south Indian food – Rickshaw Challenge

Essential South Indian Spices

David — Thu, 03 Nov 2016 09:39:12 +0000

Southern Indian food is all about spice.
It’s no secret that India has amazing food, and in every region you travel new culinary discoveries await. There are vast differences between the cooking styles of different areas of the subcontinent. North Indian cuisine has noticeably central Asian influences, with greater use of meat, thicker sauces (often featuring yoghurt) and is usually accompanied by bread. Southern India is the ideal location if you love vegetarian food, rice, lots of coconut and, of course, spice.

Photo by Joe Mon Bkk

While the various regions of Southern India have different culinary styles — Udupi cuisine, the tastes of Kerala, the curries of Andhra Pradesh — there is one thing that unites them: mastery of spice. If you want to understand Southern Indian food, you need to know the spices used. Often exported, the spices grown in South India are best tasted in the country itself. Here is a selection of the most essential South Indian spices!

Cardamon

Both green and black cardamom seeds are essential South Indian spices and are popular all over the region. Green cardamom is the most popular, and most versatile, used in everything from spice mixes (like garam masala) to desserts. Black cardamom has a powerful, smoky taste, and the pod can be incredibly spicy. As well as its delicious flavour, cardamom is revered for its health benefits: it’s said to possess numerous favourable qualities, including being anti-carcinogenic, anti-depressant, a detoxicant, and a cure for gum disease! By weight, it is the world’s third most expensive spice.

Tamarind

Tamarind is actually a fruit, whose insides are sour though they can become sweeter, depending on ripeness. Often used as a paste, it’s an important feature of South Indian cuisine, particularly in Andhra Pradesh, where it’s mixed with chilli powder, and Tamilnadu, where it is the most commonly used souring agent. Used in everything from stews to sauces, desserts to drinks, it’s also prominent in the West as an ingredient in Worcestershire sauce.

Red Chilli

Perhaps the most famous of all essential South Indian spices is red chilli. Brought to India by the Portuguese, their former colony of Goa is still known for its chilli-based curries like Vindaloo. However, chilli is now an important part of cooking all over South India, and three-quarters of chillis exported from India actually come from Andhra Pradesh, not coincidentally known as home to the spiciest food on the subcontinent. Chillis are usually dried and ground up into a powder, though can be used whole, for example in tadka. If you can handle the spice, they also regarded as good for your health.

Turmeric

Photo by Simon A. Eugster

The bright orange-yellow spice turmeric is often used to give curries an attractive golden colour but watch out: it stains. Can be used fresh, dried, or in a paste. Known as an anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory, it’s particularly useful for sufferers of arthritis.

Black Pepper

Though popular worldwide, black pepper is native to South India, originating in the Western Ghats and the Malabar Coast. The heavy, regular, rainfall of the region provides the perfect conditions for growing the spice, which the area still exports to much of the world. Usually ground straight onto dishes, black pepper is also very good for your health: it speeding up the metabolism, strengthening bones, and protects the liver!

Clove

Though originally found on Indonesia’s Maluku islands, cloves are now one of the essential South Indian spices. The dried flower buds provide a characteristicly warm flavour, and the whole bud is often cooked in oil or ghee to spice a dish, though too much can overpower other flavours. Cloves have long be known to be healthy, and play a role in tradition Indian Ayurvedic medicine.

Nutmeg

Nutmeg is the seed of the Myristica fragrans tree, which also originated in the Maluku Islands of Indonesia; another spice, mace, is derived from the seed’s dark red shell. Ground then dried, nutmeg adds warth to a dish and is often used in biryanis, although, unlike in Western cuisine, South Indians rarely add it to desserts. While nutmeg contains many healthy nutrients, and in medium doses is an effective anti-depressant, avoid consuming large quantities: it’s actually a dangerously powerful hallucinogenic!

Cassia (or cinnamon)

Cassia, derived from the bark of a Chinese evergreen tree, is one of the essential South Indian spices, and is often sold abroad by the name cinnamon. True (Ceylon) cinnamon, derived from Sri Lanka, is rarer. Cassia, sometimes known as Chinese cinnamon, has a slightly sweeter taste than its namesake and is another spice that Indians use to flavour savoury dishes, while being a popular dessert topping in the West.

Taste the essential South Indian spices!

If you want to experience true South Indian food, as well the region’s glorious scenery and thriving culture, why not join us for a Rickshaw Challenge adventure rally? The next race is the Classic Run, a week long trip from Chennai to Trivandrum, beginning on December 28th 2016. You’ll have the chance to experience the wonderful cuisines — and essential South Indian spices — of Tamilnadu and Kerala, while having the adventure of a lifetime!

Are you crazy enough to come along for the ride? Then join us on the next Rickshaw Challenge. Get a team together and let’s see you at the starting line! If you want to join us in spirit, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagramto keep up with our latest antics.

Top Dishes to Try in Kerala: Part One

David — Thu, 06 Oct 2016 23:40:04 +0000

Kerala, in Southern India, is known as “God’s own country” for its glorious beaches and luscious backwaters, but the food is also heavenly. Check out the top dishes to try in Kerala.

There are plenty reasons to visit Kerala, ranging from the pure relaxation possible on the Malabar Coast’s golden beaches to the adventure-fueled madness of a rickshaw challenge adventure rally. However, there may be no better reason than to enjoy the incredible food, of which the top dishes to try in Kerala are just part.

Photo by Augustus Binu

The beauty of Kerala’s cuisine is that — like the region itself — it’s so diverse, with plenty for vegetarians, or lovers of meat and seafood, to enjoy. Expect a lot of coconut, rice, and the flavourful seasoning you would expect from an area known for millennia as the “land of spices”. The region is filled with mouthwatering dishes, far too many to list, and of course there are also many specialties of South India generally that are available there. Here, though, is the first part of our selection of meals that make a trip to Kerala such a culinary treat:

Puttu with Kadala Curry

Photo by John Jackson

Let’s start with breakfast. While masala dosa is very popular in Kerala, it originates in Karnataka so doesn’t make the list. Puttu, though, is a local dish beloved all over the state. It’s delicious, healthy, and simple: it’s a combination of just steamed rice, grated coconut, water and some spice, often cumin. It’s often accompanied by Kadala curry, a thick coconut gravy with spiced black chickpeas. The perfect way to start the day.

Idiyappam with Egg Roast

Photo by Viewfinder18

Idiyappam is a classic breakfast, so it works just as well at dinner. Sometimes known as string hoppers, it consists of steam rice noodles. Along the Malabar coast you’ll find it mixed with sweetened coconut milk. Because of its simplicity idiyappam can be eaten with pretty much any curry, but a classic addition is egg roast. Roasting eggs in think masala gravy is a Kerala classic in its own right, and matches perfectly with this and other dishes.

Appam with Stew

Photo by Devika

Egg Roast is also regularly eaten with appam, a delicious rice pancake that is spongy in the centre and delicately thin around the edges. The beloved dish is an easy selection as one of the top dishes to try in Kerala, delighting locals and tourists alike with its unique texture. It’s most popularly served with stew, commonly chicken soaked in a spicy coconut gravy, though any will do so long as it includes coconut milk!

Sadhya

Photo by Yashima

Sadhya is a way of eating that is at the very heart of food culture in Kerala, when people come together for a feast. A variety of foods are placed on a large banana leaf, while the invited sit cross-legged and eat without cutlery, using only their right hand. There can easily be thirty or more different dishes, mostly vegetarian, with separate courses from starter to dessert. The centerpiece is usually boiled rice, along with a wide variety of curries and side dishes. This is not only one of the top dishes to try in Kerala, attending Sadhya is one of the must-try experiences in Southern India.

The options for a hungry traveler in Kerala are tantalising, and there’s even more to come in Part Two. If these dishes (not to mention the golden sands and gorgeous backwaters) tempt you to visit Kerala, there’s no better way to experience the region that by participating in a Rickshaw Challenge. The Malabar Rampage sets off from Trivandrum, travels up the Malabar coast through Kerala, and finishes in Goa. Your week on a tuk tuk will be full of crazy experiences and stunning beauty, and you’ll have plenty chances to enjoy some of the finest food India has to offer!

DOSA HUNT

admin — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 07:49:36 +0000

The greatest hunt for south Indian food in NYC ever committed to film!
DOSA HUNT, a film by Amrit Singh.