Food Safari In Pondicherry
Pondicherry used to be the largest French Colony in India. With a big French colony housing cafes and bakeries, it sets a different vibe for tourists to enjoy! Pondicherry is a knot of Franco- Tamil cultures. Even the people’s tastes have been influenced by it. As much as the locals love their Tamil street food, they also relish the French cuisines.
Not only will we be covering their street food but also some affluent Franco-Tamil dishes. With a local to guide us, we have curated the best list for you!
Let’s go!
Beach Style Verkadalai Sundal- It is a South Indian style chaat. Loads of boiled peanuts are mixed with thin cubes of chopped tomatoes and onions. A few powdered spices are added and the entire mixture is tossed properly before served in a cup.
It has curry leaves (mandatory here) and some puffed rice or murmura. It feels like a burst of spices in the mouth with peanut flavor.
Price- INR 20 per cup.
Kuzhi Paniyaram at KBS Kofi Barr- The Chettinad Kuzhi Paniyaram looks like Appe. They are soft, gooey balls made from a batter of lentils and rice. The batter is tempered with mustard seeds, chopped carrots, chillies and onions before it is cooked over the flame. It is served with a super spicy chutney called Kara Chutney.
Note- The branch of this shop we visited was the Secretariat one. There are a total six branches of theirs in the town. You might wanna land on one of their branches to try these.
Price- INR 30 per plate.
Mutton Samosa at Mutton Samosa Cart- Minced meat is stuffed in a Samosa (a triangular deep fried patty) and is served with Paaya (leg) soup. The combination is very nice and well developed. It is worth thinking why it did not become famous all over India!
It is a little spicy and salty but you’ll definitely like it!
Price- INR 50 per plate.
Patti Kadai- ‘Patti’ means ‘Granny’ in Tamil. This shop is run by an old lady and she serves top notch Assorted Bhajjis (Fritters). There’s Prawn Bhaji, Fish Bhaji, Boneless Chicken Bhonda and fried eggs. All these are coated with a batter of chickpea flour before frying. South Indians love spicy food and the same can be said after trying these. And ofcourse, crisp and fried to perfection.
There’s only LOVE you’ll have for her stall!
Chicken Macaroni Shop- This is a Pondicherry style Macaroni. It is both Italian and Chinese. They put a few strands of noodles in it, curry leaves and shredded egg. This is like one FULL ON spicy macaroni adventure.
Note- This shop is extensively popular. There’s always a mad crowd waiting for its share to be served. So, you’ll have to have patience to make your way to the counter.
Price- INR 50 per plate.
Puducherry Hotel Sri Kamatchi- They serve food which feels homely. You should try their Chicken Dosa which is served with mutton curry and three chutneys: Coconut, Kara, Podi with sesame oil. It is a unique thing to try!
Fun Fact- In South India, if you order non-veg curry, the pieces in it will be removed and just the gravy will be given. Why? We don’t know but generally this is how they serve it, exceptions are there though.
Price- INR 400 approximately for two people.
Indian Coffee House- As the name suggests, this place is famous for its coffee. Filter Coffee.
Filter Coffee is special to South India. It is boiled milk mixed with decoction obtained from brewing freshly ground coffee.
The place has an aroma of strong coffee.
Maison Perumal- To try some Franco- Tamil dishes you must head to this place! We tried a Creole Dish which was a chickpea salad, Kadugu Eral and a Prawn Spinach Soup.
The salad had chickpeas, egg whites, onions, tomato, salt and cucumber. The Kadugu Eral is a
Mustard and Coconut Prawn Curry and the soup was made from garlic, green chillies, local spinach, prawns, coconut milk. The soup has no water in it.
Everything is very delicious and richly made.
To get a glimpse of this food tour, watch the video below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8IRhUUJcSI
