Mouthwatering eats from the South. Review on Tips on South Indian Tiffins

Hi,

A topic close to my heart(or rather, my stomach!) - Food.

Travel to any City/town/village in south India, go to a restaurant in the morning and ask, 'Whats available?'.

You would get the same answer - Idly, Dosa, Vada, Poori.

You can many varieties of these items, thus making up a page of a menu card.

Idly: This widely-acclaimed is also the most preferred. Soft, white and fluffy, it is made of rice flour and is soft on your stomach. It is therefore ideal food even for patients with severe disease. Chtney, Sambhar are the common accompaniments.

Dosa: This tiffin provides much of the variety in the menu. Plain dosa, masala dosa, rava dosa etc are common varieties. The batter is roasted on a hot iron/stone slab in a thin round form with some oil or ghee. Potato curry is used as a filling in the masala dosa. Again, chutney and sambhar usually accompany the dosa.

Vada: The'tiffin with a hole' as somebody pointed out is a sort of pancake that is deep fried in oil. Good Vadas are large and do not contain much oil. varity may be had by pouring steaming hot sambhar onto it.

Poori: This common tiffin is also widely made in the northern part of India. Although not as familiar as the dosa, the poori is an integral part of the menu and provides the much needed change. Potato curry in a gravy form, called'sagoo', is a favourite of many people.

Each city has a place where one or more items listed above are especially famous. Vidyardhi Bhavan in Bangalore, for example, is famous for dosas. MTR Dosa, a recent introduction, is a vegetable-stuffed dosa that has a very different taste.

Whatever the name, these tiffins have been an integral part of the south indian food inventory and would definitely continue, seeing their popularity. A roadside'dhabha', in the Punjab, I am told, is known for idlis and Dosas!

Regards

Sridhar