Explore the Sweet and Savory Dishes from the South of India

chillibreeze writer — Vijayashree

As I remove the piping hot ‘murukku’ from the kadhai, the smell of hot oil wafting across my kitchen transports me to my childhood days when my mother would cook some of the most mouth-watering dishes during Navrathri and Diwali.

Starting from a few days before Navrathri, there would be hectic preparations on at home. Buying different kinds of pulses and grains for the nine-nights of festivities would be high on the list. Starting with ‘chundal’ made every evening, there would be delicious ‘payasams’ made for those special days like Durga-astami, Saraswati Puja and the final days of Dusshera.

Diwali was another favorite, coming so long after Dusshera for us young ones. We would just wait for the week before Diwali, when mother would start loading different kinds of mixtures, murukkus, sweets, barfis, etc. into those huge tin boxes. There would something or the other to satisfy every craving, and the most sadistic critic would be silenced with utter ecstasy.

South Indian sweets, though not as rich as their northern counterparts, are nevertheless very delicious. Ranging from payasams made from varied cereals and pulses; right down to the sugary baadushas and jhaangaris, there is a veritable feast in store.

‘Payasams’ are a delicious beginning to every auspicious occasion and is made by mixing milk, sugar/jaggery with such ubiquitous items such as rice, beaten rice, sago, wheat flour, broken wheat, vermicelli, coconut milk, desiccated coconut, and all kinds of pulses. The taste of each is different even though the basic ingredients remain the same.

Another famous sweet is the baadushaa (or is it the ‘Badshah’ of all sweets), the ghee-filled and sugar oozing contraption that I’ve yet to master. Various shapes and sizes of baadushas are made with additions of various spices such as ‘laung’ (clove) - for that extra zing to wheat flour. These shapely bundles are deep-fried in ghee and then dipped into sugar syrup for just as long as it takes for the sugar to permeate its every layer.

Laddoos made from Bengal gram flour boondis and dipped in sugar is a heavenly delight. More succulent and juicy that the ghee-laden North Indian laddoos, the South Indian laddoo is intertwined with pieces of candied sugar, raisins, cashew nuts, bits of dry coconut, and sometimes cloves – good enough to keep curious children occupied for quite a while as they try to plunder the riches hidden inside every laddoo.

Varieties of ‘burfis’ vie for your attention during the festival time. Sinfully laden with ghee, the world famous ‘Mysore Pak’ vies for attention amongst other wonders such as the ‘5-cup wonder’, the crunchy ‘coconut barfi’, the soft and chewy ‘badam barfi’ and the ‘10-cup delight’. Whatever be the variety, each piece has the power to bring you to your knees begging for some more. The different varieties of barfi made in South India have incorporated many features of northern barfi making techniques; an amalgamation that seems to have worked wonders for its popularity.

The lesser-known but sweeter and richer cousin of the famous jilebi, the ‘jhaangari’ is made in a simpler manner comparatively. Though the method of preparation remains the same, the jhaangari is bloated due to the use of black gram flour. This enables the sugar syrup permeate to its every being. Bite into a jhaangari and the syrup will splash deliciously all around your mouth – your tongue will involuntarily dart out to capture its every juicy bit.

Jaggery laden ‘nei appams’, ‘adrisams’ and ‘bolees’ are lesser known sweets that do not make much a foray into the commercialized sweet shops; but are passed down in families from generations. These hard-to-find sweets can be eaten only during the festive season at home, although some shops tucked away in a small nook may churn out these delights every once in a while.

The salty and savory counterparts too are not far behind. The ‘murukkus’ are a different puzzle-game altogether. Starting from the long, ribbon-like ‘Kai Pakodam’ to the smooth operator, ‘Thengozhal’, to the fine mesh-like ‘Omapudi’, every murukku is made with the same love and care that a baby deserves. Although rice flour remains the most common ingredient, additions such as roasted black gram flour, or Bengal gram flour lends each murukku a different taste and texture.

Apart form these, there are the famous ‘marriage-special’ ‘Shuruttai murukku’ and the ‘Mullu murukku’ specially made for every marriage; supposedly to symbolize to the bride and groom, the various twists and turns that life will take from then on.

Then there are the various mixtures made from types of murukkus and combined with beaten rice, fried groundnuts, roasted chick-peas, etc. Again, invention is the name of the game and various combinations can be found everywhere during the festive season.

There is many a hidden treasure lurking in every granny’s mind. A gentle prod and a bit of patience can yield many more delights, hitherto unknown. It is just for us to find the time to read the recipe between the lines of those lovely stories of the ages gone by that our Grandmothers cannot have enough of!

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—About our writer:

Vijayashree has resumed her interest in writing recently and discovered (to her delight) that the lure of the written word still has her captivated. A graduate in Communicative English, she has held key positions in the PR and Corporate Communications domain before starting her own business – a Consulting, Staffing and Outsourcing firm in Bangalore. A creative person at heart, Vijayashree indulges in all forms of creativity spanning writing, reading, singing, dancing - to prancing around to her little daughter’s tunes lately!

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