10 South Indian Dishes to have on your Wedding Menu

Weddings in India are always an occasion to behold. They give significance to traditional ceremonies and above all, give importance to making sure the food served is top notch. South Indian weddings, especially Tamil weddings, have the tradition of serving lunch to guests on the day of the wedding. This is done in a sit-down meal arrangement in a hall adjacent to the main wedding hall. The food is served on a banana leaf. Usually, the food served is vegetarian to mark the auspicious occasion. Traditionally people in India eat food with bare hands without any spoon or fork unlike in other countries.

The dishes which are served in a typical Tamil wedding are:

1. Rice

Rice is the staple food present in almost every meal consumed in Tamilnadu. Therefore, it is no surprise that rice is prevalent in the wedding meal. It is served throughout the meal to act as a vehicle to be mixed with and eaten with the other dishes on the menu. 

2.   Sambhar

Sambhar is a lentil- based vegetable stew that is spicy and tangy. It serves as the perfect way to get one’s taste buds perked up and asking for more. 

3.   Aviyal

Aviyal is a vegetable mix consisting mostly of sliced drumsticks, carrots, pumpkin, green beans, coconut oil, and curry leaves. It can be eaten as a condiment mixed with the rice served or as it is, depending on one’s preference.

4.   Kootu

Kootu is a semi-solid lentil and vegetable stew made with a fresh coconut paste mixed with spices and vegetables like carrots, beans, diced potatoes, diced pumpkin, cucumber and peas and cooked with turmeric powder and salt in water.

5.   Rasam

Rasam is a spicy, sweet’ n sour soup stock traditionally prepared using tomato and tamarind as the base. Spices like cumin, pepper and garlic are added to the stock to add heat and flavour. Herbs are used to season it. It is usually eaten along with a vegetable side dish (poriyal). It is also the second main dish served after sambhar. It aids in digestion and helps relieve from symptoms of common cold and stomach ailments.

6.   Poriyal

Poriyal is the ultimate vegetable side dish for any meal one can have in Tamilnadu. It is a dish consisting of fried or sauteed vegetables which are either diced or sliced up. Mustard seeds, onions, chilis, turmeric and coriander are usually added to the dish during the cooking process. It can be eaten as a side dish along with rice mixed with sambhar, rasam or yogurt (curd). 

7.   Appalam

Appalam is a thin, crisp, roughly round flatbread. It is made from rice flour dough and salted to taste. It is hand-shaped and then deep fried in oil to give its crispness. It can be served as an accompaniment to the meal. 

8.   Thayir Saadam

Yogurt (or curd) mixed with rice is known as Thayir Saadam in Tamilnadu. It is usually served as the third main dish after Rasam. It can be accompanied with poriyal, pickle, and can also sometimes be topped with pomegranate seeds or coriander leaves. Curd rice acts as a natural coolant to bring down the body temperature after the spiciness of the earlier dishes.

9.   Vadai

Vadai is a savoury snack that is served hot. It is made from legumes like chickpea, black gram or green gram. The legumes are ground to make a batter and shaped and deep fried. The shape of the vadai depends on the type of vadai and the legume used to make it. It can also be stuffed with cumin seeds, onions, and curry leaves to add flavour and nutritive value. It is served at weddings as an accompaniment to payasam.

10. Payasam

Payasam is a rice pudding made by boiling milk and sugar with rice along with dried fruits, almonds and cashew nuts. The rice can be replaced with vermicelli, millet or wheat. It is the primary dessert dish in any typical Tamil wedding menu and goes along with the vadai. 

Although the ten dishes listed above are prevalent in a tamil wedding menu, other dishes that deserve mention are vegetable biryani served with thayir pachadi (onion raita), roti and vegetable curry, pickle and sweets such as laddu, halwa or jalebi. 

Once the guests are done eating, it is customary to fold the banana leaf (towards you if you enjoyed the meal and away from you if you didn’t). Nowadays, it has become prevalent to serve ice cream separately when you leave the meal hall to please the kids accompanying the guests.

The below is the basic menu served by us in wedding catering in chennai. It is highly customizable depends on the client requirement.

KASI HALWA  

MALPUA RABDI  

PLAIN IDLY 

MILAGAPODI  THADAVIYA IDLY  

MEDHU VADAI  

KAMBU DOSAI 

MULBAGAL DOSAI  

TRIO IDIYAPPAM  

VADACURRY 

GHEE PONGAL 

MINI POORI 

SOUTH INDIAN MASAL  

COCONUT CHUTNEY

TOMATO CHUTNEY 

MALLI CHUTNEY  

SAMBAR

KOTSU  

COFFEE/TEA

HOT BADHAM HALWA 

MANGO RASMALAI 

ADAI PRADHAMAN PAYASAM 

CHOW CHOW CURD PACHADI 

ORANGE SKIN SWEET PACHADI TO BALANCE THE TASTE OF THREE FLAVOURS  PINEAPPLE CHILLI FLAKES  POTATO KARA CURRY

VAZHAI POO VEG ERA ROAST

CABBAGE COCONUT PORIYAL 

PARUPPU  GHEE  AVIYAL

PARUPPU VADAI  

HYDERABAD BIRIYANI

DALCHA  KADHAMBA SAMBAR  

POOSANIKAI MORE KOZHAMBU 

PINE APPLE LEMON RASAM 

BRINJAL KARA KOZHAMBU 

CHIPS  

APPALAM

CURD 

PICKLES 

MANGO 

NELLIKAI THOKKU

LITCHI BASUNDI

BHADHAM FIG ROLL

VAZHAIPOO VADAI

SPRING ROLL

CUTLET

BUTTER NAAN

BUTTER ROTI

MINI ADAI ROLL WITH JAGGERY

AMRITSARI KULCHE

GOBI DUM ALOO GRAVY

NOODLES

BALL MANJURIAN

STUFFED KADAI VEGETABLES

PANEER PASANDA

HYDERABADI BIRYANI

RAITHA

MINI FRIED IDLI

BISI BELE HULI

RASAM SADAM

CURD RICE WITH TADKA WITH VATHAKUZHAMBU

PICKLES TWO VARIETIES

Arusuvai Arasu is one of the best in catering services for weddings, we make sure that the south Indian wedding menu is very much culturally relevant and is highly specific to the families’ requests. Quality, safety, hygiene, sustainability, customizability and adaptability are the principles that everyone serviced by Arusuvai Arasu speaks of. If you want to experience a premier south Indian wedding feast, choose wedding catering services organized by Arusuvai Arasu for a wholesome experience.