Welcome to the food capital of Tamil Nadu. We had the good fortune to taste a number of unique dishes on our trip down south. So come and discover along with us the delectable food of Madurai.
There are a number of places in Madurai that are just serving cold drinks to battle the hot weather of the region. One such drink is Elaneer Sherbet which is made from coconut water, coconut cream, some syrup, and ice. We then visited Sun Lemon Tea Stall, where ironically we had Sukku/Chukku Malli Coffee. This unique drink is supposed to be a cure for cough, containing dried ginger, coriander seeds, and fenugreek.
Along the way, we tried a few sweets that were almost like candies. Sweets like javvu mithai, thaen mithai, sooda mithai, or elandha pazham are available in a lot of shops on the streets. Our next stop was Kavannah Parotta Kadai in Natham. Here we tried the iconic deep-fried parotta which was crushed and topped with mutton gravy and some pieces of dry or chukka mutton along with mint chutney. The crispy and flaky parotta goes perfectly well with the melt-in-the-mouth mutton pieces and gravy.
Later we visited the flower market in Madurai where we tried Valakkai/ Vazhakai Bajji or Plantain Fritters. The plantains are coated with a batter of chickpea flour and spices and then deep-fried, the perfect evening snack. We then went to Rani Vilas for some paniyaram omelette, served with rice, mutton, bone marrow and some chutneys. Here we also tried Ratha Poriyal, a dish prepared with goat's blood. After that, we tried an interesting drink called Koozh. Another cool porridge drink to enjoy in the hot weather.
We landed at Ajmer Mahal for quite a wholesome meal. Here we had the ceylon parotta that is very similar to the bengali mughlai parantha; Vazhiyal whoch basically scrambled eggs with spices; and kothu parotta, a blend of minced parotta pieces with curry leaves, onions, spices and eggs. For some more refreshments we went to the KRK Milk Depot. We sweetened our mouths with some milk halwa and some rose milk and badam milk.
In the evening we tried an interesting chaat called egg paaya, which is made from mutta bonda/egg bonda, onion samosa, pattaani gravy and topped with onions. A very refreshing and spicy dish. For all the fish lovers we discovered paradise. At PSA Fish, you get everything that lives in water. We mainly tried Tandoori Fish and prawns, Prawn biryani, fish fingers, fish omelette, and a lot more. Finally, we came to an end of the food tour with a nice cup of strong coffee at PTR Tea Stall and Snack Bar.