Dosa bread.
Sambar, a vegetarian curry made with lentils, chickpeas, and tamarind, can be found throughout India. Tamil Nadu housewives often add eggplant, potatoes, pumpkin, beetroot, okra, and grated coconut to their sambar stew. A typical lunch for a local worker usually consists of just a bowl of sambar, a few dried fish, and leftover rice fried with onions, tomatoes, curry leaves, and lime juice.
Diners can enjoy sambar with dosa. Dosa is the most famous dish of the Tamil people. Its distinctive flavor comes from a flour made from ground rice and lentils that is then fermented. Chefs roll out the dough and fry the dosa like the Vietnamese pancake. Diners can choose plain dosa, dosa with masala potato filling, or uttapam – dosa topped with chopped tomatoes, onions, chilies, and cilantro.
The Chettinad region in southern Tamil Nadu has long been renowned for its prosperity. In ancient times, the Chettinad people traveled by ship, trading throughout Southeast Asia, Southern Europe, and West Africa. This wealth and foreign influence manifested in various ways in their culture, such as Chettinad chicken curry. To prepare Chettinad chicken, chefs roast fennel seeds, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, and other spices, then add chicken and roast it together. Once the chicken is lightly roasted, they add water, coconut milk, curry leaves, dried chilies, and peppercorns and simmer for several hours. A piece of Chettinad chicken melts in your mouth, offering a perfect balance of salty, sweet, sour, and spicy flavors. Chettinad chicken is popular not only in India but also in any country with an Indian community.
Tamil Nadu people were among the first Indians to drink coffee, influenced by foreign trade. The coffee beans are ground on the spot, and a cup of Tamil Nadu filter coffee must always be served piping hot to extract the full flavor from each bean. Madurai is famous for its jigarthanda, made from milk, almond resin (or agar), sarsaparilla syrup, and vanilla ice cream. Enjoying a jigarthanda on a summer afternoon is an experience not to be missed.
Those feeling tired should try paruthi paal, dubbed the "Tamil energy drink." Paruthi paal is made from a powder of cottonseed, rice, brown sugar, ginger, and ground cardamom. It's typically mixed with coconut milk. This drink is said to have antioxidant properties, aid digestion, and improve blood circulation.
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