Southern India
Regional Background
A vast area comprising (amongst others) the regions of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. South India occupies the whole of the Indian peninsula, and is surrounded by the Arabian sea to the west, and the Bay of Bengal to the east.
Cuisine characteristics
Typically, South Indian cuisine features lighter meals eaten with seafood, unsurprising given how coastal much of this area is. Dishes are made using a paste of ginger, garlic and shallots, which provides a more intense flavour and spiciness, with ingredients such as coconut, tamarind or kokum (raw mango skin) to give a gentle back-note. Dishes are eaten with idlis (steamed bread) or dosas (a kind of crepe) and accompaniments such as coconut chutney, sambar (a lentil-based soup) and vegetables.
- Kerala is known for its traditional vegetarian dishes served on banana leaves with rice. Coconut is an essential ingredient in most dishes and is liberally used. Dishes from this region include appam (pancakes) and puttu (steamed rice cakes).
- Tamil Nadu is characterised by its use of spices including curry leaves, tamarind, coriander, ginger, garlic, chilli, pepper, cinnamon, cumin and nutmeg. Vegetarian dishes tend to dominate although seafood is popular. The word ‘curry’ comes from the Tamil word ‘kari’ meaning ‘sauce’.
Common ingredients include:
- Cardamom – has a strong, unique flavour, which means little is needed to give a dish flavour. A highly aromatic spice, both green and black cardamom is used in Indian dishes and sweets.
- Turmeric – typically used to give a dish an earthy, almost peppery flavour, and most commonly ground down into a yellow spice which is then added to cooking.
- Cumin – cumin seeds are used for their distinctive bitter flavour and warm aroma. They are also a key ingredients within garam masala and chilli blends.
- Tamarind - the pulp of the fruit is used in many dishes to provide a slightly sour taste which offsets the sweetness from other flavours.
Recipes from India