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​Around the year, the tongue craves to savor more and more. Indian delicacies come to the rescue, with the spices, the flavors, and added nutrition. And you might not know that certain South Indian foods from South India are a perfect treat for the stomach, irrespective of the weather or the season. Today, let’s get to know about the foods from the south. Catch up with these three amazing dishes-
Tamil Nadu's Kollu Rasam (Horse gram soup) can be the next nutritious South Indian delicacy you must try Â
The first dish on your plate is the Kollu Rasam, all the way from Tamil Nadu. It is also known as the Horse gram soup. The Kollu rasam is a special dish of Kongunad, Tamil Nadu. It is very helpful if you are down with a cough and cold, and gives relief to the throat and sinus. Also, horse gram is beneficial in weight loss [1].
For the Kollu Rasam, the ingredients needed are – Horse gram, water, tamarind, Indian sesame oil, pepper, cumin seeds, garlic, tomato, mustard seeds, urad dal, fenugreek seeds, jaggery, and coriander leaves [1].
Now, let us start preparing the Kollu Rasam [1]:
Take 2 cups of water and 1/4th cup of horse gram. Boil in a pressure cooker for 10 minutes. Drain all the water and keep it aside in a bowl. This is our Kollu, or the horse gram liquid.Â
Take a tamarind (lemon size) and soak it in a cup of water for 15 minutes. Squeeze the tamarind to extract its pulp. Remove the seeds and the pith, then keep them aside.
Take a pan and heat Indian sesame oil. Add pepper, cumin seeds, and garlic. Sauté it well until it begins to pop. Add a chopped tomato. Sprinkle some salt and cook it for a while. Add 1/4th cup of cooked horse gram.Â
After the mixture is well-cooked, let it cool. Then take 1/4th cup of water and grind the mixture into a fine paste.
Now again, heat the oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, urad dal, and fenugreek seeds. After it splutters, pour the tamarind juice and the ground paste into it. Put some curry leaves. Stir it well. Cook for 10 minutes on a low flame.
Add the Kollu or the horse gram liquid to the pan. Cook it for a couple of minutes. Add a piece of jaggery and coriander leaves.
Your dish is ready. Serve it hot with rice. You can also eat the rasam like a hot soup. Â
Sweet, spicy, and nutritious...this traditional dish from Kerala is a must-savor! Â
This is exactly what you need for all the nutrients and taste. This South Indian delicacy is a perfect match for your rice meals. The sweetness and spices are the added oomph you need in your dishes. The famous thoran comes from traditional Kerala cuisine, is simply easy to prepare, and healthy, owing to the beets, and is a gluten-free, vegan dish [2].
Let’s get going with collecting the ingredients first – Small firm beetroots, fresh curry leaves, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, garlic, green chilies, onion, freshly grated coconut (desiccated coconut only if fresh isn’t available).
Here’s a step-by-step guide to making the Beetroot Thoran –
Heat 2 tsp oil in a pan on a medium flame. Add 1/4th tsp mustard seeds. After they sizzle, add a sprig of curry leaves to it. Put 1/4th cup finely chopped onions in the pan. Stir it well [2].
Grate 250gm beetroot and add it to the pan. Now add 1/8th tsp turmeric with some salt. Stir well and fry it for about 2-3 minutes. Cover the lid and let it cook on a low flame [2].
Till the time beetroot cooks, grind 1/4th cup freshly grated coconut, 2 green chilies, 2 garlic cloves with ½ tsp cumin seeds to form a coarse paste. Once the beetroot is cooked, add the coconut and spice mixture to it. Stir it well together and cook for 2 minutes [2].
Your dish is ready to serve with rice and chapatti. Enjoy your wholesome, healthy meal.
This vegetable stew is all you need at noon, with rice packed with all the nutritionÂ
The traditional dish from Andhra is a delight to eat. It is tangy, sweet, and spicy. The best part is that it is a mixed vegetable stew, which means you have so many veggies on your plate…complete nutrition in a meal. Dappalam, eaten with dal and rice, is just an amazing lunch [3].Â
To make Dappalam, you need – 1 cup bottle gourd (peeled and cut in cubes), a chopped carrot, 2 chopped sweet potatoes, 2 Drum sticks (cut in inch-long pieces), 4 chopped green chilies, 1 cup tamarind water, 2 tsp jaggery, ½ tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp red chili powder, 2 tsp rice flour, oil, ½ tsp mustard seeds, 1/4th tsp yellow fenugreek seeds, 1/4th tsp asafoetida and 2 sprigs of curry leaves [3].
Let us start making the dish. Take a cup of water in a pressure cooker. Add all the vegetables and green chilies with some salt and turmeric powder. Cook it for three whistles [3].
Then take a bowl. Put tamarind water, rice flour, turmeric powder, and red chili powder. Blend it well to form a smooth mixture [3].
Meanwhile, take a saucepan and heat the oil on a medium flame. Now add mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds. Add asafetida and curry leaves. Put the prepared tamarind mixture and stir well. Add the jaggery and cooked vegetables. Cook it well until the flavors are embraced in the stew [3].
You are ready with the Dappalam. Serve it with steamed rice to enjoy your perfect Andhra lunch.
Apart from preparing these dishes at home, if you want to experience the best of South Indian cuisine in India, there are some famous restaurants with a global presence that you can head to whenever you come across them during your visit. Most of them are in Chennai, Hyderabad, Delhi, Mumbai, and Pune. Here is a list of the highest-rated and reviewed restaurants on Google [4]:
Naivedyam, A to B restaurant, Sambarpot, Carnatic Cafe, Dakshin Sheraton, and Juggernaut (New Delhi)
Dakshin (Chennai and Delhi)Â
Sagar Ratna (Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, and other big cities)
Udupiwala (Kathgodam, Uttarakhand) and South Indian Vibes (Dehradun, Uttarakhand)
Radhika’s Authentic South Indian Food (Ahmedabad, Gujarat)
Vaango (Can be found in shopping mall food courts and airports in major cities)
The Spicy Venue (Hyderabad)
Kamat Restaurant (South and West of India)
South Indian food is well known for its health benefits and for being easy on the stomach. Make sure you include the typical food from South India in your diet. It’ll spice up your meal as well as pump you up with necessary nutrients. And do not forget to visit the above-mentioned South Indian restaurants whenever in town! Happy eating all!Â
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