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Not to Miss Food Items in Salem

As famous as it is for its rich culture and beautiful temples, Salem is also known for its mouth watering cuisines. There are many speciality foods served here that you must try on your visit to the place. These special cuisines are available at big restaurants as well as street side stalls at different places in the city. The locals here also prepare these at their home. Here is a look at five speciality foods of Salem:

Koozh in Salem

Also known as kanji or rice congee, this is basically a porridge prepared from millet, Cumbu flour and broken rice. It is a popular breakfast item here. Non vegetarian Koozh is also relished by people of Salem. It is prepared with crab, chicken and fish. The taste of this dish enhances when had with pickle, spiced mango with red chilli pepper or dry fish gravy.

Kozhukkattai in Salem


Not To Miss Food In Salem

A famous sweet dish here, Kozhukkattai is quite like the modaks. These are sweet dumpling prepared from rice flour. The filling of coconut and jaggery renders it a delicious taste. While it is readily available at sweet shops across the city, people also love preparing it at home. It is especially prepared on the auspicious day of Vinayaka Chathurthi when it is offered to Lord Ganesha.

Aviyal in Salem

Quite popular in this part of the country, Avial is a scrumptious mixture of coconut and different vegetables including pumpkin, brinjal, beans, carrots, plantain, drum sticks, cucumber, snake gourd and bitter gourd cooked in water. It is seasoned with the aromatic coconut oil and curry leaves to enhance its flavour. It makes for a good side dish. Some people prefer cooking the vegetables in gravy that makes the preparation even more delicious. It is loved with rice.

Puliyodarai in Salem

Not to Miss Foods in Salem

Puliyodarai or Tarmarind rice is a traditional South Indian Recipe especially popular among the Tamil Brahmins. Also known as Puliyodharai or Puli Sadam, this dish is simple to cook and delicious to eat. Tarmarind paste is cooked in different spices including red chilli, sesame seeds, asafoetida, fenugreek seeds and coriander seeds. Split chickpeas, groundnuts, urad dal and curry leaves are added to it to add to its taste. The paste is cooked properly for some time and added to steamed rice. It is mixed well and the preparation is ready.

Thogaiyal in Salem

It can be prepared using different recipes and each of these makes for a tasteful preparation. Paruppu Thogaiyal for instance is prepared by adding ghee, tamarind rasam and papad in hot rice. Thengai or Coconut Thogaiyal, on the other hand, is a scrumptious mixture of grated coconut and urad dal cooked in different spices including mustard seeds, red chillies asafoetida and black pepper. Tamarind and curry leaves are added to enhance its taste. The recipe can be enjoyed with vada, idli, dosa as well as rice. While coconut thogaiyal is a hot favorite among the people of Salem, they do not hesitate trying the other recipes. You will find many other thogaiyal recipes including spinach thogaiyal, kothamalli or coriander leaves thogaiyal, Poondu or garlic thogaiyal, radish thogaiyal and chow chow thogaiyal. Do try these out on your visit to Salem.

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