Food in Tamilnadu and Kerala Culture

Food, one of the basic human needs, occupies a special place in all cultures of the world. To understand the culture of a particular race, one must look into their food habits. A community’s food habits depend on the seasonal environment, the produce of the land, the method of production, the economic status and the social hierarchy. Food is the foundation of human life. In ancient Tamil Nadu, which included the Chera Chola-Pandya kingdoms, grains like rice, millet, wheat, and meat like pig, rabbit, iguana, fish, chicken, and vegetables were used in ancient literature. Fried, baked and fried foods were the most common in Tamil cuisine. During the period of Bhakti literature, a great change took place in Tamil food. This article compares the types of cereals, tubers, fruits and fish and meat related foods used by the people living in the ancient Chera kingdom ie today’s Kerala region with the Tamil Nadu diet.