Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
STREET FOOD: TIPS
Tucking into street eats is a glowing highlight of travelling in South India - here are some tips to help avoid
tummy troubles.
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Give yourself a few days to adjust to the local cuisine, especially if you're not used to spicy food.
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You know the rule about following a crowd - if the locals are avoiding a particular vendor, you should too.
Also take notice of the profile of the customers - any place popular with families will probably be your safest bet.
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Check how and where the vendor is cleaning the utensils, and how and where the food is covered. If the vendor
is cooking in oil, try to have a peek to check it's clean. If the pots or surfaces are dirty, there are food scraps about
or too many buzzing flies, don't be shy to make a hasty retreat.
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Don't be put off when you order some deep-fried snack and the cook throws it back into the wok. It's common
practice to partly cook the snacks first and then finish them off once they've been ordered. In fact, frying them
hot again kills germs.
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Unless a place is reputable (and busy), it's best to avoid eating meat from the street.
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The hygiene standard at juice stalls varies, so exercise caution. Have the vendor press the juice in front of you
and steer clear of anything stored in a jug or served in a glass (unless you're confident in the washing standards).
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Don't be tempted by glistening pre-sliced melon and other fruit, which keeps its luscious veneer with regular
dousing of (often dubious) water.
Street Food
Whatever the time of day, food vendors are frying, boiling, roasting, peeling, simmering,
mixing, juicing or baking some type of food and drink to lure peckish passers-by. Small
operations usually have one special that they serve all day, while other vendors have dif-
ferent dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The fare varies as you venture between
neighbourhoods, towns and regions; it can be as simple as puffed rice or peanuts roasted
in hot sand, as unexpected as a fried-egg sandwich, or as complex as the riot of different
flavours known as
chaat
(savoury snack).
Dakshin Bhog
by Santhi Balaraman offers a yummy jumble of southern stars, from iconic dosas and
idlis
to
kootan choru
(vegetable rice).
Railway Snack Attack
One of the thrills of travelling by rail right across India is the culinary circus that greets
you at almost every station. Roving vendors accost arriving trains, yelling and scampering
up and down the carriages; fruit,
namkin
(savoury nibbles), omelettes, nuts and sweets are
offered through the grills on the windows; and platform cooks try to lure you from the
