Ooty Cuisine: No matter where you come from, the local cuisine will feature high on your list of to-do items wherever you travel. Ooty holds many delightful surprises for you in the matter of local cuisines. Ooty is one of those places where you get vegetarian as well as non-vegetarian food of excellent quality. You walk into any normal restaurant and you are presented with a wide variety of choices from the South Indian delights of Dosa (different types like ghee roast, masala dosa, egg dosa etc.), idli (something like steam cake made from rice) vada chutney, pongal etc.
For breakfast and then you have your normal North Indian and South Indian thali for lunch along with a wide range of Punjabi dishes, the list goes on endless. You also get a wide variety of dishes made from fish. These dishes are all time favorites of people coming from Kerala for whom fish is one of those âmust havesâ on any given day. Chicken dishes are yet another specialty worth mentioning when we talk about Ooty Cuisines. Since Ooty is closely bordered by Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, you have different types of dishes from all the three states.
Chicken Chettinadand "Kozhi Varutharachathu" are sure to be rated among your favorites if you like your chicken on the spicy side. If you happen to be a strict veggie, then also you have nothing to worry about. Veggies also have a lot to look forward to in Ooty. Avial, a dish made by mixing seven to eight vegetables is one of the all time favorites of the local inhabitants. The dish tastes awesome and is also highly nutritious. Besides these, you also get a wide variety of salads, which are totally fulfilling and nutritious and meant for all those diet freaks out there. You also get a wide range of dry side dishes made from carrots, cabbages, radish (you name it).
If you want to indulge yourself in some locally made pastries, breads and snacks please do go ahead, as the local bread and pastries have a flavor of their own. The coconut burfy which you get in the bakeries of Ooty is a must try. Are you in for some coffee or tea? Ooty still has remnants left of its, once famous coffee and tea plantations and the coffee and tea that you get locally has the aroma of the Nilgiris filled in it. The refreshing taste of locally brewed coffee just lifts your spirit (if it is down for some reason that is) and gives it a new life.
The climate of Ooty is ideal for growing a wide variety of fruits. Strawberries, pears, peaches, all are cheap and of the finest quality. You might actually want to take some of them back home with you, if you happen to travel to Ooty from some place nearby. Last but not the least; Ooty has some vineyards as well. If you are lucky, you might actually find some wine shops selling local wine. It is definitely worth the try.
