10 Famous Foods In Chennai That Make Your Trip Absolutely A Memorable One

When you are for a visit to the Capital city of Tamil Nadu that is Chennai, adding some mouth-watering dishes to your list would be just a perfect idea. The famous dishes, its taste and texture and more importantly the theatrical scenes around will make your meals in Chennai the most memorable ones for sure.

Chennai is known for its south Indian Cuisine. The vibrant culinary over there depicts that it is not just a metropolitan city but also a place where one can have delicious food at every visit. Every bit of each of the famous foods in Chennai will pleasantly surprise you and no doubt you will know Chennai for food as well more than just lakes and IT parks. Dishes available there has a different specialty and been constantly improved with the help of food enthusiasts of Chennai.

Get ready to know the 10 famous foods in Chennai that are known globally and something you should not miss to eat.

^{Chennai Food- Source: Around Mangalore}

1. Idli

As Chennai is all about South Indian Cuisine the first that you should know is Idli. Nowhere but here in Chennai Idli comes in perfectly round, soft, white, and moist and just its texture will make you feel hungry. Idli is usually served with sambhar and chutney.

2. Masala Dosa

Masala Dosa is what you can see loved by the crowd of Chennai. It is filled with potatoes, spices, and fried onions. The masala could be different with different ingredients and people are crazy to try each new version of it like Mysore Masala dosa, oats dosa, cheese masala dosa, and more.

^{Masala Dosa- Sourcet: Swasthi’s}

3. Sambar and Rasam rice

This food is quite a favourite of the Chennai locals. Just like sambhar is made of spices, lentils, and pulses, rasam is also a broth of different ingredients and gives a vibrant taste when mixed with rice. There are rasam powders available in the markets of Chennai through which people can make it in their homes and enjoy hot rasam mostly in winter.

The rasam is made up of cumin, garlic, black pepper, and tamarind. It is sour and spicy that gives it a piquant taste and when mixed with rice your taste buds get treated with the real south Indian flavours.

4. Kuzhi Paniyaram

The Kuzhi Paniyaram is a dish which could be either steamed or eaten by getting it fried. These are made of the idli batter which are tiny and when fried can be enjoyed best with sambhar.

There are also sweet kuzhi paniyaram made using jaggery or sugar syrup. While some people are addicted to the fried Kuzhi Paniyaram, some like to have it dipped in sugar syrup. But slowly it is now a most wanted dish in Chennai and liked by tourists as well.

5. Pongal

Pongal is something which people eat during breakfast time. Just like Kuzhi paniyaram this dish comes in sweet and spicy taste in which the spicy pongal is known as Ven pongal. Ven pongal tastes amazing with sambhar and chutney

On the other hand, the sweet pongal is used by the people in the form of prasaad in Temples and made in heavy quantity during pongal festival.

^{Ven Pongal-Source: Swasthi’s Recipes}

6. Vadai/ Thayir vadai

Once served your tongue starts drooping with its formation and texture. It tastes best when served hot and crispy and has curd and spices dressed over it. Thayir Vadai could also be explained in simple words that it is a south Indian alternative of dahi vada. Thayir vadai does not have green chutney and sweet chutney in it and thus it comes in the form of a little spicy.

7. Adai

Adai is something like dosa but made in thicker form and have little different ingredients in it. Adai includes mixed utensils and rice batter and liked by the tourists due to its amazing taste. It is something different and new from the usual dosa and that's why when they visit Chennai for a business or family trip, they love to have Adai with chutney.

^{Adai- Source: Veg Recipes Of India}

8. Fish curry

For the people who love seafood, fish curry is the best option to try in Chennai. This dish is known for its flavours and mouth-watering taste that no one can avoid completing it after having a bite.

Fried fish and correct spices combination are what are found in different places in Chennai and make it a unique and well-known dish of the city.

^{Fish Curry- Source: Swasthi’s}

9. Kothu parotta

it is this dish which screamed out loud by the people of Chennai at every meal. The main elements of this dish are paratha, a little meat, egg, and spicy gravy. These ingredients are mixed in hot oil and Kothu parotta is ready to eat.

10. Bajji

the beaches in madras have the most famous bajji in its stalls and people love to have hot bites near the shore. Just to relax from all the tensions in your life a calm seashore with a hot bajji is what you need.

You can have different types like cooking bananas, potato, and chilli bajjis in Chennai beaches and know how to relax.

Chennai has given incredible south Indian dishes to contribute to the Indian Cuisine. If you are in Chennai than trying theses simple yet elegant dishes will make your holidays a memory for a lifetime.