Southern Flavours by Chandra Padmanabhan is a cook book totally dedicated to South Indian cooking. The book covers recipes from all the four southern states, i.e., Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Authentic recipes adorn the book. It is a must read for readers interested in regional recipes. For each recipe, the author has given a small introduction about the dish. She also mentions the community of the state from which she collected the recipe. The book was interesting to read and the dishes I tried out turned out delicious.
This is the fourth cook book from the author. Her book Simply South has won The International Gourmand Award for Second Best Vegetarian Cookbook in 2009.
She gives credit to her Mother-In-Law for teaching her south Indian cooking.
The book starts with an introduction from the author. Next comes the table of measurements in both US and Metric. Then she gives a note on the idli stand and paniyaram chatti which are a must in a south Indian kitchen.
The recipes are categorised in the following order:
1. Basic Recipes
The basic recipes deals with plain rice and spice powders.
2. Sambhar and Kuzhambu
In the next section she has given 28 types of kuzhambu from all the four states.
3. Rasam
12 types of rasam recipes adorn this section. Kadugu chaaru from Andhra is quite interesting.
4. Poriyal and Kootu
26 recipes for Usili, Palya, Poriyal, Thoran and kootan are given under this section.
5. Rice
16 types of variety rice perfect for lunch box is given in detail. The section starts with the evergreen lemon rice and ends with cooling curd rice.
6. Snacks
This section comprises of idlis, dosas, vadas, bajjis, uppma and bondas. The collection is enthralling.
7. Sweets
This section has authentic, simple to prepare recipes such as payasam, kesari, barfi and ladu.
8. Accompaniments
This section deals with chutneys and thuvaiyals.
Each recipe has a note which is a useful tip on preparation or a variation of the recipe that can be tried.
She has given two menus for buffet spreads. The menu is perfect for a South Indian traditional buffet.
Next she suggests 6 menus for a complete south Indian lunch combining her recipes from the book.
The book ends with a glossary with the tamil and hindi equvalents of the common kitchen items used in English.
I have heard a lot of tamil recipes from the book but recipes from other states were very useful. Any one interested in regional cooking must read this book. For some one new to the kitchen this is a perfect guide to the south Indian recipes.
I also tried out some of the recipes from the book. I followed the instruction exactly and the result was great. We at home completely enjoyed the dishes. The measurement given for the ingredients are perfect and you can blindly follow the recipe to get accurate results. The recipes are also easy to follow.
Some of the recipes I tried out from the book:
Atukula Dosai
Rice Pancakes from Andhra Pradesh
Pg-116
Karuveppilai Saadam
Curry Leaf Rice from Tamil Nadu
Pg-102
Cobri Pachadi
Coconut Chutney from Andhra Pradesh
Pg-158
Kathrikkai Rasavangy
Aubergine Curry from Tamil Nadu
Pg-78
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