I had an absolutely amazing time in India... I saw some beautiful temples, spent time with the most fantastic bunch of children I think I have ever met, stayed in various stunning locations throughout Tamil Nadu (the south east state of India), even visited Kerala (just) for a day, and most importantly... I ate a ridiculous amount of wonderful, and beautiful food.
I think this blog post will be about food, as I think it is probably the easiest to describe, but there is a lot to go through, so grab a cup of tea and get comfy if you plan to stick this out until the end! I won't describe everything I ate, as that would take weeks. But key things that you might not know about, and pictures will be provided.
Spiciness rating: 1 = milder than yoghurt, 5 = medium at Nandos, 10 = blow your brains out. I have eaten India food all my life, so if my ratings are off... I can only apologise. Everyone's taste buds are different! Things that were a 10 at the beginning of the month, can become a 4 by the end... so bare with me.
Drinks
Bit of an odd one to start with, but I had some amazing drinks that I thought you would like to see... so here goes!
Lassi
Served in a lot of restaurants, it is a yoghurt-like drink. Can be flavoured (e.g. banana, like the one in the picture, or mango), but generally comes either sweet (with sugar), or plain. Very yummy, and very classic.
Pineapple juice
Needed a special mention; it is literally just fresh pineapple juice, but served in a little shop just off the main high street in Madurai. It was 35p, and made with pineapple and crushed ice, as far as I was aware. Amazing!
Cold Coffee
From the same shop as above; it is a beautiful coffee milkshake type thing. It tastes like caramel coffee, with sugar, ice-cream and cream. It is so tasty; and was only 50p!
Masala tea
A tea made with spices. Tastes a bit like chai tea. Often served on the street in small paper cups for around 15p, but the best one I had was made with fresh spices in a restaurant in Kodaikanal. Yummy!
Sauces and accompaniments
Coconut chutney
As it sounds; coconut chutney is a chutney made with coconut (sorry to state the obvious!). It often doesn't actually taste of coconut, but has the texture of liquidised desiccated coconut sometimes. It looks like something that will make your dish milder, and this is generally the case. However, in some, more local, restaurants/ cafes, this chutney can often have a bit of a kick, so be careful!
Spiciness rating: around a 4; taking into account that it is sometimes a 2, and less likely, an 8.
Sambah
Sambah is a sauce/ gravy served with loads of things in India. It is orangey in colour, and usually contains a lady's finger, some other vegetables and many spices.
Spiciness rating: 2-6. Generally around a 4.
Tamarind/ green chilli with coconut chutney
I ate this a few times in various places, but can still not tell you exactly what it is. Have since had a google, and was correct in saying it is tamarind, but is often mixed with coconut. It is a sauce that is often spicy, but tastes of chilli, and goes well with dosa (see below).
Savoury Foods
Masala Dosa
This is a staple food in India. Southern India specifically; as you wont find it in the North (or in most Indian restaurants you will have visited in your life). It is a rice-based crepe/ pancake, filled with potatoes and sometimes onion, marinaded in spices (it's a yellow colour). I ate this as breakfast, lunch and dinner (although not all on the same day!). It was often served with a coconut chutney (see above), a sauce called sambah (see above), and sometimes a green tamarind-type chilli sauce (also see above). Can also have dosa plain (see below).
Spiciness rating: 4-6, depending on where you go, and what time of day it is. Had one that was around an 8.
Vadai
A savoury donut, that was described to also taste a bit like a potato croquette. It usually has mustard seeds in the batter, and served with sambah or coconut chutney.
Spiciness rating: 5. But this again depends on where you have it.
Idli
Only had this once, and I had it for breakfast. I was actually disappointed with this one dish, however I will still explain what it is, in the hope that you will find a more appetising one (I've had many in England that were lovely). Idli is a rice cake, but not in the way you will know of, like we have them here in England. It is soft, and it literally a savoury cake, made with rice flour. Again, served with sambah and coconut chutney, it is often served as breakfast in South India.
Spiciness rating: the cake itself; 1. The chutneys; see above.
Paneer 65
Okay, so this was my all-time favourite dish, ever. I absolutely loved this. Paneer is a type of Indian cheese similar to halloumi in consistency. It doesn't melt, but is usually served after having been deep-fried, so it has a crispy outer layer. It is then added to sauces like Tikka Masala, Korma, etc (in the North). Paneer 65 on the other hand, is the vegetarian, Indian equivalent to fried chicken (sort of...). It is cheese, deep-fried in a spicy batter. That's it. Cheese. In BATTER. It is so divine, I have attached several photos for your viewing pleasure... please enjoy.
Spiciness rating: 5.
This one is actually Mushroom 65 - but just so you can see it's awesomeness, this was also incredible, so I have attached it.
Breads
Laccha Paratha/ Parata/ Parotta
A bread that is served in a spiral shape, and is easily tearable. It is made with wheat flour, but is created slightly differently to parathas you may have had in England/ northern Indian paratha. It is my favourite bread in South India, and I will rave about it as much as I can.
Spiciness rating: 1.
Stuffed Paratha
Similar to the above, but obviously, this paratha has things in it. You can get a million different types: masala (curried), aloo (stuffed with potato), paneer (stuffed with cheese), other vegetable parathas and meat filled ones. They are all delicious. I only tried a paneer paratha, but it was absolutely incredible. It tastes like a ray of sunshine on a rainy day (slightly dramatic, but thought I'd try and spice things up... mind the pun). See for yourself in the picture below- it was hot from the pan and absolutely delicious. You can buy stuffed paratha in England that you stick in the toaster... they are gorgeous.
Spiciness rating: depends on the stuffing, but around a 3.
Chapati/ Chappati
Typical Indian flatbread that you may have seen in England. Similar consistency to a wrap, made with whole-wheat flour. Interesting story: I went to a cafe which served unlimited chappati, with various sauces and gravy. They just kept bringing them over!! All for only £1.10... ahh I miss India.
Spiciness rating: 1.
Naan
Do I need to explain this?
Spiciness rating: unless topped with chilli, 1.
Dosa
As described slightly above, it is a rice based pancake. Often served slightly crispy, it can be plain and dipped in the chutneys/ sauces mentioned above.
Spiciness rating: 1.
If you made it this far, you deserve a medal. Because I genuinely don't expect a single person (expect maybe Dom... and a few others from the trip) to get this far. And if they do, they are also troopers. But I hope you enjoyed this huge snapshot into Indian food, and keep your eyes peeled for another installment in the Sharla India Chronicles ;)
