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Next up on the Delicious South Indian Cuisines is “Semiya Vada“. As the cold weather approaches this one serves as a hot bite for the weather.

Semiya Vada is a specialty from the state of Tamil Nadu. It is also a special snack and can be served with curd or with pickle. Well, too much of talking, I guess I’d better leave you with the delicious vadas.

As always, the video is what all you people want, we’ve even listed the ingredients and the method of preparation, just in case you want to note it down.

Ingredients:

Channa Dal (coarsely ground)
Chopped Onion
Green chillies chopped
Garlic chopped
Ginger chopped
Curry leaves
Vermicelli (roasted)
Cumin
Fennel
Salt
Oil

Method :

Mix channa dal, salt, chopped onion, chopped green chillies, chopped ginger, chopped garlic and chopped curry leaves.
Roll into balls
Coat with roasted vermicelli and flatten into cakes
Deep fry in hot oil
Serve with a chutney dip

Hope you’ve enjoyed learning the soup, if you have any questions for Venkatesh ? Drop them in the comments section and get the answers right here.

A month and a half ago we announced that the South Indian Carnival was coming your way and that it began in style.

Since then the event has been into it’s 7th consecutive week and doing really well. All you people have been dropping in huge numbers and we have got huge appreciations for our efforts, be it on mails, blogs, phones or on review sites for that matter.

We are glad that you’ve liked our efforts to showcase South Indian Culture in a different manner and want to take this opportunity to thank you for the love and blessings you’ve bestowed upon us. We have and will always continue to serve authentic South Indian cuisines of course with ‘cultural toppings’.

We constantly update each of our carnival night pictures on our flickr profile as well as on our facebook fan page. We would love to see you tagged there, so please feel free and tag yourself and your loved ones and don’t forget to join us, just in case if you haven’t joined up till now. Also, please feel free to share pictures with your friends.

And in case you’ve taken some snaps which you would like to share with us, do let us know in the comments.

Thank you once again and keep coming !

It is our endeavour to hold up a mirror to South Indian culture and reflect its richness far and wide to as many people as possible. We believe that the simplest way to understand the culture, its people and their way of life is through the cuisine of that particular region. At South Indies, you can experience the ethnic flavours from the different regions of South India, in a culinary journey that is endless and unforgettable.

’Display the richness of South Indian culture’-is our motto at South Indies and hence came the Coffee Table book, which is available exclusively at our place. “4 Flavours”, the South Indies Coffee Table book is a display of art mixed with culture and knowledge. 4 flavours is a 100 page journey that takes you through landscapes and lifestyles of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala..

“2 table spoons of similarity, mixed with 3 cubes of diversity, add a dozen languages and a bowl full of dialects, throw in as many traditions and rituals as you wish, and enjoy the four flavours of South India.”
That’s how the book starts and it continues in a similar fashion, explaining in the most amazing way the culture, traditions, history, language of the 4 South Indian states of India.

Although the book is worthy enough to be taken away and it’s compilation is impossible to be explained in words but if I were to write what it constitutes of I’ll say this :

The journey begins at a place where Tipu Sultan was betrayed, and ends in a place that nests an ancient civilization. It starts from the grandeur of the Mysore palace to the disciplined and devotional Tibetan settlements in Bylakuppe in Karnataka. Goes from Tamil Nadu’s Kanchipuram silk to the spiritual serenity of the epic temples filled with the engrossing Chettinad and Tanjore paintings and sculptures; from the Brihadisvara Temple built by the first sailor king of India to the ’still-alive’ French connection in Pondicherry.

Moves on from the adventures of Vasco Da Gama to that of Haider Ali, depicts the world renowned Kathakali dance and the art of fighting – Kalarippayattu. Not to forget the Chinese technology in fishing and the secret art of creating the Aranmula metal mirror, in the state of Kerala.

While in Andhra Pradesh it depicts the mythological aura starting from Kumbhkarna to the stupas built during the reign of “Ashoka The Great”. The famous “fiery chilly” cuisines to the tradition of tonsuring your heads at temples and did I forget to mention the Carnatic music or the famous Kondapalli toys ? Not my mistake, it has so much that something’s ought to be forgotten!

Phew! I am sorry but I have to stop or else I’ll spend the entire day admiring the book and you – reading this! Do demystify the book; you need to check it out the next time you are at South Indies. To say the least, the “Coffee Table Book” is truly a collector’s delight.

In our series of “Delicious South Indian Recipes”, where we share videos with you people, next up is the famous : Tomato Bath. Venkatesh’s previous recipes : Tarkari Gatti Bajji, Goli Bajji and Kudotho Saru can be found in our previous blog entries.

Tomato Bath is another dish from Mangalore, and is one of Venkatesh’s personal favourite too, as it was made by his granny.

As always, the video is what all you people want, we’ve even listed the ingredients and the method of preparation just in case you want to note it down.

Ingredients :

Avallaki (Poha)
Tomatoes
Toor dal
Green chillies
Ginger
Curry Leaves
Mustard
Corriander
Hing water
Turmeric powder
Salt
Oil
Jaggery

Method :

Soak avallaki (poha) for in water for half an hour.
Roast mustard, ginger, garlic and curry leaves in oil till the garlic turns golden brown.
Add chillies, turmeric powder, tomatoes, chilli powder, salt, jaggery, tamarind pulp, hing water, toor dal, and avallakki and wait until it cooks.
Add lemon juice and ghee.
Mix in corriander leaves
Serve and enjoy !

Hope you’ve enjoyed learning the soup, if you have any questions for Venkatesh ? Drop them in the comments section and get the answers right here.

Last time around we told you that we ‘LISTEN’ to YOU and from your inputs the idea of a South Indian Cultural Carnival was conceived. Our weekly Carnival has started, and its on, every Friday eve 7 pm onwards, showcasing famous traditions of South India.

It was time for weeks long discussions to be put into action. As soon as the lunch winded up, everybody got into the thick of action. The decoration of the place; kites, flowers, pots, leaves, rangoli – all being used to give the place a true Carnival atmosphere. Soon the Channapatna Toys, the palmist, the potter arrived with their whole armoury and as soon as the toys’ man put up his things on display – he started selling. Yeah, they were so beautiful that even I was tempted to buy those lovely looking toys. The atmosphere was so fun filled and exciting that it did not take long for our CEO, Venkatesh, to get into the act. He could soon be seen busy with the boys setting up his Live Counter.

Weeks of planning and hours of non-stop work was what it took to get South Indies ready for the first ever South Indian Cultural Carnival in the city. And then the efforts started to bear fruit. We had quite a lot of bookings already made online, thanks to our newsletters and of course our twitter and facebook pages,.

On the Carnival night, the guests were welcomed by traditional ‘Arishana-Kunkuma’. The women were also presented ‘gajras’. Also a brief about the Carnival was given to all our guests, which was highly appreciated by them. On departure the guests were thanked with South Indian pickles along with their recipes.

While Channapatna toys and the potter were expectantly an instant hit, what was amazing, was the number of people who queued up for the palmist. People are really interested to know their future I guess ! Channapatna toys, an art known in this part of the world from the times when Tipu Sultan reigned here, is still equally popular as it was then.

Though many of us have seen the potter’s wheel and pots being beautifully made, hardly anyone of us had tried that! The Carnival gave everybody an opportunity to do something never done before. Everybody was allowed to try their hands out at the wheel and even take away what they made. Not to say that not many were successful in making what they intended to but nevertheless the effort and the experience was what mattered the most.

Well, enough talk, we’ll leave you with the pics of the first edition of the Carnival and invite you to come and see for yourself the South Indian Carnival @ southindies.

In our series of “Delicious South Indian Recipes”, where we share videos with you people, next up is the famous : Goli Bajji. It’s another starter dish from Mangalore, is a dish made from maida and yogurt.

As always, the video is what all you people want, we’ve even listed the ingredients and the method of preparation just in case you want to note it down.

Ingredients :

Maida – 250 gm
Sour curd – 125 gm
Salt to taste
Cumin seed – 10 gm
Ginger – 10 gm
Chilli (chopped) – 10gm
Curry leaves (chopped) – 10gm
Cooking soa – a pinch
Oil for frying

Method :

Take maida in a bowl
Add the curd, salt, cooking soda, ginger, chilli, curry leaves, cumin seeds and hing water
Mix well for 5 min
Allow batter to rest for 15 min
Deep fry rondlets in hot oil until golden brown
Serve with coconut chutney

Hope you’ve enjoyed learning Goli Bajji, if you have any questions for Venkatesh ? Drop them in the comments section and get the answers right here.

Venkatesh comes up with another dish, Kudothu Saru, from Mangalore. The dish has its origins from the ‘Tulu’ community in Mangalore. Kudothu Saru, a traditional Brahmin dish, is a soup made from horse grams. Without wasting much time let’s see it from the man itself. Here’s Venkatesh for you :

As always, the video is what all you people want, we’ve even listed the ingredients and the method of preparation just in case you want to note it down.

Ingredients :

Horse gram (boiled) – 200gm
Cinnamon – 2 barks
Cardamom – 3 nos.
Cloves – 3 nos.
Tomatoes (sliced) – 2 nos.
Onion – 2 nos.
Cumin – 10gm
Saunf – 10 gm
Grated Coconut – 50gm
Coriander powder – 20gm
Chilli powder – 20gm
Turmeric powder – 10gm
Jaggery – 50gm
Coriander (chopped) – 1 bunch
Cooked rice – 50gm
Chopped carrots, beans, cauliflower (mixed) – 50gm

Method :

Soak horse gram seeds in luke warm water for half an hour
Cook in a pressure cooker for 5-6 whistles
Heat some oil in a pan
Put garlic pods, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, tomatoes, onions, turmeric powder
Add water and bring it to boil
Add grated coconut, jaggery and horse grams
Take it off the fire and strain it
Mash it while straining
Mix in boiled rice and par boiled vegetables and the chopped coriander
Serve and enjoy !

Hope you’ve enjoyed learning the soup, if you have any questions for Venkatesh ? Drop them in the comments section and get the answers right here.

Being an authentic South Indian restaurant we constantly strive to bring forth the true flavor of South India for our guests. The Brahmin Food Festival, which ended recently, was an example of this. However, we thought we should not just showcase South Indian cuisine but should attempt to build a platform for exhibiting South Indian culture, but we wanted to be sure. For this we zeroed in on a few things but then we thought let’s ask our most valued people, ‘You‘, after all it’s for you that we are here. For a small period, we asked questions randomly and then decided to go with the most wanted response, the South Indian Culture.

In this direction, starting this Friday, 9th of October, we will have a Carnival, each Friday, which will be hosting famous and not so famous vignettes from South Indian culture. We will evolve the components over time (with your valuable feedback to guide us) but we are starting with:

Channapatna Toys : A particular form of wooden toys which were born more than two centuries ago. Manufactured in the town of Channapatna in the Bangalore Rural district of Karnataka, these toys were first made during the reign of Tipu Sultan.

Palmist : Though fortune telling is an art which is practiced in many parts of the world, Southern India holds a special place in this because of the rigour that goes into the training of these fortune tellers (and some say because of the accuracy of the predictions!!). Bangalore has numerous foreign delegates visiting the city but a notable thing is that many top level officials have asked their Indian counterparts to arrange palmists for them. Such is the fame of our palmists and we feel this is an important art to be showcased, an art that no other part of the world has.

Live pottery : We’ve all seen and in fact most of us have used clay pots in our homes, but have we ever tried making them or even watched them being made ? South Indies’ Carnival will let you see and even MAKE your own pots. What’s more, you can even take away whatever you make out there. A one of a kind experience, probably never experienced before.

A Live Counter : Every restaurant has our food ordered and delivered to our tables but the Live Food Counter is a tad different. You can see special South Indian eateries being prepared ‘live’ in front of you. A South Indian teppanyaki!

Well, well, well, too many insights we guess, to see everything in action you need to be at South Indies Indiranagar on Friday, 9th October. Make sure, you book your tables to avoid any waiting time, See you there !

As promised last week, we are here with Venkatesh’s first recipe. He shares a starter dish from Mangalore which is called, Tarkari Gatti Bajji. Even though the video is what all you people want, we’ve even listed the ingredients and the method of preparation just in case you want to not it down. So here you go :

Ingredients :

Besan Flour – 200 gms
Carrot (chopped) – 100 gms
Beans (chopped) – 100 gms
Cauliflower (chopped) – 100 gms
Onion (chopped) – 50 gms
Coriander (chopped) – 10 gms
Salt – To taste
Oil To fry
Hing water – 2 drops
Green Chili 1 nos.

Method :

Take besan flour in a bowl
Add curry leaves, carrot, beans, cauliflower, coriander, onion, salt, hing water, green chili and water and mix it well
Set aside for 15 min
Deep fry roudlets in hot oil until golden brown
Serve with coconut chutney

Questions for Venkatesh ? Drop in comments and get the answers right here.

India is a vast country. It boasts of 28 states and 22 recognized languages and these states and languages are associated with many different cultures. South India, comprising the 4 southern states Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, along with the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, forms nearly 20% of our country. Even though southern India is a part of a country which has Hindi as it’s national language, this part is unique when it comes to culture. As a part of showcasing South India, we decided to taste a bit of it.

Starting with clothes : Sari is the favourite dress of women in the entire country and so it is here, but the men have a dhoti or lungi as their traditional clothing. Though it may called differently, a mundu or panchey, in different states, the style of wearing it remains almost the same everywhere. It is draped over clockwise or anticlockwise and can be tied at the back or fixed just along the waist line.

The Languages : Four different states of south India have four powerful languages. Tamil is the language of Tamil Nadu, Kannada for Karnataka, Telugu for people of Andhra Pradesh while Malayalam is the mother tongue for people having their origins in Kerala. Often you may find people knowing more than the language of their states and speaking these languages interchangeably in conversations. Urdu (in its own unique form) is commonly spoken by the Muslims of South India. Then there are languages like Tulu, Coorgi & Konkani which are spoken in certain niches of South India.

From language let’s turn our focus towards something which knows no language – Music : The traditional form of music that grooves here is the Carnatic Music. It’s a form of Indian classical music that was named after Carnatic, the name by which South India was known in the earlier colonial days. Having said that, it does not mean that no other form of music is heard here, with the unorthodox film industry music taking top place in the youngsters’ music collection. As a part of the culture and being traditional to south India, South Indies also hosts Carnatic Music Live Bands at both its outlets.

South Indian Dance Bharatanatyam

Dance : The South Indian culture is celebrated in the elaborate dance forms of South India – Koodiyattam, Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Kathakali, Theyyam, Oppana, Mohiniaattam and Yakshagana. Out of these, the Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi and the Kathakali are the most common ones.

Religion and Arts : South India is probably the most religious place in the country, a fact that is testified by the large number of temples in these 4 states. Large number of people coming from various parts of the country throng these temples each year, often donating huge amounts of wealth as well. The temples consist of awesome inspirational sculptures and paintings which stand as a testament to the South Indian culture. South India is home also home to 5 of the 26 World Heritage listed sites in India. Sculptures became one of the finest medium of South Indian expression after the human form of dance.

Literature : The literary tradition for South India began two thousand years ago with the first known literature, the poetic Sangams, written in Tamil. Ever since then, there has been a vast amount of literary classics that have been written in South India. A prominent feat for South India is that Kannada writers have received the highest number of Jnanpith Awards (highest literary award in India), 7, for any particular language.

South Indian Food - Akkiroti with Ananas Menaskai

Cuisine : Ah, how could we miss that! Last time we told you that Venkatesh, during his three year journey learnt close to 3000 South Indian recipes. So that says it all I guess. But just to make a quick comment on the specific things – Rice is the staple diet around here. Coconut is an important ingredient in Kerala and coastal part of Karnataka, whereas the cuisine in Andhra Pradesh is characterized by the delicious pickles, spicy aromatic curries and the generous use of chili powder. As far as drinks is concerned, South Indian coffee is generally quite robust and is the most preferred drink here.

Hope you’ve enjoyed reading about South Indian culture but I am sure I’ve left a lot of stones unturned and would love to know more from you people. We’ll surely be delving more into the details in later posts. Share more about South Indian culture with us and fellow readers in the comments section below.