Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu is now getting famous as a travel and food destination in India. But aside from its religious and historical sites, Chennai is considered as a foodies' paradise as it serves a few of India's vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. 

Chennai keeps many of its riches in its kitchens, and the city is rightly famous to travelers for its elaborate, spicy cuisine. With street-side eating and fine-dining scene, Chennai, the increasingly cosmopolitan capital of Tamil Nadu, continues to prove that it is the capital of South Indian dining.

In the morning, locals and even visitors try to bring out Chennai's favorite foods, which start with the humble idli, which is a steamed, sponge rice cake, dunked into tasty sambar or lentil broth or coconut chutney. Dosas, which is a savory South Indian breakfast crepes made with rice flour, should be paired with idli.  It is eaten across India no matter the time of day in India. According to About Food, dosas are very well- known in Chennai. Udipi restaurants are serving dosas as well as other South Indian foods that can be found in almost every suburb.

Similar in taste, but thicker that dosas is the uttapam. It is a chock-full of coriander, green chillies and tangy onion. Locals in the south that loves deep-fried foods choose doughnut-like lentil vadas for snacking. A lot of guests are also going for the famous South Indian kapi, which is filter coffee made with milk, sugar and chicory.  Kapi is a sweet milky coffee made from dark roasted coffee beans and chicory, that is especially famed in the southern states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, as claimed by D'source. 

For the city's best idlis, tourists usually head to Triplicane's Ratna Café. Its signature sambar recipe has long been known as one of the most treasured secrets in Chennai when it comes to food. And if a traveler is looking for an authentic dish in the south, locals would often advise them to get  thalis, which are the soul of the South Indian kitchen. The core ingredients of thalis are sambar, spicy gravies, chutneys, rasam, veg, and cool curd, traditionally laid out across a banana leaf.  Thalis can now be found in the north and south of India although the thali has its origins in South India, given its orientation around rice, as mentioned in Approach Guides.

A lot of guests also hunt down for the ultimate Tamil thali at T Nagar's Junior Kuppanna, which runs during lunch-time trade with limitless meals piled high on their banana leaves. For the less-spicy Keralan take on thalis, visitors usually visit the Nair Mess in Chennai.

For now, even though there are a lot of vegetarian and non- vegetarian cuisines all throughout India, Chennai proves to be India's foodies' paradise. With its rich culture and tradition, many travelers are now getting hooked with its spicy foods.