The foodie that I am I spend most of my day thinking about food. At lunch I think about what to cook for dinner and at dinner I think what's for breakfast tomorrow! At breakfast I think about lunch! The truth is I fantasise about food all the time. 

Perhaps it is this fantasising that has led me to write, explore and savour the different cuisines of the world. And, there is one thing I have to confess I always have a day peppered with recipes. As I sit here writing my stories about food, thoughts of South Indian comfort foods are beginning to take over my mind and make my mouth water.

My First Time

My first sensuous and delicious encounter with this cuisine came as a newly-wed bride when I moved to India. Growing up in Kenya we were exposed to various cuisines from all around the world - Swahili, French, Mexican, my favourite Italian, Chinese, Japanese and regional Indian, oddly enough I never had the opportunity to experience Southern Indian until one fine day Viki (my husband) suggested lets do a "idli dosa lunch today' My curiosity got the best of me and soon I found myself asking for seconds.

Like most other cuisines in India South Indian cuisine is an authentic spice rack of cuisines and cultural influences. This part of India is famous for its variety of spices and heavily spice laced dishes. It has a history that has witnessed the export of spices - mostly cardamom, pepper, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg to many countries. Many world wanderers like the Dutch, the French and the English, who kept coming to this region for centuries are fond of these spices.

Grandma Fresh

Indian cuisine tells a unique story where the pleasures of modernisation and ancient rituals are reflected side by side in her cuisine. There are people who still get milk from the farmer and not a supermarket. My mother used to buy whole wheat grains, clean and wash them at home, dry them and then send them over to the "chakki" (flour mill) for "pisawing" or grinding. In this way our mothers and grandmothers showered their affection on us with the freshest and most wholesome fare they had to offer.

Appetising and filled with flavour, South Indian cuisine is popular for its grandma like fresh fare. Traditional dishes are mostly rice based and the cuisine is unique in that lentils and rice are soaked and then left to ferment to make batter for the gorgeous fluffy idlis (steamed cakes) and crispy crepes called dosas. With the minimum use of oil and an extensive use of digestive spices such as black pepper and asafoetida, the cuisine can be described as light and easily digested.

Tangy soupy lentil dishes called "sambhaars" and "rasams" are a must in most  main courses  and are  almost always accompanied by idlis, dosas or steamed rice along with a vegetable and a "pachadi" (yogurt dishes that are great for mellowing the hot and spicy food)). Lemon rice is another very popular dish along with the yummy have to have coconut rice, dahi (yoghurt) rice and also delicious fried rice made with grated coconut, curry leaves, white urad dhal, tamarind and chilies. Almost every meal is accompanied by chutney and unlike the common sweet mango or tomato chutneys that we have with a lamb or chicken curry, the South Indian chutney is often full of fire and balanced off with the sweetness of grated coconut.

Four Influences, Recipe

South Indian cuisine is "tangy, hot and spicy" however unlike North Indian food the South Indians do not rely too much on the Indian magic spice blend garam masala. Turmeric, black pepper, cardamom and fresh tamarind are employed extensively in the cuisine which creates a perfect blend of flavour. Visually the cuisine is attractive and filled with colour, texture and balance. 

Coffee and coconut milk play a very important role in the cuisine and South Indian hospitality is almost always epitomised with a steaming hot frothy "dabra" of coffee. Interestingly this comforting hot, milky and frothy coffee is served in a steel glass with a steel bowl in which you pour the coffee bit by bit and enjoy it - a unique and delicious way of enhancing the flavour of the coffee. 

South Indian cuisine can be divided into four main regions:

Andhra: The spiciest of all Southern Indian fare with generous use of tamarind and red chilli, and in Hyderabad traditional South Indian fare and Mogul cuisine coexist side by side in perfect harmony.

Karnataka: Mostly vegetarian, and chilies are used sparingly.

Kerala: The seafood lovers nirvana, using a lot of tuna, mackerel, prawns, crabs and lobsters all laced with coconut and spice and all thing nice - beware the green chilies lurk everywhere.

Tamil Nadu: A multifarious spread of vegetarian and non-vegetarian fare.

The South Indian table boasts an ambrosial banquet filled with an orchestra of colours, flavours, fragrances and textures. Deceptively simple the cuisine reflects a large array of complex flavours, time honoured recipes and taste sensations that are sure to tingle your taste buds. 

Below is a recipe for South Indian Yoghurt Rice. It is comforting, easy and a superb way to use left over rice.

Ingredients

1 cup left over steamed rice

1 cup fresh plain yoghurt beaten well

½  cup milk

2 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter)

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

2 pinches of asafoetida

1 sprig of curry leaves

1 red birdseed chilli finely chopped

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

Heaps of fresh finely chopped coriander leaves for garnish.

In a bowl mix the left over steamed rice with the yoghurt and milk and season to taste with the salt and pepper. Heat the ghee in a small pan and add the mustard seeds and allow them to splutter. As soon as they start spluttering toss in the pinch of asafoetida, curry leaves, chilli and cayenne pepper (be very quick to avoid the cayenne from burning it should just sizzle). Pour this tempering over the yogurt rice and garnish with coriander leaves.