Indian cuisine has thousands of dishes to offer and same dishes are made in different methods across the country. There is a notion that only idly, dosa, vada and sambar are the staple diet of South India and also that South Indians are mostly vegetarian! If you think so, you are highly mistaken! There are a whole range of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes that are so delicious that you just cannot miss! We tell you what food you should try and explore when you are in the other side of the Vindhyas. 

 

KALLUMAKAI ULARTHU/ MUSSEL FRY

 

Kallumakai ularthu is mussels cooked and stir fried in spices. Mussels are abundantly found in the fresh waters of Kerala and is a very famous dish.

 

KERALA BEEF FRY

 

Everybody knows Mallus love beef and in Kerala their beef fry tastes amazing and is found commonly in most restaurants.

 

KAPPA MEEN CURRY

 

Kappa means tapioca and meen is fish. Keralites make this special dish with cooked tapico which is served with spicy fish curry. It is out of the world amazing and is a must try if you ever visit Kerala!

 

PUTTU WITH BANANA/ WITH KADALA

 

A typical Keralite breakfast dish, puttu is ragi/rice steamed in a cylindrical shape with coconut filling. Ideally, puttu is had with bananas (favorite fruit in Kerala) or with kadala curry meaning a curry made with chickpeas.

 

PULIYODHARAI/ TAMARIND RICE

 

A common lunch recipe in Tamil Nadu, tamarind rice can be found easily available in many restaurants or in road side eateries. The dish is basically, tamarind extract with some fried curry leaves and chillies added to rice. It is best teamed with potato fry.

 

APPAM WITH PAYA/ WITH COCONUT MILK

 

Appam is a fluffy dosa like dish, paired with either paya or coconut milk. Both combinations are delicious! Paya is a curry made with lamb trotters. It is a famous delicacy in Tamil Nadu. Appam with coconut milk and sugar makes for an ideal breakfast dish, when had with paya it makes for a wholesome lunch or dinner too.

 

MANGO PACHADI

 

It is sweet and spicy delicacy that is best had with curd rice. In this dish, raw mangoes are cooked in a jaggery and red chilli sauce and topped with mustard seeds.

 

KOLA URUNDAI KULAMBU

 

A very authentic Chettinad recipe where mutton meat balls are cooked in a mouth watering spicy curry. It is best had with rice or with Idly/Dosa.

 

SWEET/SPICY PANNIYARAM

 

Panniyaram is small balls of cooked rice flour batter. There are two types of Panniyaram, sweet and spicy. The spicy one is cooked with onion, chiilies and fried dal while the sweet one is made with jaggery and elaichi (cardamom).

 

ANDHRA PESARATTU

 

Pesarattu is one of the most commonly eaten breakfasts in Andhra which is served with ginger chutney and upma. It is like a crepe made out of soaked moong dal.

 

GONGURA CHUTNEY

 

A typical Andhra dish, it is famous world over! Made out of Gongura leaves, this chutney is sour and is best had with ghee and rice or can also be had as a side dish for dal rice.

 

JOWAR ROTI

 

Jowar Roti is a very famous dish in Karnataka. It is basically roti made out of rice flour. These are great when accompanied with brinjal and black channa or a spicy powder made of peanuts.