Best Southindian Cuisines
Best SouthIndian cuisines are Sabar, Rasam and Ven pongal etc, they known for its rich flavors, light textures, and wholesome ingredients. Among its most loved dishes is Idli Sambar, a perfect combination of soft steamed rice cakes served with a tangy and spicy lentil-based stew, below are the famous south india cusines like Sambar, Rasam, Veg pongal and its making.
Sambar – Cooked vegetables, mashed dal, tamarind pulp and sambar powder are mixed together and then simmered for some minutes.
Later a tempering is done of oil (or ghee) with mustard seeds, curry leaves, asafoetida (hing) and dry red chilies. This tempering or tadka is added to sambar.
Together with the basic method of making this dish, there are many other regional variations. Sometimes a ground paste of coconut with spices is added.
The kind of spices and their proportions vary with the regional variations. So no two sambar recipes will taste the same as the ingredients and vegetables used differ and vary.
2. Rasam
1. RASAM – Soak 1 lemon sized tamarind in ½ cup warm water for 20 to 30 mins.
2. Later squeeze the soaked tamarind to a pulp. Strain and keep aside
3. In a dry grinder or coffee grinder, ground 3 teaspoon cumin seeds, 2 teaspoon whole black pepper, and 6 to 7 roughly chopped garlic
4. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil and add 1 teaspoon mustard seeds. add two pinches of asafoetida, 2 to 3 dry red chilies, and 10 to 12 curry leaves.
5. Add ½ cup chopped tomatoes
6.Mix well and add the strained tamarind pulp along with water and salt.Stir and serve rasam hot with steamed rice
Ven Pongal has always been our favorite dish. After having one of the best Ven Pongal at the Tirupati Balaji temple, I have been looking out to make it exactly the same way it was made there.
Pongal is a delicious South Indian porridge like dish that is made with rice and yellow moong lentils. It can be made sweet or savory. Here I share the savory version of Pongal recipe known as Ven Pongal or Khara Pongal laced with the wonderful flavors of cumin, asafoetida, curry leaves, ginger and black pepper. Not to forget the lovely aroma of ghee, in it.
4. Ragi Roti
1.For Ragi Roti Take 2 cups ragi flour and 1 cup whole wheat flour in a parat (large plate) or a large bowl. Also, add 1 teaspoon salt or add as required.
2.Mix with a spoon. After mixing wait for a few minutes till the heat is enough to handle.
3.Then begin to knead when the mixture is still hot. Once you are able to form the dough, then keep on sprinkling warm water bit by bit and knead till you get a soft dough.
4.The dough should be soft. Cover and let the dough rest for 20 minutes.
5.Place the ragi roti on the hot tawa. Keep the flame to high.
5. Idli
Idli is a classic South Indian breakfast made from a fermented batter of rice and urad dal, then steamed into soft, airy, spongy cakes. It’s commonly served with Coconut Chutney and Sambar, and is one of the healthiest and most popular breakfast dishes.
6.Tomato Rice
Tomato Rice, also known as Thakkali Sadam, is a flavorful South Indian rice dish made with rice sautéed in a spiced tomato masala, tempered with mustard seeds, curry leaves, herbs and aromatic spices. Tangy, mildly spicy and comforting, this one-pot meal is a popular choice for lunchboxes and quick meals, best enjoyed with raita or papad.
This recipe is simple and quick. First up, rinse your basmati (or other long grain rice) under water until the water comes out clear. Now soak your rice in fresh water for 20 to 30 minutes, then drain the rice and set it aside.
7. Ribbon Pakoda
Ribbon Pakoda also called as Nada Thenkuzhal, Ola Pakoda or Ribbon Murukku is one of our family favorite snacks. As kids we used to call it oatu pakoda as it sounds catchy.
This is a instant quick version of ribbon pakoda. The other version is by soaking and grinding a batter using raw rice and adding fried gram dal powder which is time consuming so I always stick with this instant Ribbon Pakoda Recipe.Do try it and enjoy. I am sure this will be easy for beginners too.
8. Dal Vada
Dal Vada is made with chana dal. Chana dal are derived from brown chickpeas that have been husked and split. They have a lovely nutty taste and flavor. Chana dal is also known as Bengal gram in english.
So obviously Dal Vada is also called as Chana Dal Vada. It is also known as Parippu Vada in Malayalam and Paruppu Vadai in Tamil. The word parippu or paruppu means lentils.
Aromatics like onions, herbs and spices give a lovely flavor and taste to Dal Vada. No wonder it is a popular and favorite South Indian snack. These are crispy, crunchy, tasty and make for a great tea time snack.
9. Murukku
Murukku is a traditional Indian fried snack typically made from a dough of rice flour and urad dal flour (black gram flour), mixed with water, salt, and spices like chili powder, asafoetida (hing), and sesame seeds or cumin seeds. The dough is then pressed into spiral shapes using a murukku maker.
Key Ingredients
- Rice Flour: Provides the base for the crispy, crunchy texture.
- Urad Dal Flour: Adds protein and a unique flavor.
- Water: To form the dough.
- Salt: For taste.
- Spices: chili powder, asafoetida, cumin
- Butter
10. Corn Pakoda
1. Make coarse mixture of corn, it will give nice crunchy texture.
2. Use fresh and juicy corn to make soft pakodas.
3. Right before frying add 2 Tbsp of hot oil to the mixture, this will add moisture to the pakodas, making them soft from inside.
4. Use boil corn kernels or frozen one. Do not use raw corn.
5. Fry in a hot oil on a medium flame until golden brown.
6. After adding pakodas to the oil, flip only after it turns golden brown from one side. Do not over flip else it will start to split in oil.
