Chettinadu Style Masala Dosa~Indian State Tamil Nadu

Chettinadu Style Masala Dosa~Indian State Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu literally The Land of Tamils or Tamil Country) is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital is Chennai (formerly known as Madras), the largest city. Tamil Nadu is a land most known for its monumental ancient Hindu temples and classical form of dance Bharata Natyam. 

Tamil cuisine is typical of south Indian cuisine, in that rice and rice-derived dishes forms the major portion of a diet (see rice and curry). There are regional sub-varieties namely Chettinadu, Kongunadu, Madurai, Tirunelveli varieties etc. Traditionally, food is served on a banana leaf instead of a plate and eaten with the right hand.

Rice is the staple food of Tamils and is typically eaten mixed with coconut chutney sambhar  (with or without ghee), vegetarian or non-vegetarian kulambu, rasam, curd and buttermilk. This is accompanied with various vegetarian and/or non-vegetarian dishes like kootu, aviyal, poriyal, appalam, varuval, peratal, kothsu, varieties of pickles and chicken, mutton, or fish fry.

Breakfast and snack items include dosai, Adai, idly, vadai, pongal, appam (aappam), paniyaram, puttu, nuppumavu (uppuma), santhakai (a sort of noodles), idiyappam and uthappam. These items are eaten along with sambar, varieties of chatni and podi. Traditionally prepared filter coffee is unique in taste and popular all over the state.

The Chettinad region is famous for its spicy non-vegetarian cuisine, while Ambur  and Dindigul are known for their Biryani. Sweet items that are native to Tamil Nadu are Athirasam, Chakkarai Pongal (prepared during Pongal) and Kuli Paniyaram. The city of Thirunelveli is renowned for its unique sweetmeat, Thirunelveli Halwa, while Palani (pazhani) is known for its Panchamirtham. (Courtesy: Wikipedia)

Momos~Indian State Sikkim

Momos~Indian State Sikkim

Nestling as it does in the Himalayan Mountains, the state of Sikkim is characterised by mountainous terrain. Almost the entire state is hilly, with an elevation ranging from 280 metres (920 ft) to 8,586 metres (28,169 ft). The summit of Kangchenjunga—the world's third-highest peak—is the state's highest point, situated on the border between Sikkim and Nepal. For the most part, the land is unfit for agriculture because of the rocky, precipitous slopes. However, some hill slopes have been converted into terrace farms. Numerous snow-fed streams have carved out river valleys in the west and south of the state. These streams combine into the major Teesta River and its tributary, the Rangeet, which flow through the state from north to south. About a third of the state is heavily forested.

The Himalayan Mountains surround the northern, eastern and western borders of Sikkim. The Lower Himalayas, lying in the southern reaches of the state, are the most densely populated. The state has 28 mountain peaks, more than 80 glaciers, 227 high-altitude lakes (including the  Tsongmo,  Gurudongmar  and Khecheopalri Lakes, five major hot springs, and more than 100 rivers and streams. Eight mountain passes connect the state to Tibet, Bhutan and Nepal.

Sikkim's hot springs are renowned for their medicinal and therapeutic values. Among the state's most notable hot springs are those at Phurchachu, Yumthang, Borang, Ralang, Taram-chu and Yumey Samdong. The springs, which have a high sulphur content, are located near river banks; some are known to emit hydrogen. The average temperature of the water in these hot springs is 50 °C (122 °F).

So Sikkimese are essentially rice-eaters. Alcoholic drinks are popular both amongst men and women. Beef eating is common amongst the Bhutias. It is not uncommon to see Marwari plainsmen gulping down Momos and Thukpa and Bhutias partaking to Indian dishes like Puris and Dosas - a turn sign of national integration. A typical diet of a working Sikkimese consists of dal bhat (lentils and rice) with meat for breakfast, a light lunch of momos, and an early dinner consisting of noodles. ( Copied basically from Wikipedia). 

So when shall we visit Sikkim? Physically today I have taken you on a virtual tour on the Blogging Marathon day 25 where we are blogging food from Indian States. 

Mirchi Bada~Indian State Rajasthan

 Mirchi Bada~Indian State Rajasthan

Today we stop at Rajasthan, a state that I hope to visit soon not just because of the food which is splendid collection of colourful, spicy and unique dishes but because of its inhabitants and their rich culture.

As a child, in my nomadic lifestyle, we were at Akola, Maharashtra. Our neighbours were marwadis, a joint family their lifestyle amazed me. I loved watching how the old lady called dadiji though very old  was very sweet and saw to it that we were invited for every ”Teej Towhar” not only for food but the earlier day to apply mehendi, mehendi being the most important ritual. They used to draw the designs not with the mehendi cone but with matchsticks and the designs were breathtakingly beautiful. Thin lines and weaves it was really magic the way they did the job.

Another strange thing was the vessel were washed suka. That means the vessels were dampened then were scrubbed with ash. With a dry cloth they were wiped clean of all residues. Then one more cloth finished all the rest of the cleaning. This way the water used was minimal.

Food, like I said is delicious Rajasthani cooking was influenced by both the war-like lifestyles of its inhabitants and the availability of ingredients in this arid region. Food that could last for several days and could be eaten without heating was preferred. Because of lack of leafy green vegetables, the use of lentils, pulses, legumes and milk, curd and buttermilk in place of the water in the gravy marks the essentials of Rajasthani cuisine. To decrease the use of water in this desert state they use a lot of milk and milk products to cook.

Originating for the Marwar region of the state is the concept Marwari Bhojnalaya or vegetarian restaurants, today found in many part of India, which offer vegetarian food of the Marwari people.

Rajasthan is known for not only its snacks like Bikaneri Bhujia, Mirchi Bada and Pyaaj Kachori but also for  dishes like Bajre ki roti (millet bread) and Lashun ki chutney (hot garlic paste), Mawa Kachori from Jodhpur, Alwar ka mawa, Malpauas , let’s not forget dal bati churma ………………

The Rajput clan was always known to enjoy a hearty hunt (shikar) and the royal chefs (Khansamas) would delicately cook the day’s capture and incorporate the dish into the night menu. The women of the household never involved themselves in cooking the meat which they considered impure

 Rajasthan Food is an experience to be cherished.

Punjabi Kadhi Pakora with Jeera Rice~Indian State Punjab

Punjabi Kadhi  Pakora with Jeera Rice~Indian State Punjab

Today we are Punjab the people who are real lively people who are fond of eating good food and enjoy life!! Hoy Bale Bale!!

Probably the most famous cuisine in Indian cuisine is Punjabi cuisine. Why not the Punjabis are the most enterprising people who have make their presence felt all around the world. Punjabi food is usually relished by people of all communities.  But Punjabi home cooking differs from the restaurant cooking style. At the restaurants, the chefs make a liberal use of desi ghee, butter and cream to make the food lip smacking and finger licking. At home just like you and me people prefer using sunflower oil or some other refined oil for cooking, with the basic idea of making the food low in fat content. 

The cuisine of Punjab has a variety of mouth-watering vegetarian as well as non vegetarian dishes. The spice content ranges from minimal to pleasant to high.

 
Wheat is the staple food here but rice is also enjoyed. When it comes to food, each region in Punjab has an entirely different preference. In the preparation of Punjabi food, onion, ginger and garlic are used extensively to enhance the taste of the food. 

Traditional Punjabi thali consists of varied kinds of breads; some are baked in the tandoor such as tandoori roti, lachha paratha, naan and kulcha, while others are dry baked on tava like chapatti and jowar ki roti. There is another fabulous variety of roti called rumali roti, which is larger in size as compared to the normal one and is also easily absorbable. Also, there are breads that are shallow fried such as parantha. Aloo paratha, methi paratha, paneer paratha and deep fried such as puri and bhatoora. 

But what will you eat it with Butter Chole, Rajma, or Cauliflower and Potato vegetable, palak panner, peas paneer or corn palak, mattar paneer… the list is endless! But there are also stuff like kadhi chawal, peas pulao… whatever you eat top it all off with lassi or chaas!!

Today however we have shall eat Punjabi Kadhi Pakora with Jeera rice!!