Kitchens of South India!

Growing up in a free, always-ready-to-try-something-new atmosphere at home has its many advantages, one of them being able to enjoy and experiment with cuisines that you wouldn't try otherwise. That is probably why, in spite of being born a Maharashtrian, belonging to a set of foodie parents have had its perks for me! Trying and appreciating food from other corners of the country has never been a challenge and I was always taught to respect what I eat and appreciate what it tastes like. 

May be that's why when I got married into a south Indian family, adjusting to food habits never seemed like an issue at all. In fact, my palate was so welcoming that I instantly fell in love with the flavours that I was introduced to. And knowing that south indian food is definitely much much much more and vast than Idlis, Dosas, Sambar and Rasam, I wanted to try my hand at picking up a dish or two in amma's kitchen! And welcoming they all were! I have and continue to learn from the next best - my Sister-in-Law, well trained under her Amma, my Mother-in-Law! Couldn't have asked for anything better!

My experience, from what I was explained, has been a combination of food from Kerala and Tamil Nadu - influences of flavours and simplicity of Kerala is a prominent feature in the food that I have been relishing for the last couple of years. I was introduced to a world of fluffy appams and flavoursome vegetable stew, the light idiyappams and the lip smacking chutneys, podis, snacks and bhajjis, curries, vegetables and different varieties of rasam and sambars, and how can I forget the oh-so-tasty sweet delights - a new dish that is simply magically doled out of the kitchen for every festival! 

That's when I thought, why not have a separate section (label) in my blog of all the interesting recipes that I have had the good fortune to taste and enjoy and a few that I have been able to learn (purely amateur attempts) and share it with all of you. For those who didn't know such recipes existed, why not open a whole new treasure trove of a culinary sojourn! 

I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as I have and I will try and be as detailed as possible when I share them. Probably the only difficult bit, so far in all this has been the names and pronunciations of these recipes! On a lighter note, like I have mentioned earlier, it is best to experience a dish by its taste and the names, well, you can take a lifetime to perfect them! 

Watch out for this space for some lip-smacking recipes and feel free to share your experiences and recipes that have been passed on to you from generations together!