Tamil cuisine

Tamil Nadu is famous for its deep belief that serving food to others is a service to humanity, as it is common in many regions of India. The region has a rich cuisine involving both traditional non-vegetarian and vegetarian dishes. Rice, legumes and lentils are used extensively and flavor is achieved by the blending of various spices. Vegetables and dairy products are essential accompaniments and tamarind is used as the favored souring agent.

On special occasions, traditional Tamil dishes are prepared in an elaborate and leisurely way and served in traditional style on a banana leaf. The traditional way of eating a meal involves being seated on the floor, having the food served on a banana leaf, and using clean fingers of the right hand to transfer the food to the mouth. After the meal, the fingers are washed, and the banana leaf becomes food for cows. Typically breakfast includes Idli or dosa and rice accompanied by lentil preparations Sambar, Rasam and curd for lunch.

A typical meal (called Saapadu) consists of rice with other typical Tamilan dishes served on a banana leaf. Banana leaf as it gives different flavor and taste to the food. A sweet, normally Paayasam is usually served as a dessert to finish the meal. Coffee and tea are the staple drinks.

‘Virundhu’ meaning ‘feast’, when guests are invited during happy ceremonial occasions to share food. For festivals and special ceremonies, a more elaborate menu with steamed rice, variety rice (e.g. tomato rice), dal powder, sambar (lentil stew), kara kuzhambu (spicy stew with a coconut base or dal base), rasam (tamarind stew with other herbs and spices), thayir (curd) along with poriyal (dry fry of vegetables), varuval (oil fry of the vegetable), kootu (vegetables mixture with green dal or coconut), keerai masiyal (ground greens), aviyal (a mixture of cooked vegetables, finally added with buttermilk or curd in the preparation), pachadi (salad of cucumber, or onion in curd), appalam (fried papads), thogaiyal (wet ground paste of some item), oorukai (pickles), payasam (sweet liquid of many varieties with milk base or coconut milk base or dal liquid base). After the completion of the feast, a banana and betel leaves (eaten with areca nuts and limestone paste with are provided to aid digestion.

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Wikipedia