Iyyappan Dosai Kadai

What to eat: Multiple varieties of dosai

Location: Iyappan Dosai Kadai, Pandiya Vellalar St, Madurai

Verdict: One vegetarian eatery in Madurai takes dosai to the next level. It is Iyyappan Dosai Kadai making dosas of multiple varieties like butter paneer masala, palkova, garlic masala, cheese, mushroom, pizza, pasta masala and other regular items like idly, adai. Dosai comes with 3 different chutneys and sambar. Kids love to have butterjam, pizza and kova dosais'.







 



 

Jigarthanda at Murugan Idly Kadai

What to eat: Jigarthanda

Location: Murugan Idly Kadai, West Masi St, Madurai

Verdict: We want to have Jigarthanda for the second time on this trip as today is our last day in this Madurai trip. So visited Murugan Idly Kadai as it's nearer to Ramakrishna Lodge where we stay. Ordered 3 SP Jigarthanda for 165Rs in total. The ice cream cum drink was sweet and tasty as usual. This shop sells the 2nd best Jigarthanda in the town. It was a around 400-450 grams in weight. Very worthy and a must drink in every Madurai trip.


 

 

Famous Jigarthanda

What to drink: Jigartanda

Location: Famous Jigartanda Shop, Near Vilakkutoon, Madurai

Cost: 25 Rs for mini and 50 Rs for special Jigartanda.

Verdict: What a tasty ice cream cum drink...value for money. My niece loves to have my share as well...but I refused to give my Jigartanda. This is the original shop that introduced Jigartanda in Madurai. It's a must if you go to madurai.




 

Mullu Murungai Vadai on Hand carts

What to eat: Mullu Murungai Vadai

Location: Hand carts in South/West Masi & Marret streets, Madurai

Cost: 10 rupees for 4 pieces

Verdict: You can find this green poori shaped vadais' freshly made on the thallu vandis mostly near South masi/marret streets. It's made up of Mullu Murungai leaves, rice flour,...Mullu Murungai is a herbal medicine for cold, cough.




 

Original Nagapattinam Sweet Stall

What to eat: Potato Masala, Halwa and Karasev

Location: Original Nagapattinam NeiMittai Kadai, Mela Chittirai Veedhi (West Chittirai St), Madurai

Cost:
Potato Masala - 10 INR
Halwa - 300 INR per kilo
Karasev - 30 INR per 100 gms

Verdict: Best Halwa and Karasev in the town comes from Nagapattinam sweet shop which was started in 1901. So this is the 115th year for this sweet stall. In old days, this sweet stall has been patronized by several vip politicians from Kamaraj to MGR. You must add this into your bucket list for the next Madurai trip.





Two days back I had to walk 4 kms just to get some packs of kilangu pottalam (a.k.a potato masala) to go along with the curd rice for lunch. No. Don't think I'm crazy. This shop sells the best spicy potato masala which is available only in the morning. So you need to get there by 10AM to get this side dish for curd rice. This shop is actually a sweet stall, but they started selling potata masala for cheap price as a service to laborers in madurai. Earlier days, people bring just rice soaked in water over night to madurai for work. So they used to buy this potata masala packed in a thamarai(lotus) leaves. They don't use plastic for packing this item. Good to see such shops still exist in this modern world.  My wife told me that it would be very spicy. But I don't feel much spicy on it...so yummy with lot of spices added. Only bad thing is it is so little in quantity so I finished in just 2 mins.

 

Ice Apple

What to eat: Ice Apple

Location: All veg/fruit markets in Madurai

Cost: 6 pieces for 20 rupees

Verdict: Ice Apple is a summer time fruit, you will find it in most of the fruit markets on madurai. Known as Nungu in Tamil and Thaati Munjalu in Telugu is a fruit that comes from palm tree. It cools the body and provides a perfect balance of minerals and sugar for the body during the summer season. Very rich in vitamins B, potassium, iron and calcium. You need to peel the outer soft shell before having the fruit. Its a good remedy for digestion problems, ulcer, constipation, chickenpox, to beat the heat, weight loss, hydration, liver problems.





 

Kari Dosai at Konar Kadai

What to eat: Kari Dosai

Location: Konar Kadai, Simmakkal, North Veli Street, Madurai

Cost: 163 rupees per kari dosai

Verdict: There is one food item in Madurai which sells like pepperoni pizza in america. It's called "mutton kari dosai". It's just a normal dosai but with a thick topping of fried mutton pieces, eggs, spices. It goes along with spicy salna. Simmakkal Konar kadai is the best place to have this dosa. Don't try for any other branches of konar kadai as you will get best delicacies only in simmakkal branch. Apart from this, they also serve food items made from most of the parts of a goat from moolai(brain) roast, attukaal(leg) paya, liver fry, boti, elumbu kolambu (bone soup gravy),...It is a heaven for non-veg eaters visiting Madurai.