indian food Recipes: Here is a collection of the top 15 south indian recipes, including chicken chettinad, masala dosa, meen murringakka curry, chicken stew with appams, Hyderabadi biryani, and many more. Each dish includes a list of essential ingredients and instructions on how to prepare it

 

 

The best regional south Indian dishes are listed below for you to try at home.

 

South Indian food Best Recipes : There’s no denying that South Indian food is a feast for the senses, what with the sound of sputtering mustard seeds, the flavour of piping-hot sambar cooked with fresh tamarind, and the touch of feather-light, delicate idlis. Chutney and dosas are but a taste of South India’s vibrant, varied, and utterly fascinating gastronomic adventure. The south of India is very dissimilar from the north due to its five states, two union territories, rocky plateau, river valleys, and coastal plains. It goes without saying that the cuisines of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh are unique and reflect their histories and cultures.

 

 

Before we go into the specifics, such as ingredients and cooking methods, let’s discuss some characteristics that are typical of people who reside in the South. First of all, most people use their right hand for eating while saving their left for drinking water. It tastes great to lick the curry off your finger, too! Their preferred grain is rice, and daals and lentils are equally significant. All South Indian states share a dish called sambhar, which is cooked with lentil, tamarind, and buttermilk, though each region may have its own version.

 

Yogurt is frequently served, while pickles and Pappadams are always offered on the side. One of the most crucial elements, coconut is used either dried, desiccated, or in its natural state. Moreover, coconut oil is used for some of the cooking. The phrase “the country of spices” refers to the southern region of India, and for good cause. The list of spices includes cinnamon, cardamom, cumin, nutmeg, mustard, curry leaves, and more.

Karnataka(South Indian food )

Karnataka’s cuisine is as varied as it gets, with dishes like the crisp masala dosai from Udupi and the fiery pig curry from Coorg. The Gaati Mensu, or dried coconut and chiles, are a staple of Mangalorean cuisine. Popular vegetarian foods include Bisi Bele Bhath, Halu Payasa (Kheer), Dosai, Patrode, Halbai, and Uppittu (Upma). While the coast of Karnataka is known for its moderately spiced seafood, Coorg is known for its hot hog curries.

 

Telangana(South Indian food )

Contrary to popular assumption, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh’s cuisines are not comparable and have never been. Millets, seasonal greens, lentils, cumin, and ginger are ingredients that are frequently utilised in Telangana residents’ meals. The most well-liked foods include nalli massam, tamarind rice, egg pulusu (egg curry), and pulihora.

 

Andhra Pradesh(South Indian food )

The food from Andhra is the spicier of all South Indian cuisines, and it may leave you breathless and gasping for oxygen. Despite sharing many similarities with Tamil Nadu and Karnataka cuisines, Hyderabadi food has its own distinct flavour. You’ll fall into a trance eating nawaabi kebabs, saffron-scented biryani, creamy haleem, and flaky keema.

 

The Guntur red chilli is the chilli that is most frequently used in Andhra cuisine. Ragi is commonly used in the Rayalaseema region, coupled with jaggery, shallots, and fenugreek paste. The coastal region makes extensive use of seafood in curry dishes, which are typically served with rice. Some of the cherished items of the opulent Andhra non-vegetarian meal include Gongura maas (lamb curry cooked with gongura leaves) and Chepalapulusu (fish curry).

 

Karala (South Indian food )

 No introduction is necessary for Keralan cuisine. It offers an intelligent combination of powerful fragrant spices and is straightforward, spicy, and flavorful. In contrast to its neighbouring states, Kerala’s cuisine is primarily non-vegetarian. You can choose from a wide variety of meats, including chicken, mutton, hog, and cattle, as well as mussels, crab, tiger prawns, king prawns, tiny prawns, oysters, sardines, mackerel, tuna, and magnificent red lobsters. Spices like pepper, cumin, chilies, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and turmeric are frequently used in Keralan cooking. There is also a lot of use of coconut, tamarind, unripe mango, lime juice, vinegar, and curd.

The cuisine from Kerala doesn’t utilise a lot of spices, but the inventive cooking methods used to prepare dishes like Kerala fish curry, pomfret moilee, soft and fluffy appams with stew, Puttu and Kadala curry, Kerala beef fry, and chemmeen theeyal (prawn curry) make it taste absolutely delicious.

Tamil Nadu(South Indian food )

Tamil Nadu cuisine is mildly spicy, primarily vegetarian, and light—but incredibly delicious. With the exception of Chettinad food, which stands at the top of the list, this is true. It’s also well renowned for having a high level of spice, albeit pepper-based spice rather than chilli-based spice. It also boasts of robust regional spices like tamarind, star anise, kalpasi (stone flower), and maratti mokku (dried flower pods), as well as freshly ground spices like cumin, fenugreek, fennel, clove, bay leaf, and tamarind.

 

Regular ingredients include meats, fish, veggies, cereals, and fermented rice. Tamil cuisine features a range of seafood because the country has a vast coastline, including fish, crabs, lobsters, and fresh prawns.

 

After giving you a brief overview of the five main cuisines, it’s time to delve deeper and find 13 enduring, potent, and delectable gems from each. All of them are simply amazing and are guaranteed to make your heart race. Some of them are simple, others of them aren’t.

 

These 15 delectable South Indian recipes are ones that you must prepare at home.

 

1.Pongal(South Indian food )

A common rice meal in South India is pongal, also known as huggi. Pongal is a Tamil word that means “to boil” or “bubbling up.” Pongali is a rice dish made with boiled milk and sugar that is popular in Telugu and Kannada. The name Huggi comes from the Old Kannada word Puggi, which means “bubbled up or swelled.“

Chakarai pongal, which is sweet, and venn pongal, which is produced from clarified butter, are the two types of pongal. The term “pongal” typically refers to spicy venn pongal, a popular breakfast dish. The Pongal festival is when chakarai pongal is prepared.

 

 

Sweet pongal, also known as chakarai pongal or chakkara pongali, is frequently cooked in temples as prasadam (an offering made to a deity). This style of pongal is prepared during the Sankranthi festival in Andhra Pradesh and the Pongal festival in Tamil Nadu. Mung bean, coconut, and rice are examples of possible ingredients. Chakarai Pongal is frequently sweetened with jaggery, which gives the pongal a brown tint, however white sugar can be be used in its place.

2. Malabar Parota(South Indian food )

The subcontinental flatbread Parotta or Porotta (Parathas), often known as a flaky ribbon pancake, is made from maida or atta. In addition to being readily accessible in states like Karnataka and Maharashtra, as well as nations like Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, and Sri Lanka, it is highly popular in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

 

In Kozhikode, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, porottas are frequently sold as street food and in restaurants. It is additionally offered at some locations’ weddings, religious celebrations, and feasts.

Maida/wheat flour, oil or ghee, water, and an egg (in some recipes) are combined to make it. Similar to how puff pastry is laminated, the dough is stretched into thin layers and thinly layered. The laminated layers of this dough are then maintained while it is folded and rolled into a circular form. These layers become flaky, crispy, and moist on the inside when they are fried on a hot griddle.

 

With vegetable kurma/korma, chicken, fish, mutton, or beef curry, porottas/parathas are frequently consumed. Together with yoghurt or raita, they are frequently served packed with vegetables like potatoes or radish. Parottas are used to make kothu parotta and chilli parotta.

3. Dry Mango Kuzhambu(South Indian food )

 

This summery delicacy is a delectable tangy curry packed with the goodness of mango and tamarind, which you must not miss. This delicious and satisfying dish goes well with rice or idlis.

 

Ingredients of Dry Mango Kuzhambu

• Ingredients
• 12-14 dried mangoes-bits
• tamarind-gooseberry shaped ball
• salt- to taste
• 1 pinch of asafoetida
• 1tsp of sambhar powder
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• To Roast and Grind
• 2tsp of coriander seeds
• 3 red chilly
• 2tsp of tur dal
• 2tsp of channa dal
• 2tsp of urad dal
• 1tsp of Black pepper- 1tsp Cumin/Jeera- 1/2tsp
• To Temper
• 1tsp of mustard seeds
• 1tsp of urad dal
• 1 sprig of curry Leaves
• 1/2 tsp of oil

 

 4.Puttu(South Indian food )

The South Indian states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and portions of Karnataka, as well as Sri Lanka, all consume puttu for breakfast. Puttu is the Tamil and Malayalam word for “portioned.” It is a meal made of coconut shavings placed between steamed cylindrical shapes of pounded rice, occasionally with a sweet or savoury filling. Puttu is served hot with savoury curries such dal, chickpea, mutton, fish, chicken, or beef, or with sweet side dishes like palm sugar or banana.

 

Puttu’s main ingredients are grated coconut, roughly pounded rice, a little salt, and water. While different spices may be used, cumin is frequently used as a spice. The Bhatkal recipes have plain coconut or masala varieties made with mutton or shrimp-flavored shredded coconut, whilst the Sri Lankan variation is typically made with wheat flour or red rice flour without cumin.

 

The interior in Bangladesh is made of a combination of coconut flakes and a caramelised sugar that is comparable to dulce de leche, while the exterior is made of a mixture of rice flour and crushed moong dal.

 

5.Appam(South Indian food )

Kerala, Sri Lanka, and Tamil Nadu are popular places to eat appam, a sort of pancake with South Indian origins that is created with fermented rice batter and coconut milk. Most often, people eat it for breakfast or dinner. Thin pancakes in the form of bowls called plain appam or vella appam are produced from fermented rice flour.

The little appachatti (appam-pan) in which they are prepared gives them their form. They are served with curries such as Kerala-style chicken curry, Kerala-style chickpea curry, and others. They are quite good and neither very sweet nor overly savoury. The batter for these pancakes is composed of rice, yeast, salt, and a little sugar. The mixture can be cooked in the appachatti with a little coconut oil after it has been allowed to stand for a few hours.

 

6.Vada (South Indian food )

Indian savoury fried appetisers are referred to as vada. Vadas come in several varieties that can be categorised as fritters, cutlets, doughnuts, or dumplings. This dish is also known as wada, vade, vadai, wadeh, and bara.

 

Vadas are made using beans. After being soaked in water, the lentils (dal) are ground into a batter. After that, other seasonings are added to the batter, such as cumin seeds, onion, curry leaves (which are occasionally sautéed first), salt, chilli powder, or black pepper grains.

 

In order to improve fermentation for big batches and boost the fluffy texture, ginger and baking soda are frequently added to seasoning in stores. After shaping the mixture, it is deep-fried to produce vadas with a crispy exterior and a fluffy interior. These are frequently referred to as the southern savoury donuts.

 

7.Idli (South Indian food )

Idli, also known as an idly, is a sort of savoury rice cake that is native to the Indian subcontinent and is widely consumed as morning fare in Sri Lanka and Southern India. A batter comprised of fermented rice and black lentils is steamed to create the cakes.

 

Each region traditionally has its unique version, which is typically served with coconut chutney and sambar (a spiced lentil stew). Button, tatte, sanna, rava, and masala idlis are a few examples of innovative modern varieties.

 

8.Dosa(South Indian food )

The two main grains consumed by Indians are rice and wheat, with rice taking the top spot. Unlike any other civilization in the world, Indians have taken this simple grain and created a variety of sweet and savoury meals using it. The little dosa is a tribute to the nation’s residents’ unending love for rice.

The dosa, a fermented rice and lentil crepe breakfast dish, is a perennial favourite in South India. It is frequently served with a side of spiced-up mashed potatoes, the lentil stew known as sambar, and coconut chutney. It is typically poured into a thin, crispy crepe.

9.Coconut Rice(South Indian food )

Rice that has been cooked with coconut flakes or white rice that has been soaked in coconut milk is known as “coconut rice.” Although the coconut and the rice plant are both frequently found in the tropics all over the world, coconut rice is also widespread in many civilizations, and it may be found from the Indian subcontinent to Southeast Asia, South America, Central America, East Africa, West Africa, the Caribbean, and Oceania.

 

In India, the southern areas are famed for their coconut rice. Short-grain rice is typically used to make coconut rice, which is frequently eaten with curries and has a faint coconut taste from coconut milk. It can also be made with grated, desiccated, or dried coconut (or coconut flakes).

 

Making the rice separately and cooking it until it is light and fluffy before mixing it with the toasted coconut mixture—coconut flakes seasoned with paprika, almonds, curry powder/leaves, and other ingredients—is one technique to prepare this dish.

 

10.Sambar(South Indian food )

K.T. Achaya, a cuisine historian, claims that the 17th century is when sambar was first mentioned in writing. The Tamil word champaaram is the ancestor of the word sambar. Champaaram was most likely used to refer to a plate of rice served alongside other rice dishes or to the spices used to prepare a dish of vegetable rice, according to a Tamil inscription dated 1530 CE.

 

It is a lentil-based curry that is prepared with a variety of summer vegetables, including carrots, beans, gourds, potatoes, drumsticks, and many others.

 

Every state in southern India has its own sambar and is proud of the wide varieties served there. One of the most adaptable curries available, it can be served as a side dish for any of the three daily meals.

 

11. Thoran(South Indian food )

 

A vegetable stir-fry prepared in the style of south India is known as a “poriyal” or “thoran” and is frequently spiced with lentils, mustard, red pepper, and curry leaf. In this instance, it alludes to the well-known dish from southern India that consists of tender beans and fresh carrots stir-fried with freshly grated coconut and a tempering of curry leaf, mustard, and red chile.

 

 

12. Kozhikodan Biryani(South Indian food )

One of the oldest cities in India is Kozhikode, often known as Calicut. Kozhikodan Biryani is another one of Calicut’s most popular cuisines. This flavorful and delectable dish of rice cooked with chicken and a variety of spices must be tried.

 

13.Mutton Vadai (South Indian food )

 This vadai recipe uses minced mutton (keema) and a variety of spices, which are then fried till perfectly golden. Chutney is recommended when eating this.

 

14.Kerala Prawn Curry(South Indian food )

 prawns cooked in a coconut curry that are juicy. This Malabar curry will definitely blow your mind! You will understand what we mean if you serve this excellent curry with hot, steaming rice.

 

15. Chicken Ishtu(South Indian food )

Kerala-style chicken stew is a classic cuisine from the Indian state of Kerala. It is a very light yet delectable chicken curry that is cooked in coconut milk with mild spices. It is typically prepared in Kerala’s Syrian Catholic population and served as a breakfast staple alongside rice hoppers (pancakes)

Together, cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves produce a flavour that is both sweet and aromatic. Here, the preferred veggies are potatoes, beans, and carrots, which give the meal bulk and a variety of textures.

 

Also called as nadan chicken ishtu, this dish is customarily prepared with coconut oil, which raises the whole flavour to a completely new level.

 

 

 

 

By effectively integrating all facets of culinary science and skills in cooking, South Indian food have today greatly expanded in appeal, not just in India but on a global scale as well. They are incredibly flexible in terms of flavour, taste, nutrition, and variety. Home cooks can get creative and experimental with the recipes thanks to the variety of spices and condiments and imaginative mindset that South Indian cuisine offers. You’ll discover that experimenting with basic foods and flavours is a simple way to change up your typical supper menu.

Writing for Republic hindustani.

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