Quick answer
South Indian cooking relies on a core set of vegetables: small onions, onions, tomatoes, green chillies, curry leaves, coriander, garlic, ginger and coconut as the base; drumstick, brinjal, okra, gourds and pumpkin for sambar and kootu; beans, carrots, cabbage and beetroot for poriyal; and greens, raw banana and yam for variety.
Key takeaways
- The flavour base is small onions, tomatoes, chillies, curry leaves, coconut and coriander.
- Drumstick, brinjal, okra and gourds are the sambar and kootu favourites.
- Beans, carrots, cabbage and beetroot cover most poriyals.
- Rotate greens and country vegetables through the week for variety.
The flavour base: buy these every week
Almost every South Indian dish starts with the same handful of fresh ingredients. Keep these in stock at all times.
- Small onions (sambar vengayam) for sambar, kuzhambu and chutney.
- Big onions for gravies, rice dishes and tiffin.
- Tomatoes for rasam, sambar and chutneys.
- Green chillies and dry red chillies.
- Curry leaves and coriander leaves.
- Garlic and ginger.
- Coconut for chutney, poriyal, kootu and aviyal.
- Lime for lemon rice and finishing dishes.
Vegetables for sambar and kuzhambu
- Drumstick (murungakkai).
- Brinjal (kathirikai).
- Okra (vendakkai).
- Pumpkin (parangikai) and ash gourd (poosanikai).
- Radish (mullangi).
- Shallots, often cooked whole.
- Raw mango, when in season.
Vegetables for kootu and aviyal
Kootu and aviyal combine vegetables with dal or coconut and are a good way to use several vegetables at once.
- Bottle gourd (suraikai) and snake gourd (pudalangai).
- Ridge gourd (peerkangai) and chow chow.
- Raw banana (vazhakkai) and yam (senai kizhangu).
- Carrots, beans and drumstick for aviyal.
- Cucumber, especially in Kerala-style aviyal.
Vegetables for poriyal and stir-fries
- Beans and cluster beans (kothavarangai).
- Carrots and beetroot.
- Cabbage.
- Broad beans (avarakkai).
- Ivy gourd (kovakkai).
- Potatoes for roast and masala.
Greens: rotate through the week
Keerai is a nutritious part of Tamil meals. Rotate different greens through the week for variety: amaranth (mulai keerai), spinach (pasalai keerai), drumstick leaves (murungai keerai), fenugreek leaves and others available locally. Buy them fresh and cook within a day or two.
Country vegetables and tubers
Country vegetables such as broad beans, cluster beans, ivy gourd, drumstick and gourds are often grown nearby and can be good value. Tubers like yam, colocasia (seppankizhangu), tapioca and sweet potato add variety and store longer than leafy vegetables.
A sample weekly list for a family of four
As a rough guide, a family of four might buy: 1 to 2 kg small onions, 2 kg onions, 2 kg tomatoes, 250 g green chillies, 2 coconuts, a bunch each of curry leaves and coriander, 200 g garlic, 100 g ginger, plus 4 to 6 kg of mixed vegetables for sambar, kootu and poriyal, and 2 or 3 bunches of greens. Adjust to your family's tastes.
Find these vegetables in Pappampatti
At Sarvajana Stores in Pappampatti, we stock the everyday vegetables South Indian kitchens rely on, including small onions, greens and country vegetables. Pick them up with your groceries or send your list on WhatsApp for delivery.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Small onions, onions, tomatoes, green chillies, curry leaves, coriander, coconut, drumstick, brinjal, okra, gourds, beans, carrots, cabbage and leafy greens.
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