TOP South Indian Breakfast (Tiffin)

IDLI: Popular breakfast foods and also originated from South India. It is a typical and classical food most of the south Indian households commonly eat daily. It is the favorite food for a small child and very old people both would not be able to chew hard food. Every restaurant will have this food in the morning as well as in the evening. I will bet all (most) of the restaurant this food item gets over first, even in small restaurants this is the case. is served with Sambar and Coconut chutney

 Idli contain no cholesterol or fat, is rich in carbohydrates, proteins, enzymes, fats, amino acids, and fiber, It contains Rice and Black Lentils. This is cooked by steam so very healthy and easy to digest.

Varieties of Idli

1. Plain Idli
2. Rava Idli
3. Kanchipuram Idli
4. Mint Idli
5. Beetroot Idli
6. Tomato Idli

 Methu Vada: South Indian Fitter made from black lentils, this is also a common food in south Indian restaurants daily, this vada is served mostly with Idli (Menu item), or with Pongal or eaten separately.  Vada is also served in the evening time as a snack.

 Varieties of the Methu Vada 

1.      Sambar Vada

2.      Rasa Vada

3.      Curd/Dahi Vada (Salt or Sweet)

 Dosa: South Indian crispy pancake made from rice and black lentils. This is also a common food in South Indian homes and restaurants. Every restaurant will serve this dosa regularly. Kids - elders like to eat a crispy dosa in a restaurant where they make the size bigger than at home.  At home, the pan will be 12 to 16 inches in diameter so the dosa will be limited to the size of that pan. In restaurants, there will be a big rectangle iron pan that can be used to cook 4-5 dosa at a time.

 Varieties of Dosa

1.      Plain Dosa (Rost)

2.      Paper Dosa

3.      Ghee (Clarified Butter) Dosa

4.      Masala Dosa

5.      Mysore Masala Dosa

6.      Onion Dosa

7.      Uttapam (thick Dosa)

8.      Onion Uttapam

9.      Family Dosa (Biggest Dosa)

10.  Podi Dosa

11.  Open Dosa

12.  Paneer Dosa

13.  Rava Dosa

14.  Onion Rava Dosa

15.  Neer Dosa

Pongal: It is a South Indian Rice dish (semi porridge) when you bubble the rice with water it’s called Pongal. Raw rice and yellow split lentil are cooked together with plenty of water so that the rice and lentil are mussy. Then other condiments are added to make it spicy and healthy.   Chilies, Ginger pieces, fried Cashews, fried black pepper, cumin seeds along with curry leaves. Different places make them differently in Tamil Nadu the texture is thick and firm, in Karnataka they cook it in milk and it is a little watery. It is the most liked food in most of the restaurants next to idli and dosa. If you eat a small quantity of Pongal you will not feel hungry for a very long time. This dish in Tamil Nadu is cooked on any festival days and it also has a day in January called Pongal.

 Varieties of Pongal

1.      Ven Pongal (Salt and Spicy)

2.      Sakari Pongal (Sweet)

3.      Millets Pongal (Healthy variety)

 Upma: It is an easy south Indian dish, which is made very quickly with few ingredients that will be available at any home, the main ingredient is dry-roasted semolina. It is made differently in different places in South India. In restaurants they have one variety which has a lot of vegetables and called kichadi or kara bath... but the preparation is the same.

 Varieties of Upma

1.      Plain Upma

2.      Vegetable Upma

3.      Wheat Upma

 All the above dishes are a common food in a south Indian household regularly. The sides that accompany these dishes are typically sambar or coconut chutney.