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The food of South India non-greasy, and is a good deal less
rich than northern dishes. Rice is the staple carbohydrate
and accompanies every meal. Sambhar, lentil
stew cooked with vegetables, is a breakfast favorite.
Origins and History
For thousands of years vegetarianism was
practiced throughout India for reasons of health and hygiene.
Although meat eating was introduced to other parts of the
country by Western colonisers, South India is largely Hindu
and vegetarianism remains central to Hindu thought and practice.
Every restaurant in South India has a place to wash your
hands, and food is eaten with the right hand only. Indians
equate eating a meal using cutlery with making love through
an interpreter.
Serving Suggestion
Sambhar is a kind of dhal, or lentil stew.
It is cooked with seasonal vegetables, most commonly aubergine,
okra ('ladies fingers'), spinach, peas, onion or potato -
each of which gives the dish a distinctive flavour of its
own. Breakfast sambhar usually has a higher liquid content
than sambhar eaten at other times of the day.
Sambhar is usually accompanied by spongy rice dumplings called
idli. The dumplings are dipped into the bowl
and the sambha scooped out. A filling and nutritious start
to the day.
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