TASTENOTES
Tamil Nadu is incredibly hot, so the combination
of rice and yogurt helps keep the body cool
Name: Rajani
S
Brief Bio: Rajani, a software
developer turned stay-at-home
mom, loves baking, trying out
different recipes, food photography
and writing about her daily life. Her
blog is her online journal and a home
for her recipes
Blog: mykitchentrials.wordpress.
com
Cuisine: Vegetarian Tamil Nadu
food
Signature Dishes: Sambar,
Rasam, Cluster beans porial
On My Plate: A balanced meal should have grains, vegetables, fruits and
protein worked into it. A typical Tamil Nadu meal consists of rice, served
with a lentil-based gravy such as sambar with vegetables on the side.
Yoghurt is an essential part of the meal. A banana after the meal is not at
all unusual. So, even without the knowledge of a modern definition, our
ancestors used to take a balanced diet!
In the earlier days, families were much larger with a labour intensive
lifestyle. This explains the bigger and simpler meals.
The meals are three course. Rice is the staple food and star of the meal.
The first round is rice served with sambar. Next comes rice and rasam. The
third winds up the meal with rice and yoghurt. For the first two courses, one
or two simple vegetable preparations are on the side. Potatoes are treated
like vegetables, but people don’t make it for everyday meals. Fried papads
or appalams are also served as a side.
In the picture here, I have gone back to the meals we grew up eating. It
shows rice, sambar, rasam, cluster beans poriyal, potatoes, yoghurt, pickle
and appalam.
Sambar is a stew made of lentils and takes in the sourness from tamarind.
There are different
ways for preparing
it. It uses a special
spice powder made of
coriander seeds, red
chillies, mustard seeds,
toor and urad dals.
The preparations and
the ingredients slightly
differ from home to
home.
With smaller families
now, the meal has
simplified a lot. Most
of the days, rice is
served with sambar
or some other gravy
with a vegetable on
the side. Tamil Nadu is
incredibly hot and so
the rice and yoghurt
course, which helps in
cooling the body, still
continues. So, to this
day, the meal has rice
for carbs, lentils and
yoghurt (and meat, in
case of non-vegetarian
meal) for proteins and
vegetables, making it a
balanced meal.
September-October 2015 Travel Secrets  81