Street food of Chennai facts for kids

Idli and Sambar, a common dish in Chennai

Street food is super popular in Chennai, just like in many other parts of India. Even though some people think street food isn't healthy, it's a big part of life here! You'll find lots of yummy dishes, from traditional South Indian snacks to tasty treats from North India. Many North Indian street food stalls were started by people who moved here from other parts of India. You can even find Gujarati and Burmese foods! Street food in Chennai is so famous that a game based on the TV show The Amazing Race was created, where players had to find different street food spots around the city.

Delicious Street Food Varieties

Idli Sambar: A Steamed Delight

Idli and sambar are a very common and loved food in South India. Idli is a soft, fluffy cake made by steaming a batter of fermented black lentils and rice. It's often served with sambar, which is a yummy lentil and vegetable stew. Sambar gets its tangy flavor from tamarind and is popular in South Indian and Sri Lankan cooking. You'll also often get fresh coconut chutney with your idli and sambar!

Dosa: The Crispy Pancake

Dosa is a thin, crispy pancake made from a fermented batter, similar to a crepe. Its main ingredients are rice and black gram. Dosa is a typical South Indian meal and is popular all over India. A special kind, Masala Dosa, is served hot with sambar, a filling of spiced potato or paneer, and chutney. You can also eat it with idli podi, a spicy powder.

Dosai Chutney Hotel Saravana Bhavan

Uttapam: The Thick Pancake

Uttapam is a dish similar to dosa, but it's much thicker, like a pancake. The cool thing about uttapam is that the toppings are cooked right into the batter! People usually add toppings like tomatoes, onions, chilies, and bell peppers. You can also find it with coconut or mixed vegetables. Uttapam is often eaten with sambar or chutney and is very popular in South India.

Onion Tomato Uttapam

Paniyaram: Steamed Spheres of Goodness

Kuzhi paniyaram is an Indian dish made by steaming batter in a special pan with small round molds. The batter is made from black lentils and rice, just like idli and dosa batter. Paniyaram can be made sweet by adding jaggery (a type of unrefined sugar) or spicy with chilies. It's known by many names across South India!

Pongal with chutney, sambar, vada

Vada: Savory Fried Snacks

Vada is a general name for many different kinds of savory fried snacks in India. They can be like fritters, doughnuts, or dumplings. Different vadas are made from various ingredients, such as lentils (like the Medu Vada from South India) or potatoes (like the Batata Vada from West India). They are often eaten for breakfast or as a snack.

Vada sambar chutney

Bhaji: Crispy Fritters

A bhaji is a spicy Indian snack, similar to a fritter. There are many different types of bhaji, and they are often served with chutney.

Milagaai Bajji or Chilli Bhajji

Pakoda: All-Time Favorite Fritters

Pakodas are another type of fritter and are a super popular snack all over India. You can find endless variations, often made with mixed vegetables. Pakodas are great as an appetizer or snack for any get-together. They are especially delicious on a rainy day, paired with a hot cup of spicy chai tea.

Boli: A Sweet Pancake

Boli in Tamil Nadu is a golden yellow sweet pancake from South India. It's often eaten during traditional feasts with a sweet dish called Payasam. There are different kinds of boli, including coconut boli and those made with jaggery or sugar. Boli is very famous in the southern parts of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, India, and also in northern Sri Lanka. People usually eat boli after lunch or as an evening snack.

Jigarthanda: The "Cool Heart" Drink

Jigarthanda is a cold milk drink and dessert that started in the city of Madurai in Tamil Nadu. Its name means "cool heart" in English, and it's perfect for cooling down during the hot Indian summer! You'll often find it sold at roadside stalls. The main ingredients are milk, almond gum, sarsaparilla root syrup, sugar, and ice cream.

Parotta: Layered Flatbread

A parotta is a layered flatbread popular in parts of South India, especially in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. It's made from maida flour (a type of wheat flour). Parottas are commonly found as street food and in restaurants. They are also served at weddings and festivals. To make it, dough is kneaded, flattened into thin layers, and then spiraled into a ball before being rolled flat and roasted.

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  Parotta

Chili Parotta: A Spicy Twist

Chili parotta is a spicy version of parotta that's popular for dinner. It's made by cutting parotta into small pieces and frying them in a pan with lots of chili powder, tomatoes, bell peppers, and onions. This dish usually looks bright red and has crispy pieces of parotta.

Chapati: Simple Flatbread

Chapatis are a simple flatbread made from a soft dough of Atta flour (a type of Indian wheat flour), salt, and water. Atta flour is ground more finely than most wholewheat flours. Traditionally, chapati (and rice) are made without salt so they can be a plain base for spiced dishes.

Idiyappam: Steamed Rice Noodles

Idiyappam, also known as string hoppers, is a traditional food from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Sri Lanka. It's made by pressing rice flour into noodle shapes and then steaming them. Idiyappam is usually served with korma (a creamy curry) or Coconut milk.

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  Idiyappam

Biriyani: Flavorful Mixed Rice

Biriyani

Biriyani is a hugely popular and delicious mixed rice dish in Chennai, often made with meat. You can find different kinds like Chicken Biriyani, Mutton Biriyani, Egg Biriyani, and even Vegetarian Biryani. Biryani is often served with a sour eggplant gravy (Baghara baingan) and chilled raita (a yogurt dip).

Kulfi: Indian Ice Cream

Kulfi is a frozen dessert that looks and tastes a bit like ice cream, but it's usually denser and creamier. It comes in many different flavors! Some traditional ones include cream (malai), rose, mango, cardamom (elaichi), saffron (kesar), and pistachio.

Pista Kulfi

Atho: Burmese Noodles

Chennai has a lively Tamil community who moved from Burma (now Myanmar). They brought many delicious Burmese foods to Chennai. Atho is one of the most famous Burmese street foods you can find in Chennai.

Other Popular Street Foods

There are many other exciting street food varieties to discover in Chennai! Here are a few more:

• Kalaan or mushroom dishes
• Masala puri, made with Puffed rice, peas, Corn flakes, and a special masala spice mix. Sometimes small, crunchy puris are added too!