Dishes here
Dosa and idliA crisp rice pancake and soft steamed rice cakes, sold along the main bazaar street. Have them early, with chai.Hyderabadi biryaniRice and spiced mutton sealed and steamed together. Have it for lunch in the Old City, and order the sour chutney on the side if it's offered.Appam and stewA soft, lacy rice pancake with a mild coconut stew. Breakfast or dinner, and a gentle start if spice worries you.SadyaA vegetarian feast served on a banana leaf at festivals. Ask your host if one is on while you're here.Karimeen pollichathuPearl spot fish baked in a spiced banana leaf parcel. This is its home water, so order it here if anywhere.Mysore pakA rich fudge of ghee, or clarified butter, with gram flour and sugar, said to come from the palace kitchen. Buy it fresh in town.Kappa and meen curryBoiled, mashed tapioca with a hot, tangy fish curry. Rural and filling, and the classic toddy shop plate.Pazham poriRipe banana fritters, crisp outside and soft within, eaten with chai in the evening.Bisi bele bathA hot, spiced mix of rice, lentils and vegetables, a Karnataka comfort food.Chutney pudiDry chutney powder of peanut, sesame or garlic, mixed with ghee or curd. A spoonful with your rotti does a lot of the work.Jolada rottiThin flatbread of jowar, or sorghum, the staple of North Karnataka. Eat it fresh and warm at lunch, with whatever vegetables the meal brings.Mirchi bajji and khara mandakkiFried chilli fritters with spiced puffed rice, the market snack of the region. Good for a late afternoon after the tombs. Choose a stall frying fresh.Shenga holigeSweet flatbread filled with peanut and jaggery, a dark unrefined sugar. It usually comes at the end of a meal.Jolada rottiSorghum flatbread with stuffed aubergine curry, the North Karnataka meal. Look for it in nearby towns rather than the bazaar.South Indian thaliRice, sambar (a lentil and vegetable stew) and small curries on a plate. The dependable lunch around the bazaar.Baghare bainganSmall aubergines stuffed with gram flour, peanuts, coconut and tamarind. The best vegetarian answer to all that mutton, and good with plain rice.HaleemA thick, slow-cooked stew of meat, broken wheat and lentils, topped with fried onions. It's a Ramzan dish, so eat it after sunset that month.Irani chaiStrong milky tea, from the cafes Iranian migrants opened, with a sweet-salty butter biscuit to dunk. Have it standing near Charminar.Nihari and payaMutton stew cooked overnight (nihari) and spicy goat trotter stew (paya), mopped up with naan. This is an Old City breakfast, so go early.Qubani ka meethaStewed apricots served warm, usually with custard or ice cream. Order it to finish a biryani lunch.Ghee biryaniRice and meat cooked with lots of ghee, or clarified butter. Mattancherry's lunchtime dish, and it can sell out.Puttu and kadalaSteamed cylinders of rice flour and coconut with black chickpea curry. Kerala's breakfast, and it's filling.Bun parottaA soft, layered flatbread shaped like a bun, eaten with meat curry. Best from a street griddle in the evening.JigarthandaMadurai's chilled milk drink with condensed milk, ice cream and sarsaparilla syrup. Have it mid-afternoon, in the heat.Kalkandu sadhamSweet rice with rock sugar, brought here by the Saurashtrian community. Finish a vegetarian meal with it.Kari dosaA thick dosa, or rice pancake, layered with omelette and spiced minced mutton. Have it at dinner and come hungry.Kola urundaiFried balls of minced mutton, on their own or with rice. A Madurai mess order, a mess being a plain local eatery.Podi idliSteamed rice cakes coated in a spiced lentil powder, called podi, with chutneys. A breakfast order.Tamil thaliA full plate of rice, sambar, a lentil stew, and small vegetable dishes. Have it at lunch near the temples.Tawa-fried fishThe day's fish, often tuna, fried on the griddle with spice. Ask what came in that morning before you order.Kerala chaiTea boiled with milk, ginger and cardamom. Have one up here among the plantations it comes from.Porotta and beefFlaky layered flatbread with a spiced beef curry. A Kerala favourite at Munnar's bazaar restaurants.Mylari dosaA soft dosa, a rice and lentil pancake, served with butter and coconut chutney. Have it for breakfast at the old Nazarbad shops.Mysore masala dosaA thin, crisp dosa filled with spiced potato, with sambar, a lentil stew, and chutneys on the side. A morning order.Masala-grilled fishThe day's fish, grilled with local spice. Menus change daily at the heritage house kitchens, so ask.Muttai kuzhambuA Tamil egg curry, thick and homestyle, served with rice. Look for it on Franco-Tamil menus at dinner.Kerala fish curryFish in a tangy curry of tamarind, coconut and spices, eaten with rice. Have it in town at lunch.