Long before anyone wrote down a recipe, this coast traded in flavour. Pepper from the Western Ghats, cardamom from the hills, coconut from every shoreline.
The tempering
In a South Indian kitchen the spice often arrives last. Mustard seeds crackle in hot oil, curry leaves spit and turn glossy, dried chillies darken, and the whole lot is poured over a dish at the very end. It is called a tadka or a tempering, and it is the reason a bowl of sambhar smells the way it does.
Podi
Then there is podi, the roasted lentil and chilli powder some call gunpowder. Mixed with ghee or butter, it turns a plain idli into something you think about for the rest of the day.
