Chennai Cuisine

The Southern State of Tamil Nadu provides the visitor with a wide variety of delicious food both vegetarians as well as the non-vegetarians which are simple, sumptuous and inexpensive .While the typical Tamilian vegetarian meal is chacterised by idly(steamed rice cakes), dosai (a pancake made from a batter of rice) and lentils crisp fried on a pan, vada(deep fried doughnuts made from a batter of lentils), pongal (a mish mash of rice and lentils boiled together and seasoned with ghee, cashew nuts, pepper and cummin seed), and uppuma(cooked semolina seasoned in oil with mustard, pepper, cummin seed and dry lentils.) Several variations of these dishes are there which are eaten with coconut chutney, sambar (seasoned lentil broth) and mulaga podi (a powdered mix of several dried lentils eaten with oil). Chettinad cuisine, a specialty of Tamil Nadu is predominately non-vegetarian. Hot and spicy , the cuisine has several variations of fish, mutton, and chicken dishes of which the Chettinad Pepper Chicken is a speciality. The Tamil style of Mughalai food can be savoured in the biriyanis and paya. The later is a kind of spiced trotters broth and is eaten with either parathas or appam.

Rice happens to be the staple food of the Tamilians which is often accompanied by an array of vegetable dishes, sambar, chutneys, rasam (a hot broth made with tamarind juice and pepper) and curd(yogurt). Lentils and coconut are also used extensively in Tamil kitchens. Though today most of the food is eaten on plates, the traditional eating method is the Sappad, where food is served on a cut banana-leaf. This mode of serving food which gives a distinct taste to the food is still followed in some homes and hotels.

Tamil Nadu, especially Chennai, is famous for its filter coffee.The process of making filter coffee is totally different from the rest of India. Here the coffee beans are first roasted and then ground. The powder is then put into a filter set and boiling hot water is added to prepare the decoction and allowed to set for about 15 minutes. The decoction is then added to milk with sugar to taste. The final drink is poured from one container to another in rapid succession to make the ideal frothy cup of filter coffee.

Chennai has a large number of eating establishments offering a variety of cuisines, price ranges and ambience. They range from street stalls, fast food joints, western fast food centres, food courts, coffee shops, traditional vegetarian and non vegetarian restaurants, bakeries to exclusive speciality establishments. Besides, Indian cuisines, Continental, Chinese, Mexican, Italian, Thai, Korean, Japanese and Mediterranean cuisine are popular with many restaurants specialising exclusivelyin these cuisines.

Some of the favorite eating joints in Cheenai are :

• The Saravanaa Bhavan Chain of Hotels - For excellent vegetarian meals.
• Vasanta Vihar at Rajaji Salai -Vegetarian food and good strong South Indian coffee.
• Bhoopathy café- For Dosas
• Udipi Home Mathsya - Excellent home cooked vegetarian
• Ananda Bhavan at Triplicane High Road-For banana-leaf thalis and excellent dosas.
• Mathura Restaurant at Tarapore Tower Anna Salai- vegetarian fare
• Food Plaza at Anna Salai.-For multi cuisine
• The Gallopin'Gooseberry-American and Italian cuisine and exotic range of juices.
• Palki - North Indian specialities.
• Coconut Lagoon- Forexcellent Goan and Kerala fare.
• Roomallee at Mylapore-Outdoor barbecue with Hyderabadi dishes.
• Kabul located at TTK Road -For Northwestern frontier food like biryanis, tandoori items and kebabs.
• Cascade at Khader Nhawaz Khan Road - Chinese, Malaysian and Thai food.
• The Red E Food Court located at Harrington Road - Vegetarian and non-vegetarian Indian, Chinese, Mexican and Western fare.
• Bay View Point (Taj Fisherman's cove)-Seafood
• Coconut Lagoon at 1 Cathedral Road for a taste of the coastal cuisines of Kerala, Mangalore & Goa.
• Cedars in Kotturpuram-Lebanese
• Benjarong (Five Colours - Pancharanga)-Thai
• La Madeleine, an exclusive French eatery run by a French chef.
• Cornucopia -For European style food, salads and soups
• Don Pepe, Copper Chimney - Mexican and Spanish food along with some 'Euro-Mex" combos
• Bay Leaf. It has a combination of Punjabi and Bengali items
• Oriental Pearl serves Thai and Chinese food plus a sprinkling of other Southeast
• Asian dishes from Malaysia, Japan etc. is on the menu.
• Carnival Heights- A multicuisine rooftop restaurant.