Tamil Nadu: Geography Through Food

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TAMIL NADU: GEOGRAPHY THROUGH FOOD
The Indian State of Tamil Nadu has a population of 72 million (12 times more than Singapore) and an area of 132,000 Sq km (equivalent to area of Peninsular Malaysia). Its 2023 GDP was US$430 billion (Singapore GDP US$ 500 billion) and it is the second richest State in India next to PM Modi's Maharashtra. Every year, for the last decade, Tamil Nadu's
GDP has grown by 8-10%.
I think most of the Tamil migrant workers in Singapore come from the Chennai or Thiruchirapalli, area which is why Scoot Airlines flies there.
I have only been to the hill city of Ooty in the Nilgiri mountains of the Western Ghats, near Coimbatore.

FOOD
Machan Kitchen in Little India Race Course Rd specialises in cuisine from the different regions of Tamil Nadu (refer to map). "Machan" means "brother-in-law" in Tamil. But the term also means "close friend" or "blood brother". So don't be alarmed if your Tamil friend calls you Machan. No, he's not necessarily asking you to marry his sister.

Machan Kitchen uses only freshly ground spices. The dishes I tried and the districts from which they originated were:
1. Ramanathapuram Crab Rasam. Rasam is the spicy and sourish soup served as a small pre-main meal portion to cleanse your palette. Ramanathapuram lies at the South-East corner of Tamil Nadu and faces the Bay of Bengal. This Crab Rasam was delicious but too peppery for me.
2. Pallipalayam dry masala Chicken is tomato-based but also contains coconut, curry leaves, dried red chili, fennel, garlic and ginger. It's very fragrant and slightly sweet.
3. The Madurai Chicken Rice uses a variety of Tamil Nadu rice. It's somewhat like our Nasi Biryani. A good main meal to be accompanied by Old Monk Dark Rum a popular brand of Rum in India.

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