South Indian Recipes
DOSA
Dosa is one of the most admired South Indian dish. Dosa is a kind of fried pancake made from split Urad Dal and rice batter.
Rice and dal are soaked into water and blended into fine pastes. These pastes are mixed and salt is added into it before leaving it for fermentation. Ferment overnight or for a day. For making crispy dosas take a laddle of batter and spread it on hot greased skillet into a thin circle and fried with oil or ghee until golden brown. The dosa may then be folded in half and served. Dosa can be eaten plain or with some stuffing inside. For making stuffed dosa or masala dosa prepare the stuffing separately and fill in the centre and close the dosa. Though cooked potatoes are common stuffing, paneer and other vegetables are also used. Now days many different versions of dosas have emerged like rava dosa which is lighter and easy to cook. Dosas are served hot with sambhar and coconut chutney.
IDLI
Idli is another culinary delight from South India which is savored by all food lovers of the country.
Idli, the steamed rice cake is more like steamed dumplings. It is made by steaming batter, traditionally made from pulses and rice. Rice and pulses are soaked into water and ground to a paste which is fermented overnight or until double in its volume. The fermented batter is put into greased idli mold and steamed until done. Idli molds are perforated that allow the idlis to be cooked evenly. Idlis can be steamed into cooker or idli maker. Some new quicker recipes are also gaining popularity now days like, wheat idli and rava idli, which do not need long fermentation time and as tasty as original one.
VADA
Vada is originally a dish from South Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka but now it is popular all over the country. It is a kind of snacks which is cooked with many different recipes and ingredients.
The regular vada is made from smooth urad dal batter. To add the flavor to batter ginger, chillies, curry leaves and spices are added. The batter is pressed to the shape of vada and deep fried in oil till golden brown. It can be served with coconut chutney and/or sambhar.
SAMBHAR
Sambhar is a staple dish of South Indians, and made with a combination of arhar dal (yellow lentil), tamarind, spices and vegetables.
Sambhar is taken with many South Indian dishes like dosa, idli, vada, uttapam and rice etc. It is favorably consumed all over the country due to its distinct flavor and rich aroma. Lentil is cooked until it is crumbling. Tamarind is dipped into the water and pulp is obtained from the soaked tamarind. This pulp is later added to cooked dal soup. A special mixture of ground spices known as sambar powder is added to lentil soup to provide it its distinct taste and flavor. The common spices used for sambhar masala include coriander seeds, chillies, methi Seeds, dried red chillies, roasted lentils, etc. Vegetables of choice and spices such as turmeric and chilli powder are also added into soup. The typical vegetables include okra, drumstick, carrot, radish, pumpkin, tomatoes, and whole or halved shallots or onions, but many different vegetables can also be used. The lentil and vegetable stew is heated until the vegetables are cooked. The cooked sambhar is sautéed with an oil-fried spice mixture containing items like mustard seeds, urad dal, dried red chillies, curry leaves, fenugreek seeds, coriander seeds, and asafetida. Curry leaves are an essential ingredient of traditional sambhar.
NARIYAL (Coconut) CHUTNEY
Nariyal chutney is an essential element of all popular South Indian plates. This mild chutney combines well with spicy sambhar, crispy dosa, soft idlis, snacy vadas, and uttapams as well.
The delicious coconut chutney is as quick to make as tasty to eat. Both the fresh or dried (soaked) coconut can be used for making chutney. Coconut is grinded along with piece of ginger, green chillies, roasted gram to a fine paste using a little water. The other spices such as mustard seeds, asafoetida powder, dried red chillies, and curry leaves are sautéed into oil and mixed with grinded chutney. Yogurt can also be added to the chutney. Salt is added at the end.
Popular South Indian Sweet Recipe
MYSORE PAK
Mysore Pak is famous South Indian sweet which is fond by all sweet lovers across the country. It is made with gram flour. Gram flour is roasted in ghee till it releases an aroma and then a sweet syrup (made with sugar and water) is added to it. The mixture is boiled till the ghee begins to separate. The cooked mixture is poured on a greased plate and cut into desired shape and allows to cool.
