FIVE UNIQUE DISHES TO TRY FROM THE FIVE SOUTH INDIAN STATES

Akila Sharadha
Jul 20, 2020
3 min read

Updated: Aug 3, 2020

“The only thing I like better than talking about food is eating” - John Walters

All of us love food. We Indians have thousands of different dishes to munch on. And one of the most famous cuisines in India is the South Indian cuisine. Many are familiar with South Indian dishes such as dosai, vadai, idli, and sambhar etc. These dishes are mouth-watering but the southern states have a wide variety of delicious cuisines which is unique to each state. Every state has a distinct way of preparing its scrumptious cuisine. The dishes are packed with nutritional values and some might even increase your calories. One can never say no to good food. All the vegetarians take notes as this will be from a vegetarian’s perspective. So, let us go on this appetizing gastronomical journey.

Kavuni Arisi Payasam:

Tamil Nadu is known for its dosai and idli but let us move past these dishes. A unique and delectable dish is the Kavuni Arisi Payasam. Payasam is a sweet dish, which is similar to the kheer. Kavuni Arisi is black sticky rice which is rich in anti-oxidant called anthocyanin. This is a traditional chettinad dish and is made using black sticky rice, water, milk, and cardamom. It is served as a dessert.

Gongura Pachadi:

Andhra Pradesh is known for its spicy food and gongura pachadi or thokku is a little on the spicy side. Gongura is sour spinach or red sorrel leaves. They are rich in Vitamin C and help in reducing cold, cough, and fever. This piquant dish is made using gongura, spices, garlic, oil ,and urad dal. This is a great side dish. Many eat this along with dosai, idli, and rice.

Ugadi Pachadi:

The cuisine of Telangana is similar to Andhra Pradesh. They cook a lot of spicy food. But we are going to see a special sweet dish. This dish is prepared during the Telugu new year which is called Ugadi. It contains an assortment of flavours like salt, spice, sour, sweet, and bitter. It contains salt, neem leaves, pepper powder, mango, tamarind, and jaggery. It symbolically conveys that life is made of happiness, anger, sadness, and disgust. This is a lip-smacking dish that is loved by all in the state. Do give it a try.

Bisi Bele Bath:

This aromatic dish originates from Karnataka.It is also called as Bisi Bele Huli Anna It means a rice dish made out of lentils. It is made using toor dal, rice, ghee, tamarind, asafoetida, curry leaves, and other spices.This dish has a royal history as it was created in the Mysore palace.It contains more than 25 ingredients. It tastes heavenly when it is served hot. One will start licking their fingers after eating this delicious dish.

Chakka Prathaman:

Chakka prathaman or chakka payasam is a traditional sweet dish of Kerala. Chakka means jackfruit, which is the star of this dish. This enticing concoction is made using jack fruit jam, coconut milk, sugar and jaggery. Festivities in Kerala can never be complete without preparing this prathaman. Jack fruit is available abundantly in God’s Own Country and it is also rich in vitamins and minerals. This payasam can be had when it is cold or hot. Now you know what to try when you visit Kerala.

These are some of the popular and special dishes. There are other notable mentions like puttu with kadala curry, aappam and coconut milk, pesarattu, benne dosa, olan, vathakuzhambu, kootu etc. Do try these recipes in this lockdown. Stay Safe.