Must eat in Madurai – Part 2

I have been having a good time shooting at fantastic locations, covering different types of food and putting on lots of weight in the bargain! This is the second part of my Madurai food trail. For those of you who missed the first part, click here. In the Madurai sojourn part 2, here’s what’s lined up!

• Saastha Boli Kadai – Boli is almost like a pancake, but stuffed with a coconut and jaggery filling. Handmade with oodles of with Ghee (clarified butter), this store is one of the oldest in Madurai to make and serve fresh bolis. The founder currently 82 years old, started this stall on a pavement. This place is almost 50 years old with the second generation at the helm of operations currently. A boli costs Rs.20/-. I loved watching the founder (an adorable old man) sitting outside talking to customers and serving the bolis whose recipes he carefully handcrafted many many years ago. You can buy a ‘half boli’ that you can get for Rs.10/- which he himself doles out by simply tearing a whole into 2 halves without much ado!
• Naatu Karigaai Kootu – Naatu Karigaai (meaning country side vegetables). A melange of mixed vegetables cooked in a tamarind gravy and infused with a mixture of coconut and other spices. This is a local favourite and we shot this at dusk when the sun sets over the beautiful Meenakshi Ammam temple gopurams (towers). This recipe goes well with rotis, dosas and idlis.
• Paruthi Paal (Cotton seed milk) – Paruthipaal Santhanam as he is fondly called is over 60 years and has been in the business of making paruthi paal. Cotton seeds are soaked and then pressed and the milk is extracted. This is then mixed with medicinal herbs, jaggery and made like kheer/ payasam. Although a hot beverage it has cooling properties and is recommended during summers. We had a great time shooting with this man who claims to have acted in 10 tamil films. Make sure you try this milk and ask him to reel out some lines from the movies he has acted in 😉

If you choose to view the actual episode of our food trail you can check this out.

Part 3 of the madurai food trail coming soon! Stay tuned peeps 🙂 Do watch this and make a list of places to visit if and when you head to Madurai! you can get more recipes/ foodie diaries and off beat travel info on our facebook page .