This morning, I made French Toast for breakfast and had this with Blackberry Jam and whipped cream. YUM-O, right? Not so much for me – I had the “food” in front of me and my “thoughts” were elsewhere…more specifically, India.
Although I have always had a sort of love-hate relationship with India, my palate has however, remained loyal to the food of the country of my birth. And this morning, I was craving idlis and sambar and coconut chutney – the Breakfast of Champions for South Indians…although they could eat it at just about any time of the day. It is soooo good!!!! It is made from rice that is soaked overnight and ground up in the morning and poured into moulds and steamed. Very healthy and very tasty!!If it is served on a banana leaf – even better – Indians love to eat with their fingers. We believe that it adds savour to our food and fills us up. Usually in India, this means you could walk into a hotel in the morning and find many people eating off a leaf and licking their fingers and then punctuating that with a very loud burp as if to say the meal was satisfactory to their stomachs.
Let me clarify the word “hotel” in India…it does not always refer to the kind that you can stay overnight at. Hotel in India can be any place that serves food. And you find the locale dotted with hundreds of these all varying in size and shape and the type of food they serve, but always full of customers.
Don’t be fooled that this is the only meal the South Indians have for breakfast, specifically the Tamilians. We have a variety of foods that constitute breakfast. Some of my very favorites are Pongal – also made from rice – usually overboiled and can be made sweet called Chakkara Pongal or salted…my favorite is the latter. Mmmmm..mouth watering!!! The next in the line-up is Dosa – made from 
rice and a bit watery in consistency, it is poured onto a hot flat pan and made into a circle. They are cripsy and we call them Paper Dosas since they are sometimes made super thin. These are so delicious and can be eaten with sambar, curries, chutneys, spicy potatoes, and many more side dishes. If you are really hungry, you can go for the 6-foot dosai to appease your hunger.
There are seveal other breakfast items that you can look up on the internet to find pictures of…they have funny names sometimes, but they are the tastiest finds: Upma(oopma), Chappati, Poori, Vada, Bonda, and more…
Not only are India’s culture, climate and geography diverse but so is its food, which is an integral part of life and completely influenced by religion and tradition and customs…Food is a celebration of life and color in India and speaking of food, I am prompted to write a few more blogs dedicated to the food-culture in India, so look for some more….
Thanks for indulging my trip down Memory Lane, although I have seen a Spice store in Berkeley that could put to end to my virtual meandering of Indian foods that I like and allow me to actually make some Idlis and Sambar soon enough…
Go Idlis!
