Is South Indian Food Good?

ruthlopez22

Cayle

Depends on what you define as "good" and that can be very subjective. My take:

Most veg dishes beyond mutter paneer (which is distinctive in having a spinach base) or paluo (rice with veggies) and biryani (non-veg paulo), I find almost indistinguishable from samber and could collectively be labeled "spicy glop" due to the heavy emphasis on gravy.

I don’t care for Iddlys.

I like rice with curd and chilis.

Dosas are a gift from the heavens.

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sannna

Best description ever I totally agree. After four months of veg south Indian food, four times a week, I can truly say that it doesn't matter at all whether there is potato in it, rettich or another veggie - it all tastes the same to my European taste buds. It's salty, it has coriander, it has curryleaves, too much pepper, it's salt, spicey and watery.

I love roti's and puri's, but at the moment I can't handle the smell and taste of curry leaves anymore. Maybe I have to find a new dhaba, but I like the people there so much...

Ignite

Each southern state has its own distinct cuisine. They might be slightly similar, but they're still a world apart. Tamil cuisine is different from Telugu cuisine, Kerala cuisine is different from Kannada cuisine.

Everyone has their own views on a particular food item, so you should really just try out the food for yourself before you get turned off because of what someone else said. Think about it, if it was bad, do you really think hundreds of millions of people would be eating it?

I personally prefer Andhra cuisine over Punjabi cuisine. Punjabi is a good change every once in a while, but punjabi food in general is a lot more oily and buttery than any south indian cuisine. Just my preference .

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Nick-H

As a generalism, I'd say --- spicy and hot, but bland!

The flavours of the individual ingredients are given little or no emphasis. Main meals are based around enormous quantities of boiled white rice, which has to be about the most boring staple food ever! (OK, I know, rice feeds more people than any other plant; I learnt that at The Eden Project! But there are more interesting ways to eat it)

But don't let us put you off: millions love it, including visitors.

Dosa is good; other snack ('Tiffin') items such as poori, vadai etc, are probably the most tasty things.

Idly is probably the blandest food ever invented (err... tofu?) and gets flavour from the sambar and pickles with which it is served. It is a blessing from the heavens to an upset stomach!

santos_g15

Idly might be bland .i tell you i always take idlis when i go out.there is zero percent of getting stomach upsets/diarheoa.you can take idlis from road side shop and be sure you will not catch any sickness.its also good for stomach upsets as nick-H pointed out.Any other food taste/hygiene depends upon hotel and how they prepare.be careful of dosas ,with lots of oil it can easily cause stomach upset if you eat at poor hotel(sometimes even if eat at 3 or 5 stars).But its delicious.
Curd rice also fits in same cateogory.ideal for stomach upset.but sometimes may be bland.safe to eat.

dhans

So I disagree. I love south Indian food. I love the thali's, I love the dosa's. I even like idly for breakfast. And if you have the chance to taste good keralan family food, it's even better.

Hans

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AprilFlower

I can say that since I don't have to eat south indian food everyday (because I live in Gujarat) I generally enjoy it. I like Idli/sambar very much. It is relitively easy to make and if you have left over idli you can fry them with coconut/sugar/sesame seeds and have a very nice breakfast. Outside they are a real cheap meal/snack. Dosa is okay but I consider it just 1/2 a step up from potato and roti...kinda boring. I had a real kick butt pinapple utappam the other day that way just about as close to heaven as I get when it comes to food. I doubt this is an authentic southern dish, but who knows. I am certainly not complaining. Vadai is only good if it is piping hot in my opinion. Otherwise its just a big blob of oil. Love dhin vadai especially when it has tamarind chutney. Actually, I love anything with tamarind chutney. Long live tamarind! (Sorry got carried away).

My preference is for Punjabi and since I live in Gujarat, I would be perfectly happy to live the rest of my life without eating Guj. ever again! Okay maybe not really but once or twice a week would be sufficient .

Nick-H

Same here, really: because I do not eat it every day I enjoy it when we go out.

In my house, my wife eats like a yogi: a little rice, a little plain vegetable, a little fruit. She sends out for Pongal or Idly for breakfast which I occasionally share.

She makes very mild curry dishes for me as well as mutton dishes with little or no chilly. I roast a chicken regularly, followed by a couple of days of chicken soup; the flavour is strong, but no chilly! There is a heap of garlic in my own cooking, plenty of pepper, but zero chilly and little or no salt.

Consequently, when we eat out, it is a change and we enjoy the local food ---which my wife grew up on, of course.

Utappam is another favourite of mine, but I see only tomato or onion. Curd rice is indeed wonderful for the upset stomach, but don't mix the pickle with it! Curd rice with banana and sugar will keep you going when you cannot stomach anything else --- baby food!

Curd vadai is refreshing snack.

brishti

south india is too vague a region.
generally, when folks talk about south indian cuisine its just idli, vada, dosa, sambar, curd rice, rasam.

dig a lil deeper and one discovers that tamil nad, kerela, karnataka and andhra have distinctive cuisines and flavours.
each southern state has further divisions/specialities - coorg, konkan, malabar, malayali christians, chettinad, hyderabadi etc

personally - only the goans and coorgis cook pork the way i love it
then you have what them farmers eat in the karnataka/maharashtra border - bajra roti + chutney: yum yum!
heck, this is india - there aint no broad categories here! [that curry patta gets to me too ]



:brishti

LilBoy BigTown

Not if it's Rawa idli. Yummm. I love them just on their own.

Actually reminds me I haven't had one for a while. Oh well, only 1 more day to the weekend .

n kumar

The basic difference is that the north indian food is more of wheat based and where as the south indian food is more of rice based.

Nick-H

And us Brits just love potatoes!

It's true, I do! But anyone who peels (except for mash, of course) them is just throwing away much of the flavour and goodness!

sannna

Maybe this is a stupid question but do people actually eat dosa at home in the south?

I have always eaten it outside and never been in a house and got it served. It's always yellow daal, lots of rice, a couple of rotis and a sabzi (veg dish), that is based on salt, chillies, pepper and curry leaves, and some random vegetable.

I think South Indian food is generally healthy, though it can be too salty, too spicey and too oily. Even though they are less generous with ghee and oil (than in the North), the sabzi usually is too oily. It seems that what people cook at home is generally less spicey than what they make in restaurants, though. Don't know if that is true. Andhra food, I think, is the spiciest cuisine in India.

santos_g15

Dosa at house?? how does it taste like?????? just kidding.it very common at homes.i eat it idly and dosa on alternate days as dinner.still not bored by it .lol.