BANANA LEAF RICE

                                                                                                                                               BANANA LEAF RICE                                     

         

                                                                            

            Banana leaf rice is a traditional method of serving rice dishes in South Indian cuisine. Due to the migration of South Indians, banana leaf rice can also be found in areas with significant ethnic South Indian diaspora like Malaysia and Singapore.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              In banana leaf meals, white rice (or parboiled rice in authentic South Indian restaurants) is served on a banana leaf with an assortment of vegetables,pickles, papadum and other regional condiments (usually sour, salty and/or spicy). The banana leaf acts as a disposable plate and it in itself is not consumed. The choice of banana leaves is mainly due to the broad leaves as well as to the ubiquity of the plant in South India. Typically, only vegetarian gravy (e.g. sambar) will be served on the rice as it is meant to be a traditional vegetarian dish. However, sometimes boiled eggs, curriedand/or fried meat or seafood are served as well. Traditionally there will be two servings of rice, with the first being served with gravy, side dishes and condiments whilst the second serving will be just rice with curd as a palate cleanser.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Banana leaf meals are eaten with hand. Banana leaf meal etiquette also dictates that, after the meal, the guest must always fold the banana leaf inwards as a sign of gratitude to the host, even when the host is the proprietor of an eatery. However, when meals are served at funeral wakes, the leaf is folded outwards as a sign of condolence to the family of the deceased. Due to this, folding the leaf outwards is considered rude in any other circumstance. In Malaysia, some Malaysians of non-Indian origin sometimes fold their banana leaf outward as a sign of dissatisfaction with an eatery's banana leaf meal. This is due to the erroneous belief that folding the leaf inwards or outwards is a way of rating the meal.

                                                                                                                                                                                                      click this link to get a better information of banana leaf rice :

                        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_leaf_rice

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                  http://food.malaysiamostwanted.com/venues/kashmir-cafe-taman-university

IDLI

                                                                                                                                                              IDLI                              

       Idli (Kannada: ಇಡ್ಲಿ, Tamil: இட்லி, Telugu: ఇడ్లి, Malayalam: ഇഡ്ലി) also  romanized idly or iddly, plural idlis, is a traditional breakfast in south Indian households. Idli is savory cake of South India that is most popular throughout the southern part of India including Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka. The cakes are usually two to three inches in diameter and are made by steaming a batter consisting of fermented black lentils (de-husked) and rice. The fermentation process breaks down the starches so that they are more readily metabolized by the body.

Most often eaten at breakfast or as a snack, idlis are usually served in pairs with chutney, sambar, or other accompaniments. Mixtures of crushed dry spices such as milagai podi are the preferred condiment for idlis eaten on the go. A variant of Idli known as sanna (Konkani: सान्नां sānnāṃ) is very popular amongst the Goans and other Konkani people. Another variant known as "Enduri Pitha" is very popular in Odisha. For preparation of "Enduri Pitha", mixture of black gram paste and ground once-boiled rice is wrapped in turmeric leaf and steam cooked.                                               

                           Idli (and the process of steaming) was known in India by as early as 700 CE. Earliest mention of idli occurs in the Kannada writing calledVaddaradhane by Shivakotiacharya in 920 AD, and it seems to have started as a dish made only of fermented black lentil. Chavundaraya II, the author of the earliest available Kannada encyclopaedia, Lokopakara (c. 1025), describes the preparation of idli by soaking urad dal (black gram) in butter milk, ground to a fine paste and mixed with the clear water of curd, and spices. The Kannada king and scholar Someshwara III, reigning in the area now called Karnataka, included an idli recipe in his encyclopedia, 'Manasollasa', written in Sanskrit ca. 1130 A.D.There is no known record of rice being added until some time in the 17th century. It may have been found that the rice helped speed the fermentation process. Although the ingredients used in preparing idli have changed, the preparation process and the name have still remained the same.

                                  click this link to get a better information of idli :
                                                http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idli
                                               
                                           http://www.muruganidlishop.com/                             

RASAM

                                                                                                                                                                                     RASAM                                                   

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

              R asam or Chaaru or Saaru is a South Indian soup, traditionally prepared using tamarind juice as a base, with the addition of tomato, and chili pepper, pepper , cumin and other spices as seasonings. Steamed lentils are added along with any preferred vegetables. Nowadays all the seasonings required are combined and ground beforehand into a rasam powder, which is available commercially.

It is eaten with rice or separately as a spicy soup. In a traditional meal, it is preceded by a sambar rice course and is followed by curd rice. Rasam has a distinct taste in comparison to the sambar due to its own seasoning ingredients and is usually fluid in consistency. Rasam is one of the most important dishes of south Indian cuisine

                In Sanskrit language, 'Rasa' means Juice. It can refer to any juice but in Tamil simply rasam commonly referred to the one prepared with Tamarind/Tomato juice with added spices. Saaru (ಸಾರು) in Kannada language or Chaaru (చారు), in Telugu language, means "essence," and, by extension, "juice" or "soup".^[4] Historically, it was prepared mainly with black pepper and tamarind, both ingredients native to and abundant in South India in general. It is also referred to as SatruAmudhu (Tamil: சாற்றமுது) by Iyengars.

Sourashtras, an immigrant community living in Madurai from the 16th century, still refer to it as Pulichaar (Puli or Pulipu means tart (tamarind). Rasam is the basis of the Anglo-Indian Mulligatawny soup.This is only corrupted version of a Tamil word 'Milagu-t-tannir' (மிளகுத் தண்ணீர்) meaning pepper water (In Tamil milagu means black pepper and tannir means water). It is said that Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose once commented that if he had command over the country, he would have declared Rasam a national drink. There are different kinds of rasam, varying by ingredient:

·         Thakkali Rasam - with tomato puree as main ingredient.

·         Poondu Rasam - a healthy rasam made with Garlic.

·         Inji Rasam - a healthy rasam made with Ginger.

·         Mudakathan Rasam - a healthy green leaf rasam made with Balloon Vine.

·         Lemon Rasam - a sour soup made with lemon juice.

·         Nellikkai Rasam - a sour soup made with Indian Gooseberry.

·         Murungai Poo Rasam - a healthy rasam made with Drumstick flower.

·         Vepam Poo Rasam - a healthy rasam made with Neem flower.

·         Few modern versions are : Pineapple Rasam, Apple Rasam & Beetroot Rasam

·         Kandathippili rasam

·         Bassaaru - derives its name from "basida saaru" (Kannada), which is the act of draining water from boiled vegetables/greens/lentils.

·         Milagu Rasam or Milagu Saaru - known in the West Mulligatawny soup

·         Jeera Rasam - prepared using Jeera and Tamarind

·         Tamarind Saaru - with tamarind extract as main ingredient and without lentils.

·         Hesaru Kaalu Saaru - Green gram soup.

·         Parupu Rasam or Pappu Saaru - common variant made with pulses and tomato stock.

·         Baellae Saaru - most common variety with toor dal, coconut and tamarind juice.

·         Majjiga Saaru - soup made with seasoned buttermilk.

·         Kattu saaru - kattu refers to the water drained from the cooked dal.

·         Kattina saaru - a semi-sweet rasam using jaggery.

·         Jeerige saaru - made with jeera, cumin.

·         Kollu Rasam, HuraLi saaru or Ulava Saaru - a healthy rasam made with horse-gram.

·         Mysore Rasam - a fragrant soup made with fried grams/dals.^[5]

·         Kundapura koli saaru - made with chicken.

·         Kottambari jeerige Saaru - made with coriander and cumin seeds.

·         Kadale Saaru - soaked black chickpeas, coconut and ginger.

·         Alasundae Saaru - black-eyed peas and potato, coconut and ginger.

·         Vankaaya Saaru - eggplant and tamarind juice.

                                   click this link to get a better information of rasam :
                                                 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rasam   

                                http://www.hungrygowhere.my/kuala-lumpur/restaurant-sri-kortumalai-pillayar/rasam/