Andhra Food
Ravva Dosa served at a Hotel in Guntur.
Described as the spiciest of these four states' cuisines, there is a generous use of chilli powder (Guntur), oil and tamarind. The most famous food items are:
Vegetarian: pesarattu, pulihora (or pulihaara), Gongura, avakkai (cut raw mango) pickle.
Non-vegetarian: Kodi iguru( chicken stew), Kodi pulusu(chicken gravy), Chepa pulusu (fish stew) etc.,
Hyderabadi Biryani
The cuisine has a great variety of dishes, with the majority being vegetable or lentil based. Another factor to remember is that Hyderabad, being the capital of Andhra Pradesh, has its own characteristic cuisine considerably different from other Andhra cuisines. The Nawabs patronised the Hyderabadi cuisine, which is very much like the Lucknowi cuisine of the Avadh. The only difference is that the Nawabs of Hyderabad liked their food to be spicier, so was born the Hyderabadi cuisine which included the Kacche Gosht ki Biryani and the Dum ka Murgh, Baghare Baingan and Achaari Subzi during the reign of the Nawabs.
Karnataka Food
Lunch from Karnataka served on a plantain leaf.
North Karnataka meal
Described as the mildest (in terms of spice content) of these four states' cuisines, there is a generous use of palm sugar or brown sugar and sparingly used chilli powder. Since the percentage of vegetarians in Karnataka is very high compared to the other states, vegetarian food is enjoyed by almost everyone for all meals of the day. Udupi cuisine forms an integral part of Karnataka cuisine. Some typical dishes include Masala Dosa, Bisi bele bath, Ragi rotti, Akki rotti, Anna Saaru, Vangi Bath, Khara Bath, Kesari Bath, Davanagere Benne Dosa, Ragi mudde,Avare Kal Saaru and Uppittu.The famous Masala Dosa traces its origin to Udupi cuisine. Plain and Rave Idli, Mysore Masala Dosa and Maddur Vade are popular in South Karnataka. Coorg district is famous for spicy varieties of pork curries while coastal Karnataka boasts of many tasty sea food specialities. Among sweets, Obbattu/Holige, Mysore Pak, Dharwad pedha, Pheni, Chiroti are well known.
Kerala Food
Spicy fish from Kerala.
Kerala cuisine is quite diverse. The diversity is best classified on the basis of the various communities. The Hindus, especially the Namboodris and Nairs have a predominantly vegetarian cuisine, whilst the Christian and the Muslim communities have a largely non-vegetarian cuisine. Since Kerala's main export is coconuts, almost all of the dishes, irrespective of the variety in the cuisines of the different communities, have coconuts associated with them, either in the form of shavings or oil extracted from the nut. Seafood is also very popular in the coastal regions and eaten almost every day.
Vegetarian: olan, paalpradaman, nendarangai chips, aviyal, erucherri, sambar, rasam, kalan
Non-vegetarian: shrimp coconut curry, fish curry (various versions depending on the region), fish fry, kerala beef fry, chicken fry with shredded coconuts etc
Typical Indian masala dosa (Kerala style): It is a combination of shredded cooked and fried vegetables with Indian sauce and a lot of spices as the basic stuffing, enveloped by a thick brown dosa made out of a dal and rice batter. To add to this unique preparation it is served with hot sambhar and coconut chutney.
Tamil Food
The Tamil cuisine or the Tamil food is often served in a marriage function or any festival/auspicious occasion. This meal consists of nearly 20 or so items, including the side dishes such as curry, appalam, pickle. A typical meal consists of many spicy/non-spicy dishes and is predominantly vegetarian. Many of these dishes are typically mixed and eaten with steamed rice, which is the staple food of the region.
Tamil cuisine groups dishes under four slightly overlapping categories. First are the dishes that necessarily are mixed with rice; various Kuzhambu, Sambhar, Paruppu, Rasam, Thayir, Kadaiyals and the likes belong to this category. The second are the side dishes that accompany such mixture; Kootu, Kari, Poriyal, Pickles, Papads fall into this category. Third are the short snacks and their accompaniants; vadai, chips, bonda, bajji, soups, various chutneys, thayir pachadi and the likes belong to this category. Fourh category is usually the rich, sweet dishes that serve as desserts; Payasam, Gheer, Kesari and plethora of Indian sweets belongs to this category.
An everyday Tamil meal consists of at least three to four courses, with steamed rice serving as staple: The food usually starts with some paruppu (steamed, mashed lentils in a gravy) and ghee; this mix is eaten with rice and serves as an appetizer. The second to follow would be a kuzhambu or sambhar; mixed with rice, this usually is the main course. On leisure/festive days, there would be a least two such main courses with one Kuzhambu (Puli Kuzhambu, Vatha Kuzhambu and the likes) variety and one Sambhar variety. Third to follow will be the Rasam; again, mixed with rice, one usually eats this accompanied by crisps. The last of the courses will invariably be rice with curd or yoghurd; this is usually taken along with pickles. All along, the side dishes are served and are eaten with the courses, depending upon one's taste/choice; sides dishes are constantly replenished during any meal. As a last course or as a last before course, the desserts are served. Finally retires to living room and concludes the meal with banana and freshly made paan consisting of betel leaves, betel nuts and lime. paan is considered a digestion aid.
The situation is similar with Tamil non-vegetarian meal, except that the first and second courses are usually replaced by various Biryanis and non-vegetarian gravies.
In either case, a typical meal (Lunch or Dinner) will be served on banana leaf. Meals are often accompanied by various pickles and appalams.
Vegetarian: idli, sambar, vadai, rasam,dosa, thayir sadam (yogurt rice), thayir vadai (yogurt-soaked fritters), kootu/kari (vegetables in wet style), poriyal (vegetables in dry style), murukku, uthappam, idiappam, appalam (deep fried lentil-flour crisps) and papadum (baked lentil-flour crips), freshly made thayir pachidi (yogurt mixed with fresh vegetables).
Non-vegetarian: karuvattu kuzhambu (salted, dried fish in wet sauce), chettinad pepper chicken, Fish Fry
Food is generally classified into six tastes - sweet, sour, salt, bitter, pungent and astringent and traditional Tamil cuisine recommends that you include all of these six tastes in each main meal you eat. Each taste has a balancing ability and including some of each provides complete nutrition, minimizes cravings and balances the appetite and digestion.
Sweet (Milk, butter, sweet cream, wheat, ghee (clarified butter), rice, honey) Sour (Limes and lemons, citrus fruits, yogurt, mango, tamarind) Salty (Salt or pickles) Bitter (Bitter gourd, greens of many kinds, turmeric, fenugreek) Pungent (Chili peppers, ginger, black pepper, clove, mustard) Astringent (Beans, lentils, turmeric, vegetables like cauliflower and cabbage, cilantro)
Chettinad cuisine is famous for its use of a variety of spices used in preparing mainly non-vegetarian food. The dishes are hot and pungent with fresh ground masalas, and topped with a boiled egg that is usually considered essential part of a meal. They also use a variety of sun dried meats and salted vegetables, reflecting the dry environment of the region. The meat is restricted to fish, prawn, lobster, crab, chicken and mutton. Chettiars do not eat beef and pork.
Most of the dishes are eaten with rice and rice based accompaniments such as dosais, appams, idiyappams, adais and idlis. The Chettinad people through their mercantile contacts with Burma, learnt to prepare a type of rice pudding made with sticky red rice.
Chettinad cuisine offers a variety of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. Some of the popular vegetarian dishes include idiyappam, paniyaram, vellai paniyaram, karuppatti paniyaram, paal paniyaram, kuzhi paniyaram, kozhakattai, masala paniyaram, adikoozh, kandharappam, seeyam, masala seeyam, kavuni arisi and athirasam.
