Tastiest Foods In Chennai

Known as the third largest city in the entire country of India, Chennai houses a number of beaches, historical sites, religious places and many more. What many people don’t know about Chennai is that it is considered to be a paradise for foodies. One can find some of the tastiest non-vegetarian and vegetarian dishes that are served here. While rice and filtered coffee is something that one can find in every corner of the street in Chennai.

Some of the well-known food items in Chennai:

Kothu Parotta

People who are die-hard non-vegetarians will love this unique dish. It is made out of pieces of parotta (a type of bread), eggs, salna (a spicy curry), and some generous serving of meat. The different variants of this dish include the egg kothu parotta, chicken kotthu parotta, mutton kotthu parotta, and chilli parotta. This dish will taste better in a roadside place and you can also try this dish from some reputed hotels in Chennai.

Kothu Parotta | Image Resource: awesomecuisine.com

Different Varieties Of Dosa

This is the Indian version of the pancakes but more crispy type of food item. The masala dosa is the most common type of dosa that can be found in Chennai. Here the dosa is stuffed with a generous serving of potatoes, peas, onion, and chillies. The other types of dosa that one can find in Chennai include the plain dosa, onion dosa, egg dosa, malli dosa, podi dosa, ghee podi dosa, utappam, onion uttapam, and many more. These days one can find many carts selling the 99 variety of dosas, which include gobi Manchurian dosa, paav bhaaji dosa, and many more.

Puliyogre Rice

Also known as tamarind rice, this dish is famous in the entire portion of South India. It is prepared by mixing boiled rice, groundnuts, coriander, red chilli, conconut, curry leaves, asafetida, urad dal, cumin, pepper, mustard seeds and a paste made out of tamarind. The taste of this rice can be improved by adding coconut chutney and chickpea, which is boiled and salted. You can take this dish in your lunch and you will love the unique tangy taste of this dish.

Bajjis

This amazingly fried dish is usually available in every street of Chennai. A slice of vegetable is dipped into a mixture made of maida, curd, and other different items and then deep fried in oil. The different types of bhajjis that are famous in Chennai include the Mirchi bhajji, capsicum bhajji, onion bhajji, raw banana bhajji, and many more. If people from Coimbatore want to come to Chennai to taste the bhajjis, they can take a flight from Coimbatore to Chennai.

Flight from Coimbatore to Chennai | Image Resource: im.rediff.com

Kuzhi Paniyaram

This uniquely cooked dumpling can be eaten in two different ways: fried and steamed. The fired paniyaram is prepared out of idly batter and it is usually eaten with spicy chutney or sambhar. If you want to taste some sweet dishes then the sweet paniyaram that is cooked in pure ghee is best option. Overall, this dish is unique to the entire South portion of India and can be found in Northern India in specific South Indian restaurants only.

Payasam

Also called kheer, this is prepared by boiling rice, vermicelli, sugar and milk. Sometimes tapioca is added to this mixture as well. The different varieties of payasam found in Chennai include the paruppu (dal) payasam, sevai (vermicelli) payasam, and rice payasam. This dish tastes better when it is seasoned with dry fruits.

Pongal

This dish is usually made as a sweet or spicy (Ven) dish. The spicy version of the Pongal tastes awesome with sambhar, coconut or tomato chutney and is one of the most famous breakfast items in Chennai. Also, the sweet version of the Pongal is served as prasad in some of the temples.

All the dishes listed above indicate why Chennai is a paradise for food lovers. If you happen to visit Chennai, do take some time to taste each of these dishes and have a healthy and full meal.