Pondicherry Cuisine – It’s All about Fusion

Pondicherry Cuisine – It’s All about Fusion

Pondicherry is a Union Territory of India in Tamil Nadu and the city has a deep connection with the French. This is why the food culture in Pondicherry has influences of the both worlds. Besides the French and Tamil influences, the Pondicherry Cuisine also takes a few inspirations from the neighboring regions. These include Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Kerala.

The French Connection

Earlier Pondicherry was a French colony as we all know. That is the main reason why you can find the glimpses of French heritage within the city. The French are really passionate about their food and their cooking style. They had only their colony set up in Pondicherry initially earlier in history. Slowly, they passed on their own legacy in the form of their different variety of cuisines. Source: http://maxpixel.freegreatpicture.com/Brunch-French-Food-Food-Benedict-Bistro-Dining-1501080 Pondicherry cuisine features minimal spices. The most common spices such as Cardamom and Cloves are also never used in the powdered form while cooking. The French cuisine has a lot of influence within Pondicherry. The locals have, however modified the same with a lavish use of Indian spices. This resulted in a unique Pondicherrian touch to the dishes. Well, Pondicherry has a lot of different places throughout the city where you can find authentic French cuisine. However, these restaurants  don’t restrict themselves to French cuisine alone. They also serve all sort of multi-cuisine dishes.

Types of Food Served in Pondicherry

When you hear French food or cuisine, the first thing that comes to mind is the crisp croissants. What also comes to mind is the deliciously baked baguettes. Well, for most people in Pondicherry, the day seems likely to start with these amazing snacks while sipping a cup of coffee.

Source: Flickr (https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2820/9594167136_0ca6900de3_b.jpg)

Being said that, it doesn’t mean that the people in Pondicherry only have French cuisine for breakfast. Indian delicacies, especially from the South are also favorite as breakfast food. This includes Masala Dosa, Idli Sambar and Vada, etc. Other Indian delicacies that have earned fame in Pondicherry are Soya Dosa and Tandoori Potato. Even the Coconut Curry, Podanlangkai, Curried Vegetables, Assad, Stuffed Cabbage, Kadugu Yerra, and Palpayasam are popular.

Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Idli_%28South_Indian_cuisine%29.jpg

Among these, Kadugu Yerra is a seafood delicacy. It is prepared by cooking prawns in spicy tomato sauce along with potatoes. Other ingredients are vinegar, fenugreek, mustard paste, and lastly creamy coconut milk. On the other hand a curried Vegetable is cooked using different vegetables. This gives a vibrant and colorful look to the food.

Popularity of Seafood in Pondicherry

Based on its location and easy availability, a vast majority of people prefer seafood delicacies over other vegetarian options. Seafood delicacies are the trademark dishes of Pondicherry. These include Cucur Udang (prawn fritters inspired from Malaysia) and prawn bhaji. It also includes fried fish curry, prawn masala, crab masala, and many others. The local cooking style of roasting the fish by adding cloves and several other ingredients offers the rich taste and aroma to many fish based dishes.

Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/Prawns_Masala.jpg

The best part about the local Pondicherry cuisine is that the food actually takes less oil to cook. This makes it very easy to digest. It is the very reason why both the locals as well as the tourists flocking into the city and cherish it.

Over to you!

So, the next time you’re in Pondicherry, make sure to try some French food during the day. Then feast on some local dishes at night to get the rich flavor of both worlds alike.

Uttpal K

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