Signature Foods
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I started my career in Mumbai in what seems like eons back. The city will always be seared in my memory for teaching the basic tenet of being a professional – being dependable. Mumbaikars will go to office in such pouring rain, that in any other city would be considered an emergency flood situation. But that is not why I remember Mumbai fondly.
Signature Foods
During one particularly lazy weekend, one of my friends told me that i have to go eat Bhel Puri at Vithal’s Bhel Puri shop near VT – considered to be foundational to the chat phenomenon that has taken over the country. Then the list extended slowly over time to Sardar Pav Bhaji, Haji Ali Juice Center, Karjat Vada Pav, Parsi Dairy Kulfi and so on..
Ever since, i have been on a quest to discover the “Signature Food” of every city of the world i visit. Once i went to Madurai (in Tamilnadu) and discovered Raja Barley’s Macroons – they have been making that stuff for 100 years now per the shop keeper. I was surprised to later find that many of my relatives who hail from Madurai had never heard of Raja Barley!
When we were in New Jersey, myself and my wife Priya Raju used to hunt down the signature foods whenever we could – H&R Bagels’ signature bagels, Lombardi’s Pizza…
What started this particular Signature Food trip down memory lane, was my recent visit to Pune where i made sure i brought a huge package of Chitale’s Bakarwadi. I also had a chance recently to visit Hyderabad and got the famous Karachi Biscuits for my family. Yummy stuff.
Googling
As is customary, i did some research to see if someone has talked about Signature Foods in detail. I found this excellent quiz on Signature Foods of various American Cities. I also chanced upon this nice article on the qualities of a Signature Food. On the whole, it appears, from the somewhat sparse Google results compared to other popular topics, Signature Foods aren’t top of the mind for people.
“Social” Signature Foods
As a passionate Social media advocate, i was thinking about how Social Media could make the quest for Signature Foods easier. Maybe one of the hot location startups like Foursquare, could introduce a new “Signature Food” feature, which will notify you of the city’s signature food(s) as soon as you check-in to any location in that city. Wouldn’t that be cool?
Epilog
What are your thoughts? What are your favorite signature foods? Which cities are those from? Please chime in.
I can only add a few from hearsay.
Closer to home, we have Thirunelveli Iruttu Kadai Halva, Srivilliputhur Milk Khoa, Ambur Biriyani, Tuticorin Macroons (don’t want to contradict you on yoru stuff, but Macroons are more closely associated there), Bikaneri Bhujia – from the state which was our second home for 7 semesters 🙂
Further away (most of this is from Discovery travel and living channel) – the $1000 signature pizza with toppings of 5 different caviar, the $1000 gold sundae ice-cream which has real gold foil and powder etc!
I can only add a few from hearsay.
Closer to home, we have Thirunelveli Iruttu Kadai Halva, Srivilliputhur Milk Khoa, Ambur Biriyani, Tuticorin Macroons (don’t want to contradict you on yoru stuff, but Macroons are more closely associated there), Bikaneri Bhujia – from the state which was our second home for 7 semesters 🙂
Further away (most of this is from Discovery travel and living channel) – the $1000 signature pizza with toppings of 5 different caviar, the $1000 gold sundae ice-cream which has real gold foil and powder etc!
Hope this makes sense?
Brilliant idea & will definitely help the visitors 🙂 Signature Food of Vadodara is ‘Makai / Lelo Chevdo’ 🙂
I have a few, from hearsay.
Closer t home, we have Srivilliputhur Milk Khoa, Ambur Biriyani, Thirunelveli Iruttu Kadai Halva, Tuticorin Macroons (the Madurai stuff you mentioned may be special, but macroons are originally associated with Tuticorin), Bikaneri Bhujia, the famous Kolkata Rosogollas, the chips from kerala (local bananas / jackfruits, genuine local coconut oil for frying) Lucknowi biriyani, Hyderabadi biriyani, the parathas from Parathewali Gali in Delhi (near CHandni Chowk, I guess)
Leaving our shores, there are very few. One of them is the Ceylon parotta (though I have no clue what it has to do with ceylon or today’s Sri Lanka), The $1000 pizza with toppings of 5 of the most exclusive caviar, $1000 signature gold sundae ice cream (the last 2 courtesy discovery travel and living) – there are lots of other things I would do with $100 (or $2000)!!!
Hope this helps – or is there something else you are looking for?
On Disceovery travel and living, there is a program on specific days of the week at 3 PM, covering a particular item, For example, today was about icecreams, while I saw one about sandwiches , another about pizzas etc. Hope that will help your quest.
Giri
Great post to read on a rainy evening when I was thinking of eating something hot 🙂
Manapparai Murukku, Thirunelveli Halwa, Thoththukudi Macroons (you referred it as Madurai, I came to know from my mother that it is not the case! Others can validate…) and Jigardhanda from Madurai 🙂
Not sure from where Onion Pakoda originated from…
Your idea of implementing this in 4Square is great. Time being, I guess we can still use the ‘Tips’ option.
Now, I need to take my daughter to Velachery’s Signature food (according to her!) place – McD! (Only one in Chennai :-))
Sukumar,
One obvious advantage of social media advertising here. I am new to Bombay and had no clue of Vithal pav bhaji, neither did anyone in my hostel here. Thanks to you, now I know. 🙂
Yummy Blog Sukumar. You should also consider writing about signature restaurants like MTR in Bangalore, Murugan Idli Kadai in chennai, the Gujarati restaurant you took us in Kolkata etc.
Excellent, For some reason, i could not continue the quest of finding signature foods in U.S.A like India. My theory is, we (Indians and other east world) very close to nature foods, meaning we use not-much-processed food ingredients, where here (U.S) everything well processed since all are processed in the same manner, all taste same 🙂
Ghewar ….made in jaipur, rajasthan. it must be a signature sweet i hope.
recently had a chance to taste and ever since keep suggesting to everyone..
Puthal …kind of karuppatti halwa., it is famous n ramnad, and predominantly made in keelakarai.
Bakarwadi..pune ..my favourite in your list.
Giri,
Thanks. Yes those are signature foods indeed. Maybe tuticorin macroons are more famous. But Madurai Raja Barley’s macroons are to die for.
I didn’t know about the 1000$ pizza or the 1000$ ice cream.
Thanks Gagrin. Is that Chevdo made of Corn Flakes? I think I’ve heard about it.
Thanks Mur. Giri has also commented that Tuticorin Macroons are more famous. I haven’t had the chance to try it yet.
I went to the Velachery McD’s last weekend with my daughter. She loved it. I agree it is Velachery’s signature food 🙂
Srinivas,
Yep. Social media is great at getting the word out. Make sure you don’t miss Mumbai’s signature foods I mentioned above.
Thanks Kumar. Yes those are signature foods too. I didn’t want to write about all of them. Maybe next time.
Subba,
Thanks. You have a point. However the various US cities do have many signature foods. The quiz I linked to has a good list. You may want to try those. India is a very old country filled with many regional cuisines. Therefore we may find more variety. I’m sure you have had the Chicago Deep Dish pizza from where you live. Yummy.
Samuel,
I haven’t had Ghewar or Puthal. Need to try them. Thanks.
Signature foods.. There is a typical Manglorean food by the name “Goli Baje” (Mysore Bonda called at a few places), “Neeru dose”. There is a ‘Benne dose’ from Davangere, ‘Ragi Mudde’ from north Karnataka. ‘Dharwad Peda’ form Dharwad, Maddur Wada’ Maddur, ‘Pathrode’ from southern Karnataka, dry jackfruit appalams from Mangalore/Udupi.
Lonawala Chikki, Indore namkeen – anyone from these places who goes home has to get these foods! 🙂 Hyderabad, as you mentioned had biscuits from Karachi bakery, ragada from Gokul Chat Bhandar at Koti, Paradise hotel Biryani (not sure, never tasted this as it was non veggie), a sweet by the name double ka meetha (made of bread, a typical Hyderabadi specialty), Irani chai at any of the hotels.
Puri-basundi from South Maharashtra is a personal favourite too.
Great post Sukumar. Feel excited thinking of all these foods.
Timely post for me – I was thinking about exactly the same idea last month when I was in India re-discovering some of the Signature Food places – I was thinking how to connect 4sq/Yelp and ‘social knowledge’ about yummy places talking of which, here are a few from my personal list –
Trivandrum:
-Sourashtra Restaurant (a hole in the wall) near Parthas – they serve only Puri Plates with a unique sabji combination and Masala Tea
-Tapioca(Yuca) with Fish Curry inside Chala Market, small restaurant with no name(2nd right turn from the east for side – ask locals)
-Kethel’s Chicken (now branded as Rahmania Chicken throughout Kerala)
-Shankarettan’s Chaayakada @ Kazhakuttom highway – for splendid vada’s and snacks. i am told even state ministers stop here for the evening break
Ernakulam:
-Pai Dosa’s (night only) near MG Road serving so many varieties of Dosa
-Kayees is famous for biriyani; Sani (near North) also has excellent biriyani for lunch
-Fort Cochin/Mattancheri – has a stretch where you get fresh fish fry
Calicut: Zains restaurant for all the north kerala / Malabar specialities
Excellent Sukumar, Great idea really. I always like to try signature foods but I really find it difficult to get the information about it. May be someone has to compile all the foods. May be even I would bring up a site where any one can share their signature foods per city. Even an Excel would do I guess….
Great post Sukumar. Most of you have been talking about Signature Foods with respect to shops. But there are instances where food has become the signature for the whole locality, district or city itself. Take example of sweets (you know how we bengalis love sweets). Think of langcha (a long elongated sweet) and you get to think about a place called Shaktigarh. Think about Sitabhog and Mihidana (kind of sweets) and you think of Burdwan in West Bengal. Similarly, think of Paav Bhaji and the first thing that comes to mind is Mumbai.
I think the recognition of food as a Signature Food sometimes helps us identify places rather than just individual shops. Of course there are certain shops which have taken the Signature Food of the region to all new heights with their best quality.
There is one signature food I can think of from my home town Tirunelveli is “Then Kuzhal Mittai” which most of the shops sell. I do not see it anywhere else in Tamilnadu….. and of course the famous “Iruttu Kadai Halwa” – The only halwa variety I like to eat.
Chidambaram’s Idly Gothsu(kathikai).
Chidambaram’s Idly Gothsu(kathikai).
Alampuzha payasam
Manaparai murukku
while i am reading your yummy post, there a program named “Highway on my plate” which is currently being aired NDTV good times – the show will give you a good insight on all fav foods all over India.. enjoyyyy
A good idea.
Here is my list:
Chittoor paalkova (a must if you pass Chittoor, AP)
Panruti Palapazham (in season)
Azhagar Koil Adai or Azhagar Koil Dosai (my recent discovery thanks to a Madurai native)
Rajasthan Dhoodh Peda
Hope I will get some I.K. halva in my next visit…
I agree that Macaroons would be Tuticorin’s signature food. For Madurai it should be Idli (it can be a signature food for any TamilNadu city I guess) and Jihar Thanda drink. Theni’s signature food would be oily parottas.
Biriyani seems to be the signature food for many cities – Ambur, Dindigul, etc.
Nice post. The social media idea is cool!
Srinivas,
I have tried Mysore Bonda and Neer Dosai at udupi restaurants in chennai. I haven’t tried the other ones except Lonavla Chikki.
Thanks Vivekananthan. Yes, a wiki might be a good idea to collect the information. Linking it to a location-based social network may be a good way to deliver the information, right?
Thanks Arunava. You make a good point. I guess at a point many signature foods of a certain region becomes popular, it becomes a cuisine by itself? Who can forget the KC Das shop in Kolkata – must go place for Rossogolla fans like me.
Celestine,
thanks. I have never had Then Kuzhal Mittai. I doubt there will be anyone in Tamilnadu who hasn’t had Iruttukadai Halwa.
Thanks Ram. I have had Manaparai Murukku but not the other ones.
Thanks Gokul. I haven’t seen that program you refer to. Will do next time.
Thanks Nagu. I haven’t had any of those yet. Looks like by the time commenting is finished on this post, i will have a zillion things i need to add to my to-eat list 🙂
Thanks Meenaks. Yes some others have also commented about Tuticorin Macaroons. i haven’t tried those. But Raja Barley Macroons are to die for.
You mentioned Mumbai and you did not mention Kirti vada pav near shivaji park in dadar? :O
Sacrilege. Vada pav’s would be Mumbai’s signature food I think.
following are a couple of my recommendations!
-Usal Pav would be Pune’s signature food.
-You HAVE to go to Jamnagar and have Ummiya’s bhajjiya. Awesome stuff.
-Gujarati thali at this place in Rajkot whose name eludes me. Will find out and tell you.
-Dhabelis at any road side shop on any highway in Gujarat.
-And there is this place in Surat which sells 100 (no kidding) different kinds of chaat. All different and all awesome. Quite famous in Surat
-And of course keera vadai at Karpagambal mess and the chilly parotta at Hot chips.
P.S: I loved the post but errr. Not a great post to put up when Priya is trying hard to diet! :P. Its only bread crumbs for you from now Sukumar! 😛
Sukumar, I saw this board when I was driving by a local restaurant today: “Kumbakonam degree coffee available”. If I am not mistaken, Kumbakonam has as much to do with coffee, as Chennai has to do with cool weather 🙂
Somehow this “signature dish” continues to be popular in restaurants. I am curious to know what is the connection. Any info in this forum, by a more knowledgeable person, will help.
Thanks
Giri
Revs,
Sacrilege indeed. Good catch. How could i miss Kirti’s. I used to live in Dadar and was a regular there. However, if you are a true vada pavie (how do i like my coinage in the lines of food & foodie 🙂 ), you need to try the road side vada pav in prabhadevi. It is mindblowing. The shop owner proudly displays a photo of Jackie Shroff eating vada pav at the shop. Don’t miss this next time you are in Mumbai.
Yes Usal Pav is good. We can also add Misal as another signature item of Pune. Keerai vadai in karpagambal mess belongs on the list definitely. Others on your list i need to try.
Now i know why Priya Raju isn’t reading my post and commenting on it. 🙂
Giri,
Yes i have seen that Kumbakonam degree coffee moniker as well. I need to find out the story behind it. Does anyone else on this blog know?
Love this post cause it talks about my favorite – food :). I’m a self confessed foodie and so I look forward to every opportunity to savor the local “Signature Foods”. I have not travelled much so I will not be able to talk about many places, but there are a few which stands out –
Tunday Kababi in Lucknow. I had a quick stop at this place while on my way to Delhi and beleive me, the only recommendation I carried into this city was to have kababs at Tunday. I ended up loving the food so much that I returned to Tundays thrice in the same day to taste everything that they offer.
Bhopal: heavenly poha jalebi’s served by the roadside stalls near by Jumerati Market. Dont know they make the poha so light, fluffy and flavorful
Will be back with more…
Thanks Ramesh. I haven’t had the good fortune of trying out the dishes you mention. Poha Jalebi sounds particularly enticing. Hope to try it one day. Look forward to more from you.
Sukumar, Just remembered this: From 2007, the Chennai Sangamam street festival has been bringing a few signature dishes, apart from the usual food from the standard restaurants. As you know, this happens in January – the best month of the year to go around CHennai.
Lets wait for Chennai Sangamam 2011 to see what it has to offer.
http://www.chennaisangamam.com/Story.html
Interesting posts Sukumar…I have heard of Raja Balery macroons …but never had a chance to eat it…but as others say I have eaten the tuticorin ones…But talking about Tuticorin…it is famous for Muscoth Halva which is famous there…Other interesting signature which i have tried include Pahala and Salepur Rasagollas in Orissa,Amritsari Kulcha in Amritsar.
Talking of Pune have u checked with Khayani Bakery near MG Road.They have some tasty biscuits….I would also include Agra Pedha …Ratna cafe sambhar….I also remember chinese food in China town in Calcutta which is the orgin for all Indian chinese foods…some of Biriyani joints in Hyderabadi….
I am not sure if it can be included as signature but saltless prasadam of Upliappam temple in Kumbakonam.
I would suggest the program hosted by Rocky and Mayur “Highway on the plate ” in NDTV which showcases the signature dishes in different cities.
You have me, who runs in search of the best local dish available where ever i go !!
Chennai itself has so many signature dish
1.Aatukaal paya with idiyappam.
2. Red rice puttu
3.Paneer soda
4.Uppu kozhakattai
5.Vazhakkai chops
6. Railway mutton curry.
7. Burmese cuisine in annai sivagami nagar
8. iyenggar’s bakery
9.Gulab jamun behind india silk house
10. mint street has so many, cheena’s oothapam, khader bai badam milk
Madurai
Paruthi paal,
jigarthanda,
panangkarkandu paal
thenkulal
Evening mutton stall
Kottu parotta (usilampatti)
sevu (usilmpati)
Amma mess (will burn hole in ur pocket)
Kovil Patti Kadalai Mittai
Prema Vilas Halwa
Vaigai mess, out post Tallakulam (Oppsite to canara bank ATM which is on the way to k.k.nagar (nv)
Venu’s Briyani ,dindukal
Tava, 7 road junction. Outstanding Sindhi food, express service kodaikanal
Tibetan Brothers – PT Road. Your slice of Tibet in Kodai.
Ayyanar sweets and snacks thiruthangal road sivakasi
Andal Thirukalyanam & palkova (cooperative society ) srivilliputtur
paniyaram in dharmapuri bus stand
Mangoes (plenty of variety )
Thanjavur devar biriyani
pakodewalas who sell pakoda, Bhajji ,Egg bonda with spicy chutney. near yercaud lake
kingstar bakery- varkis .. ooty
Coimbatore
Angannan’s, Rayappas and Thalappas for lunch (do not miss)
subbu mess (dinner) near railway station
Ajmir, Near TownHall ManiKundu. excellent mutton,beef and chicken Dont forget to taste their mutta poriyal and chicken fry.
patti Amma Dosai Kadai, Near Gem Hospital or archana theater.. butter appam don miss it.
Burma Bai Barotta Kadai, Nehru staduim (Near Boomerang Ice cream).their speciality is barotta that can be made crispy or softy depending upon the user wish. pepper chicken and tomato chicken . evening time only
Thoottukudi macroon .. Fruit mix juice, Dried Ginger water, vazhaipalam halwa
Kovilpatti Kadalaimittai!!
Take a walk around Othavadai Street Mahabaliouram ul love it.
I will put my kerala, bangalore n goa known things nxt time
Fantastic post, Sukumar.
If anyone is in Chandigarh, try- cholle bhathura from any of the Sindhi Sweets shops
If you are in Amritsar, Punjab- try falooda Kulfi ( Must try- you would never find such falooda Kulfi anywhere else in India)….
If driving on NH1 and passes through Murthal (near Delhi) do try any of the Dhabas in for Tandoori Paranthas or just any other food…they are just yummy…
In US, could not find many vegetarian dishes….but Spinach Puff from le Madeline, Veg Kung Pao from Big Bowl and ice creams from Cold Stone are just too good…
If anyone knows good signature “vegetarian foods” in US, pls let me know.
Giri,
yes. Chennai Sangamam did feature some signature foods. I loved the idea. I could taste Manapparai Murukku through that event.
Thanks Karthik. I haven’t tried most of the ones you mention. Yes ratna cafe’s sambar idli definitely is a signature food of chennai. It is too good.
Raj,
That is a huge list of signature foods you produced. It is going to be a long time before i cover just your list 🙂 Thanks a lot
Meenu,
Thanks. I haven’t been to Amritsar or Chandigarh. US has a huge list. You should try Ethiopian cuisine – plenty of vegetarian food and it is a lot closer to Indian food. Try Thai food also. Lombardi’s Pizza, Chicago Deep Dish pizza, H&R bagels in NYC. There is also a lot of Lebanese food. If you are in NJ, goto the Arab Street in Paterson – plenty of great Lebanese food and desserts. Ven Pongal in Flushing Meadows Ganesh Temple is a must have.
Excellent post sukumar..
When i of signature foods, immediately, Mysore Pahu and iyengar bakery comes to my mind..
The madurai parota is famous for its softness.. i realised it when i was staying in bangalore..
Apart from signature food, if we look at signature products, we have very huge list of products in india to enumerate.. The example i could recall immediately is Kanchipuram Silks and Mysore Silks..
Signature products (including foods) are a reflection of social enterprenuership that our society has. I wish, such signature foods be protected from market invasion..
WoW! Thanks so much Sukumar…will definitely try these out….