Tamil Nadu Cuisine

Introduction of Tamil Nadu Cuisine

• Tamil cuisine is a cuisine native to the Tamil people who are native to the Indian
state of Tamil Nadu and parts of Sri Lanka, notably the North and Eastern
regions
• It is also the cuisine of the Tamil-speaking population of Karnataka, Kerala and
Andhra Pradesh in India and of the Tamil communities of Singapore, Malaysia,
and Indonesia.
• It is mainly Characterized by the use of rice, legumes and lentils, its distinct
aroma and flavor achieved by the blending of spices including curry leaves,
tamarind, coriander, ginger, garlic, chili. Pepper, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom,
cumin, nutmeg, coconut and rosewater.
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Features of The Cuisine

• Coconut oil as the medium of cooking. Gingelly oil or sesame seed
oil is used for finishing some dishes.
• Rice is the staple diet of Tamil Nadu. Parboiled rice is eaten for its
high nutritive value and this dominates in all the dishes starting
from appetizers to desserts.
• Arhar dal, urad dal and chana dal are commonly used lentils.
• Rice is the usually combined with the lentils to make various
dishes like idlis, dosas, vadas, uttapams.
• Coconut, Tamarind and asafetida are must for almost all vegertian
recipes.
Tamil Meal Design
• Breakfast or tiffin includes idli, dosa, vada, pongal,
uppuma.

• Lunch or meals consist of cooked rice served with an

array of vegetables dishes, sambar, chutney, rasam (a
hot broth madwith tamarind juice and pepper) and
curd.

• Dinner, Tamilians eat uthappam, dosa, idli or simply

rice kanji( gruel), They also have milk before going to
bed.
Specialities of Tamil Nadu Cuisine
• Koozh : Porridge, also called kanji (rice congee). It is made from
cereals.
• Kootu: a stew of vegetables or greens, usually made with lentils
and spices which makes for a side dish for meal concocting of rice,
sambhar and rasam.
• Aviyal: A stew of vegetables with fresh coconut and coconut oil
which makes for a side dish for a meal consisting of rice, sambhar,
rasam and equally for dishes like adai and thosai. In hotels it is an
evening specialty food and advertised as Adai Aviayal.
• Puttu: Steamed Layered Cylindrical Cakes Made with flour: usually
rice flour is used but any miller flour can be used, The flour is
sparsely mixed with water and packed into puttu cylinder and
steamed. The flour is usually layered with grated coconut.
Tamil Feast: Virundhu Sappadu
• During a Virundhu Sappadu, the feastly meal, the
guests sits on a mat and the meal is served on a
banna leaf which is spread in front of the guests.
• The dishes are served in a particular order, and each
dish has its own specific spot on the leaf. Everyone
starts together and ends the meal together.
• The top half of the banana leaf is for the side dishes
and the bottom part is for the main dish. Payasam,
Kesari, Sweet Pongal or any Dessert also occupies a
portion of the bottom part. The top left includes a
pinch of salt, a dash of pickle and a spoon of salad, a
spoon of pachadi. In the middle of the leaf there may
be a banana chips, potato chips and fried papads
and a vadai.
• Traditionally, sweets are eaten first. Sambar (there are so many different types
of sambar that you just have to visit this link to know what I mean) rice is eaten
first with a spoon of ghee. This is followed by Kuzhambu and then Rasam.
Finally rice with curd or buttermilk is eaten at the end of the meal. In the end,
the meal is complete with a banana.
Equipment's:
• DOSA THIRUPPI: A flat slicer used for scraping dosa off the hot
plate and also used for spreading oil.
•  KAL CHATTI: It is a stoneware used for preparing tempering
• THURUVAMMAI: Used as a coconut scraper and as a vegetable
chopper. This is used in some households to cut fish or meat.
• IDLI PANAI: This vessel is used for making idlis, and is available in
different sizes depending on the number of plates used.
• ADDAIKAL: it is a thick tawa as compared to the dosa tawa
usually used for cooking addai and hence the name.
• URULI: Heavy pot that is used for cooking sambhar, vegetables
and meat. Available is different range of sizes depending on the
quantity of food to be cooked. This is a very beneficial vessel
because the food cooked in this vessel remains hot for a long time.
 Reference
• www.nagarcoilinfo.com

• https://www.awesomecuisine.com/recipes/10025/virundhu-sap
padu-of-tamil-nadu.html

• https://food.ndtv.com/lists/10-best-tamil-recipes-1231500