Indian cuisine is wonderfully tasty. The goddess Annapūrṇā always inspires it — from anna (“food”) and pūrṇa (“complete, abundant, full”).
Where to eat in Mahābalipuram
In Mahābalipuram you will find plenty of vegetarian and non-vegetarian restaurants, as well as Western-style cooking at “Au Yogi”, our friend Ramesh’s famous “Moonrakers”, and the Gecko Café run by Mani. For very inexpensive canteen-style food, there is “Mamalla” on S. Mada Street, near the bus stand, and the slightly pricier Sri Ananda Bhavan, at the corner of E. Raja Street and Othavadai Street.
Being a guest in an Indian family
If you are invited to eat with an Indian family, you will be greeted with “Namaskar” (Namaste in the North), the welcome made with both hands joined. In India you never wish someone happiness — it is considered to be in your own hands and to depend only on you. For a meal, you generally bring your host sweets or fruit. You do not really say “thank you” in Indian languages, but you can say “Shukriya” (in Sanskrit, “dhanyavaad”), which means “thanks — and be prosperous”.
Table manners
In large international restaurants your cutlery will be a spoon, fork and knife; in more modest places you may have only a spoon for the semi-liquid dishes. You eat with the fingers of the right hand — and only these, as the left hand is considered impure. In the North you may take food with the whole hand, but in the South it is more polite to use only the fingertips. Bread or pancakes help you to eat. In many restaurants the cold chain is not always respected (fridges are switched off to save money), so avoid dishes that have been frozen. In temples, saffron powder, blessed Ganges water and sometimes blessed food are offered to visitors as Prasad, the blessing of the gods — it is considered impolite to refuse.
North and South: two cuisines
The food of the North differs markedly from that of the South. Southern cuisine is far more vegetarian in most places (apart from the international hotel chains); on the other hand, you will more often find fish, grilled or in sauces, in the South. Southern cooking is generally spicier — for sensitive palates, you can ask the cook to go easy on the spices (“No chilli, please”).
