Immerse Yourself in the Street Food of Tamil Nadu Street: 8 Mouth-Watering Local Delicacies to Try + 4 Delicious Recipes to Prepare at Home (2019)

When you talk about food in Tamil Nadu, the first thing that pops in your mind is presumably steaming hot idlis and sambar. But that’s just the start. The best and the tastiest of the foods are found in the streets. This validates not only in India but anywhere in the world. They can be fusion or authentic, but they can stand head to toe with any food you’d order at any restaurant.

Street food in Tamil Nadu differs from region to region. While in southern districts of Kanyakumari or Tirunelveli, the famous street food is parotta (paratha), in Madurai, it is Jigarthanda. But Chennai enjoys a variety of street food from dosa, idli and North Indian fare to Burmese food, thanks to the multitude of people who have settled in the region in the past years.

There is nothing new in idli and dosa with a tasty chutney and steaming sambar. But every time you have it, you delight in the deliciousness of the full fare. You can find it in every street corner with small hotels or even in mobile food carts. Where ever you have the food, it never gets old though it has been around for ages.

Idlis are steamed rice cakes made with a specialised mould but no oil. Dosas are made with the same batter but in a 'tawa' using little oil. The little to no oil used in making the food makes it healthy and a much-preferred food down south. If you are looking for some soft and delicious idli, search for your nearest Murugan Idli Shop. Their idlis with sides of different chutneys and sambar are to die for. Restaurants like Sangeetha, Vasantha Bhavan and Saravana Bhavan are also famous for vegetarian south Indian fare.

Chaat which originates from Northern India has found its home in Tamil Nadu. Chaat shops are found in every street corner in Chennai with more pani-puri shops than idli shops. Aloo chaat, papdi chaat, bhelpuri, channa chaat, pani-puri and sev-puri, being the famous of them all, not to forget delicious kachoris and samosa chaat.

Ajanabi Mithai Ghar and Kakada Ramprasad are some of the famous shops where you can find authentic chaats in the city. If you are a chaat lover take some time to browse through the shops in the Mint-street. They have the best of the chaat, and you can also shop for beautiful lehengas, sarees and salwars.

Boli, which was once called the poor man’s food is the king of all street food. This lip-smacking sweet is a paratha stuffed with soft toor dhal, jaggery, nuts and raisins. The aroma wafting from any boli stall will tell you of its presence which you can't ignore even you have an iron will.

If you are looking for this mouth-watering dish make sure you go to Venkatramana Boli Stall in West Mambalam. They serve authentic bolis, chaat along with other delicious snacks.

Indian food is synonymous to Biryani even in the west. Every state in India has its different biryani which is authentic to its region. Tamil Nadu is also the same but has more biryani versions than most areas due to its love for food. Most places make biryani using seeraka samba rice which is indigenous to the region.

Restaurants like Ambur 5-Star, Dindugal Thalapakatti and Karaikudi restaurant serve unique biryani varieties while their recipes remain a secret. Apart from these, you can find many small mobile carts popping in the major shopping centres like T-Nagar and beaches at night where you can get divine homemade biryanis bursting with flavour.

Uthappam stays high on the preferred food list along with Idlis and dosa. It is made just like dosa, but unlike dosa which is wafery and crispy, uthappams are thick with toppings. Made fresh with toppings like veggies or just onions, uthappams are a mouth-watering package. If you are courageous enough, you can try podi uthappams which are plain uthappams that are bathed in generous spicy red powder and roasted in tawa with oil. It is served with hot steaming sambar and chutney.

You can order this delectable food from your nearby shop or maybe a mobile cart. If you would instead go to a restaurant, you can go to any one of the branches or Saravana Bhavan, Sangeetha or Vasantha Bhavan.

With summer approaching, the juices and milkshakes have overtaken the usual street food. However, if there is a summer drink that is authentic to Tamilnadu, it is the Jigarthanda. It is a fresh and refreshing drink which has its origin in Madurai. It is served in street stalls and restaurants alike and is a favourite among all.

The best place to have authentic jigarthanda is Famous Jigarthanda shop in Madurai which has quite a few branches in Madurai and a few cities in Tamil Nadu. Another place you could try is Murugan Idli Shop which has branches all over Tamilnadu of which more than fifteen are in Chennai alone.

Parotta and salna is a guilty pleasure of almost everyone who has tasted it once. It is sinfully delicious and bad for your waistline. But you don’t care once you get your hands on the soft and buttery parotta. Imagine it shredded and mixed with meat and eggs with a salna or fried chicken that defeats the likes of KFC. That's an addiction of a different kind. While you can find this in all restaurants, look for roadside vendors or the small shops that cater to this kind of food for a taste of heaven.

Atho, a Burmese delicacy has been a favourite street food of the people who like something different from the usual treats like vada and other south Indian dishes. Burmese people who sought refuge in the state particularly Chennai after the unrest in their country brought their exquisite cuisine with them. Atho is a cooked noodle salad with fresh vegetables like shredded cabbage and onion topped with tamarind, salt, chilli flakes and garlic. While this is available in most fast food shops catering to the Chennai crowd, you might want to visit the Burma Bazaar if you are looking to try authentic Atho noodles. While you are there, also try the traditional Burmese soup Mohinga.

Few of the food mentioned above is a common sight in every kitchen in Tamilnadu. We decided to bring to you a few recipes for you to try at home, in case you don't get a chance to try an authentic version.

Uthappam is a notable street food that is a typical appearance on every South-Indian’s breakfast table and sometimes for dinner or even as snacks. When it comes to making this at home, you can use your dosa batter. The best time to make it is when the dough is at least three days old. That being said, it is also a favourite among parents since you can add any vegetable to it and make it colourful for your child. Here's the recipe from Padhu’s Kitchen which will help you prepare this delicacy in no time.

Jigarthanda is a famous street food of Madurai which has become a favourite summer drink of Tamil Nadu in recent years. Though it is not commonly seen in kitchens, it is not that complicated to make. With the number of food bloggers that are ever-present on the internet; finding a good Jigarthanda recipe is not that difficult. And we got an easy but delicious one for you from Sharmi’s Passion.

Sundal, the famous snack of Tamil Nadu is perfect to make on that cold winter’s night or in the blazing heat to escape from the furious kitchen sweat. Sundal can be made using groundnuts, or kala channa or the dried peas available in the market. This recipe by Tickling Palates is a replica of the famous Marina beach sundal that everyone loves.

Paratha or parotta as it is lovingly called here is a much-favoured dish of south Indians. Add a delicious salna to it and there it is food heaven. Parotta, as made in restaurants, can be quite complicated to make at home but we did find an easy recipe for you to try out. Follow the recipe by Aarthi of Yummy Tummy Aarti for a delicious flaky parotta.

Your culinary trip is not complete without visiting these places where you get the best of what Chennai has to offer you. Visit them for a day, which are filled with delicious food, all the while having a taste of what Chennai culture is all about.

The Kapaleeswarar temple street food market is the perfect hideout for vegetarians. You have everything from the famous idli and dosa to bhajji and everything vegetarian. While you are there make sure you visit Jannal Kadai for steaming hot bhajji and pongal to Kalathi News Mart for a frothy cup of rose milk.

Be it sundal or bhajji or fried fish, there is no place you’d visit other than Elliot's Beach and Marina Beach. Both the beaches are lined with stalls on both the sides catering to adults and kids alike.

Sowkarpet holds the majority of the Hindi speaking population in the state. As such, Mint-street in Sowkarpet is the place to go for North Indian speciality foods and chaats. You can find everything from hot jalebi to samosa and panipuri. The best among them being Kakada Ramprasad where you should try their famous kachoris. Don't forget to have lassi from the shop adjacent to them owned by an ex-wrestler.

The OMR food street is located around 7 prominent locations around the city and is a hotspot for college students and IT professionals alike. You can find everything from chaat, pizza, atho to the city favourites idli and dosa. It is a hub for the foodies in Chennai to converge and indulge in one thing that brings utmost pleasure, that is food.