The South: Of Temples, Coconut Groves,
and Spice Routes
I think of the South as the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pra-
desh, Telangana, and Goa. Each has a unique cuisine, with a few similarities
because of what crops grow there and the climate they share.
Sacred foods
All food is considered sacred in India. Nature is worshipped for its generosity, and
many ingredients that come from the earth are revered. Wasting food is seen as an
insult to the benevolence we are blessed with. Rice, for example, is seen as a staple
that can feed countless people and is associated with abundance. Turmeric, the
spice, has been valued for its healing properties for centuries and is used in rituals
of cleansing and purification.
Invasions through land routes preceded those from sea routes, which were dis-
covered much later. Southern India is surrounded by sea, so it saw relatively fewer
foreign invasions, and the ones it did see came later than in the North. It’s believed
that the native culture of India, both religious and spiritual, is better preserved in
the South. Because religion is so pervasive through every aspect of life in India,
the food here is also influenced by these beliefs.
South India is well known for its many beautifully sculpted temples. On many of
my travels to these temples, I’ve found, to my great delight, sculptures of ancient
foods that were served to devotees who visited or given as offerings to the gods.
Some of these carvings are 800 years old and seem like a novel way to preserve the
region’s culinary heritage!
Goa and the Portuguese influence
Although most people think of Goa as a beach holiday destination, its culinary
history is fascinating for what it did to all food in India. As the demand for spices
grew in the Western world, Europeans set out in search of the lands that grew
them. The Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama reached the Malabar Coast in
Kerala in 1498 and opened the routes for the spice trade.
The Portuguese invaded Goa in 1510 and brought great changes to the cuisine and
culture of the region. Many Hindus were converted to Christianity, and people
who had earlier not eaten beef and pork began to cook these foods in their homes.
The Portuguese brought to India many ingredients that some people may think
are native. Chilies, cashews, potatoes, and tomatoes forever changed the way reci-
pes were prepared. Chilies replaced black pepper, and today, tons of chilies grow
all over India, finding their way into almost every savory dish.
Leavened bread called pao is another Portuguese food that has endured over the
centuries. It’s eaten dipped into sweet tea for breakfast or with curries like the
vindaloo, another Portuguese-inspired Goan dish. Made up of the Portuguese
words for wine and garlic — vino and alho, respectively — the dish has been inter-
preted by Indian restaurants around the world as the hottest curry on the menu.
People outside India may think of it as being one of the country’s best loved cur-
ries, so predictable and constant is its presence on menus. In India, it’s a tangy,
hot curry spiced with chilies, vinegar, and spices that is eaten locally in Goa and is
not ubiquitously popular all over the country.
Kerala and its Hindu, Christian, and Muslim cooking
Kerala, which means “land of coconuts,” is one of the best places to visit if you
love Indian food but want more than the usual tikka and korma. A small state
with the hilly Western Ghats on one side and the azure Arabian Sea on the other,
its cuisine is inspired by its 560 miles of backwaters. On the banks of these intri-
cate waterways grow coconuts, bananas, and spices such as pepper and carda-
mom. The backwaters also provide Kerala’s best delicacy, a silvery-black fish
called karimeen or pearlspot, which is cooked with hot spices in a banana leaf.
Coconut is used in some form (oil, milk, or flesh; grated, roasted, or powdered) in
almost every recipe.
Foreign influences are apparent in its cuisine here, too. Judaism and Christianity
both came to Kerala many centuries ago, and modern Syrian Christians (the
majority Christian population in this state) believe that the Apostle Thomas came
here and baptized their ancestors. Later, the Portuguese arrived and continued the
conversions, this time to Catholicism.
Early spice routes were controlled by the Arabs. Kerala being the region of India
where so many were grown, it’s easy to understand how Islam was introduced to
this region around the seventh century.
Today, the Kerala Christian table is laden with beef and pork stews, the Muslim
one with biryanis and breads such as parottas, and the Hindu kitchen is fragrant
with coconut and vegetable or fish curries.
Tamil Nadu temples and their fragrant cuisines
Hindus follow practices that appeal to them from Hinduism’s various philoso-
phies and beliefs and build a relationship with a favorite deity chosen from the
vast pantheon of gods. One such practice is the offering of special foods to the
gods. These foods are cooked in a special way that is considered pure; so, the cook
will enter the kitchen only after a cleansing bath, use “allowed” ingredients (dis-
allowed ingredients include foods such as meat, fish, onions, and garlic), and cook
with love and devotion. Most Hindu temples of worship have a kitchen attached,
and the blessed foods cooked here are distributed to devotees who come from far
and wide, free of cost.
Temple foods always seem to taste good and, because they serve the community,
their availability means that needy people who live in the vicinity never go hun-
gry. They’re available to everyone, so if you do get an opportunity to visit, it’s a
good idea to sample this truly divine food.
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