Tamil Nadu ranks first among the states that still serve traditional food without changing its taste. It can also be said to be the abode of food experts. The smell from the kitchen is enough to savor the taste of the food. That way you can see the signature cuisines of different places in Tamil Nadu.
Podi Dosa and Idli - You don't need to go to AC Restaurants and spend huge money on idli and podi dosa. In the evenings in Chennai, you can enjoy delicious idli and podi dosai at the roadside shops.
Bhaji - Along with chaats in Chennai, Bajji is another popular evening snack. These are prepared by frying bananas, onion, curry chilies, and sweet potatoes in maida flour mixture.
Pani Puri - The small puri types include a few boiled chickpeas and some vegetables including chopped onions with mixer and murukku. Prepared with both sweet and bitter masala water, this dish is available in any corner of India.
Chana Masala - Another food item famous in Chennai is Chana Masala. This is one of the types of snacks made with chickpeas. A special masala curry is cooked for this and Avitha Kadal is also served with it. No matter where you turn in Chennai, you can find a Chana masala shop.
Chennai Kulfi - In Chennai, there are people who stay up late to taste kulfi only at midnight. We cant find anyone, who is not mesmerized by the taste of kulfi.
Bombay Lassi - There is a Bombay Lassi shop near Devi Theatre in Chennai. There is no limit to the taste of Bombay lassi, which is made by adding well-boiled milk, curd, condensed milk, ice cream, sugar, and salt in a mixer and serving it with grated paneer.
Burma Atho Recipes - Lately, Burmese food is popular in Parry's Corner, Chennai. The street here known as Second Beach Line is packed with Atho shops. The business starts at 4:00 pm and till 10:00 pm. Atho, Moyna, Tausa, and Bajo, only four varieties are present in the Burmese cuisine list. The waffle-like baguette is crushed and mixed with banana-stem soup and egg; Others can be eaten with soup.
Tamil Nadu cuisine is incomplete without mentioning idli. The transition from liquid food to solid food is the ideal food for everyone from toddlers to adults. Although idli, which has many health benefits, came to India from Indonesia, Kanchipuram idli is completely different.
Served in Kanchipuram temples since the Pallava period, the specialty of this idli is the ingredients and the method of preparation. Kanchipuram idli is ready by spreading mandarin leaves in a long cylindrical bamboo mold, adding rice, gram flour, cumin, fenugreek, pepper, and other ingredients, and boiling it. Can be eaten with chutney, sambar, etc. It will be very different from regular idli.
Madurai Aayrai Meen (Fish) Kulambu - Aayrai Meen (Fish) Kulambu is the specialty of Madurai. Non-vegetarian restaurants have fish options only during lunch hours. But in some restaurants in Madurai city areas, you can enjoy grilled fish dishes even at night. It is unique to Madurai. No matter how many types of fish you eat, you can't compare to the Aayrai fish Kulambu available in Madurai.
Aayrai fish Kulambu occupies a prominent place in the dishes that visitors to Madurai choose in restaurants. Aayrai fish is brought alive to these restaurants daily. In the village style, tamarind is ground and chilies are ground and other spices are prepared by hand and the fish Kulambu is prepared. Aayrai fish gravy at lunch and idli-ayrai fish gravy combo at night is a foodie's choice.
Madurai Idli - In Madurai, street to street, corner to corner, on trolleys, on platforms, and in front of houses, there is a huge demand for the "hot" Idlis available in the morning, evening, and night. If eaten with sambar, coconut chutney, onion, tomato chutney, coriander, and mint chutney, it tastes delicious. In the past, there were only five types of chutneys only served with idli, and now hundreds of varieties are available in Idli.
Non-vegetarian varieties along with idli are very popular in Madurai. Thalai Kari Idli and Kudal Kulambu Idli are the main dinner staples in major parts of Madurai. Also, Idli is served with Country chicken gravy, mutton gravy, and crab gravy in Madurai Restaurants.
Madurai Jigarthanda - The ingredients for Jigarthanda made in Madurai are the most delicious. A mixture of dumplings, almond resin, seaweed, nannari sorbet and ice cream is transformed into jigartanda.
Virudhunagar Oil or Fried Parotta - Soak the maida flour mixture well in oil and then deep fry it in dry oil and the oil or fried parotta is ready. If you go to the parotta shops in Virudhunagar, you will know what you will feel when you see the crispy outer part and the soft inner part, well fried and bathed in the right amount of oil.
Everyone has had the experience of slathering baked parotta in banana leaves and pouring fragrant salna over it till the mouthful is eaten impatiently.
Erode Pallipalayam Chicken - Erode District Pallipalayam Chicken is an unvaryingly spicy dish that is the traditional handiwork of Kongunadu. They do not add any other spices to this dish except red chillies.
Adding small onions and garlic to these adds more flavor. Although this Chicken dish is now available in most restaurants, its original flavor is only available at Pallipalayam.
The only product made by the Iruttu Kadai is wheat halwa. "Halwa in its purest form" has been offered as standard since then. They are clear that the taste of the Halwa should not change, and they do not even use cashew nuts in the Halwa. They are produced till date only from wheat, sugar and ghee. To this day shop owners feel that adding any new ingredients to Halwa will hinder the true taste of Tirunelveli Halwa.
Apart from this dark shop, there are also traditional shops like Shanti Sweets, Lakshmi Vilas, Chandra Vilas in Tirunelveli that sell delicious Halwa. However, those shop Halwa have a different flavor cant compete with Iruttu Kadai Halwa. The Thamirabarani river water that flows here is said to be the main reason for the taste of this shop's Halwa.
- Ambur Makan Beda : A sweet made from milk.
- Karaikal Gulab Jamun : An easy dessert made with the help of ready-made mix.
- Kovilpatti Kadalaimittai : A sweet made with peanuts and sugar syrup.
- Satankulam Maskot Halwa : A sweet made with wheat, coconut sugar, and cashews.
- Thoothukudi Macaroon : Dessert made by mixing cashews and eggs of the Portuguese based in Thoothukudi.
- Palavanantham Sirini Candy : A type of sweet candy.
- Velliyanai Athirasam (Kachayam) : type of sweet made from a combination of bitter rice, jaggery and ghee.
- Srivilliputhur Palkova : Palkova is obtained by distilling milk.
- Aruppukkottai Karachevu: A snack made with chickpea flour.
- Ooty Varki : A tasty bakery product from Ooty.
- Kallidaikurichi Appalam : A semi-cooked crumb or side dish made from gram flour.
- Ambur Briyani : The recipe followed in Ambur region of Vellore district of Tamil Nadu is known as Ambur Briyani. It is preferred in coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh and parts of Karnataka apart from Tamil Nadu. This Briyani has the same aromatics as the Hyderabadi biryani, but with the addition of tomatoes and a bit of turmeric, it is slightly more yellow than other biryanis.
- Karaikudi Uppukandam : Non-vegetarian food made from dried goat meat.
- Chidambaram Prawn Fry
- Kutralam Naatu Koli Sukkah
- Pudukottai Siru Meen
- Rameswaram Masikaruvadu
- Namakkal Duck Curry
- Dindigul Biryani
- Tiruvannamalai Payasam
- Kumbakonam Degree Coffee
- Pattukottai Masala Milk
- Karaikudi Thenkuzhal
- Manaparai Murukku
- Tiruchendur Panangakandu
- Kollimalai Honey, Pineapple
- Uthukuli Butter
- Valparai Tea
- Kodaikanal Pear
- Neyveli Cashew
- Panruti Jackfruit
- Theni Sugarcane
- Aravankurichi Drumstick
- Otanchatram Brinjal
- Kumbakonam Betel leaf
- Pollachi Coconut
- Thirumangalam Kurumpadu
- Sathyamangalam Banana
- Sirumalai Mountain Banana
- Salem Mango