Tamil food

A typical Tamil meal consists of many spicy and non-spicy dishes. Except for Brahmins and a couple of non-Brahmin castes, Tamils eat more non-vegetarian food. However, on a typical day, a Tamil family will eat mostly vegetarian food, and the intake of meat is much lower compared to Western countries. Many of these dishes are typically mixed and eaten with steamed rice, which is the staple food of the region.

Tamil cuisine groups dishes under five slightly overlapping categories.

Gravy dishes to be mixed in rice

First are the dishes that necessarily are mixed with rice. The sub-categories under this head are: Kuzhambu, Sambhar, Paripu, Rasam, Thayir, and Kadaiyals. There is a great variety of dishes under each sub-category. For example, under "Kuzhambu", common dishes include Kaara Kuzhambu, Poondu Kuzhambu, Vaththal Kuzhambu, Payarruk Kuzhambu, Mor Kuzhambu.

Accompaniments

Foods in the second category are the side dishes that accompany such mixtures, including Kootu, Kari, Poriyal, Pickles in India and Pakistan, and Papadum.

Standalone snacks

In the third category are the short snacks and their accompaniments, including Vadai, Bonda, Bajji, Soups, various chutneys, and Thayir Pachadi.

Dessert

The fourth category encompasses the rich, sweet dishes that serve as desserts, including Payasam, Kheer, Kesari Bhath and a plethora of other Indian sweets.

Fast foods, or light meals

The fifth category includes "Tiffin," or light meals, which includes various types of Idlis, Dosai, Poori, Pongal, Uppma, Idiyappam, Aappam, Adai, Parotta, and Paniyaram. Preparations from the fifth category are served for breakfast and dinner, but usually not as a midday meal.

Tamil cuisine offers primarily light breakfast, lighter dinner, a heavy midday meal and evening snacks, often served with tea or coffee. The Rasam is mixed with rice, usually eaten accompanied by crisps. The last of the courses will invariably be rice with curd or yogurt, usually taken along with pickles.

Throughout the meal, the side dishes are served and eaten with the courses, depending upon one's taste or choice. Side dishes are constantly replenished during any meal. Desserts are served as a last course. After the meal, guests retire to the living room and conclude with banana and freshly made Paan, consisting of betel leaves, betel nuts and lime. Paan is considered a digestive aid.

Tamil non-vegetarian meals are similar, except that the first and second courses are usually replaced by various Biryanis and non-vegetarian gravies.

In either case, a typical meal (lunch or dinner) will be served on a banana leaf. Meals are often accompanied by various pickles and Appalams.

Food is generally classified into six tastes–sweet, sour, salt, bitter, pungent and astringent. Traditional Tamil cuisine recommends that one includes all of these six tastes in each main meal eaten. Each taste has a balancing ability and including some of each provides complete nutrition, minimises cravings and balances the appetite and digestion. 

• Sweet: Milk, Butter, Sweet Cream, Wheat, Ghee (clarified Butter), Rice, and Honey
• Sour: Limes and Lemons, Citrus Fruits, Yogurt, Mango, and Tamarind
• Salty: Salt or Pickles
• Bitter: Bitter Gourd, Greens of many kinds, Turmeric, and Fenugreek
• Pungent: Chili Peppers, Ginger, Black Pepper, Clove, and Mustard
• Astringent: Beans, Lentils, Turmeric, Vegetables like Cauliflower and Cabbage, and Cilantro

Chettinad cuisine

Chettinad cuisine is famous for its use of a variety of spices in preparing mainly non-vegetarian food. The dishes are hot and pungent with fresh ground masalas, and topped with a boiled egg that is usually considered an essential part of a meal. They also use a variety of sun-dried meats and salted vegetables, reflecting the dry environment of the region. The meat is restricted to fish, prawn, lobster, crab, chicken and mutton. Chettiars do not eat beef and pork.

Most of the dishes are eaten with rice and rice-based accompaniments such as Dosais, Appams, Idiyappams, Adais and Idlis. The Chettinad people, through their mercantile contacts with Burma, learnt to prepare a type of rice pudding made with sticky red rice.

Chettinad cuisine offers a variety of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. Some of the popular vegetarian dishes include Idiyappam, Paniyaram, Vellai Paniyaram, Karuppatti Paniyaram, Paal Paniyaram, Kuzhi Paniyaram, Kozhakattai, Masala Paniyaram, Adikoozh, Kandharappam, Seeyam, Masala Seeyam, Kavuni Arisi and Athirasam.

Popular Chettinad dishes:

Vegetarian: Kevar Kalli, Idli, Sambar, Vadai, Rasam, Dosa, Thayir Sadam (yogurt rice), Thayir Vadai (yogurt-soaked fritters), Kootu (vegetables in wet style), Poriyal/Kari (vegetables in dry style), Murukku, Uthappam, Idiappam, Appalam (deep fried lentil-flour crisps) and Papadum (baked lentil-flour crips), freshly made Thayir Pachidi (yogurt mixed with fresh vegetables)

Non-vegetarian: Karuvattu Kuzhambu (salted, dried fish in sauce), Chettinad Pepper Chicken, Fish Fry, and Kanji with "old fish" gravy