Tamil cuisine
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Tamil cuisine, developed over many centuries by the Tamil people of southern India and Sri Lanka, is characterized by its aroma and flavor, achieved by a blend and combination of spices, including curry leaves, tamarind, coriander, ginger, garlic, chili, pepper, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, cumin, nutmeg, coconut, and even rosewater. Rice is an important constituent of Tamil cuisine, there are a variety of rice preparations, and food items of rice are available for all the meals of the day. Lentils, too, are consumed extensively, either accompanying rice preparations, or in the form of independent food preparations of lentils. Vegetables and dairy products too are essential accompaniments. Traditionally, vegetarian foods predominate the menu, including a variety of sweets and savories. Tamil cuisine is one of the oldest vegetarian culinary heritages in the world.[1] There are a range of non-vegetarian dishes, including sweet water fish and seafood, cooked with traditional Tamil spices and seasoning. The word 'curry' is actually a Tamil word, derived from 'kari' (meaning sauce).
Rice and legumes constitute the staple food of the Tamil people, and to quote Yamuna Devi, author of Lord Krishna's Cuisine, (Penguin Group): "in no other cuisine are rice and legumes used with such creativity" as in Tamil cuisine. Tamil dishes are well balanced nutritionally and are a rich in carbohydrates and fiber while being low in fat.
Even today Tamil food is prepared in almost the same way as it was prepared centuries ago, and on special occasions served on banana leaves in a traditional style and ambience.
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[edit] Commonly consumed items
Rice, the major staple food of most of the Tamil people, is usually steamed and served with about two to six accompanying items, which typically include sambar, dry curry, rasam, kootu and thayir (curd) or moru (whey or buttermilk). Lighter meals usually include one or more of Pongal, Dosai, Chapati, idli, Sevai or Vadai, (there are 2 kinds - methuvadai and paruppuvadai), which are often served for breakfast or as an evening snack.
Coffee is a popular beverage. Another popular beverage is strongly brewed tea found in the thousands of small tea stalls across the state of Tamil Nadu, and adjoining areas.
Clarified butter Ghee called neyyi is used to flavor the rice when eaten with dhal or sambar, but not with curds or buttermilk. Morkulambu a dish which can be spicy with moru is also popular with steamed rice.
Other snack items include murukku, seedai, bajji, mixture, sevu, and pakoda which are typically savory items.
[edit] Regional
Over a period of time, each geographical area where Tamil people have been traditionally residing has developed its own distinct variant of the common dishes and also a few dishes native to itself. The Chettinad region comprising of Karaikudi and adjoining areas is known for both traditional vegetarian dishes like appam, uthappam, paal paniyaram and non-vegetarian dishes, made primarily using chicken. Chettinad cuisine is now popular even in non-Tamil speaking areas as well. Madurai and the other southern districts of Tamil Nadu are known for non-vegetarian food made of goat meat, chicken and fish. Parota made with maida or all-purpose flour, perhaps similar to the north Indian wheat flour-based Paratha, is also commonly eaten from food outlets in Tamil Nadu, more popularly in districts like Virudhunagar, Madurai and the adjoining areas. Parota is not commonly prepared at home as it is a laborious and time-consuming process.The western Kongu region has specialities like Sandhvai (a noodle like item of rice), oputtu (a sweet tasting pizza like food dry outside but which has a sweet stuffing), and kola urundai (meat balls). Ceylon Tamil cuisine, similar to Tamil Nadu cuisine, also has many unique vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes, as well as courses similar to Kerala cuisine. It features dishes such as puttu (steam cake) and idiyappam (string hoppers), which are particularly popular. Sevai is a variation of the idiyappam. In one type of Sevai preparation, the fermented dough is prepared in a similar fashion to the preparation of idlis and then pressed through a noodle press. Then the noodles are flavored using dry powders made from different spices like black pepper, red chillies, lemon juice, shaved coconut, sesame seeds and other ingredients - all depending on the region.
[edit] Influence abroad
Historically, Tamil cuisine has travelled to Burma, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand via traders (Nagarathar) from Tamil Nadu. Along with Chinese, it has influenced these international cuisines to what they are today. South African Indian cooking is also influenced by Tamil cuisine which was brought by indentured labourers in the late 19th century.
[edit] Typical meals
A typical breakfast meal consists of dosa or idli served with sides of chutney and sambar. A typical lunch or dinner consists of three parts. The first part is rice mixed with sambar, the second part is rice mixed with rasam and the third part rice mixed with yoghurt. For each stage various curries and/or pickles will be served as accompaniments to the main rice dish. For more elaborate meals, there is an additional pulikozhumbu or morekozhumbu served just after sambar but before rasam. Also a typical vegetarian meal , has a lot of vegetable accompaniments, appalam (fried indian-style chips), pachidi (uncooked sauces), thohaiyal (pureed lentils and/or cooked vegetables), kootu (containing cooked lentils and vegetables thicker than sambar) and some salad style accompaniments.
[edit] Specialities
- Dosai, crepes made from a fermented batter of rice and urad dal (gram), and is accompanied by Sambar; also see Masala dosai
- Idli, steamed rice-cakes, prepared from a fermented batter of rice and urad dal (gram), and side-dishes are usually different kinds of chutney or sambhar
- Upma/Uppittu, prepared from wheat (rava), onion, green chillies, and certain spices
- Sambhar, a thick stew of lentils with vegetables and seasoned with exotic spices
- Rasam, lentil soup with pepper, coriander and cumin seeds
- Thayir sadam, steamed rice with curd
- Sevai, Rice noodles, made out of steamed rice cakes. Rice cakes are caste into the tool Sevai Nazhi and pressed to get the rice noodles.
- South Indian Coffee, also known as Madras Filter Coffee, is a sweet milky coffee popular in Tamil Nadu. It is quite similar to the Cappuccino and Latte varieties of coffee in the United States of America.
[edit] Tamil culinary terminology absorbed in English
- The word curry is an anglicisation of the Tamil word kari. [2]
- The Tamil phrase milagu thanni, meaning pepper soup, literally pepper water, has been adapted in English as mulligatawny. [3]
- The word Mango is derived from the Tamil word Maanga or Maangaai.[4][5]
- The word Rice is derived from the Tamil word Arisi.
[edit] See also
[edit] Further reading
- Ammal, Meenakshi, S., The Best of Samaithu Paar: The Classic Guide to Tamil Cuisine: Penguin Books India
[edit] Reference
- DeWitt, Dave and Nancy Gerlach. 1990. The Whole Chile Pepper Book. Boston : Little Brown and Co.
