South Indian snack connoisseurs you can skip this first bit and head straight to the awesome brands below. Those who think of just ghee-laden sweets, chilli bhajjis and bondas when they think of snacks from down South, do the same! For you will discover a whole world of crispy, fried, savoury and sweet treats we discovered in 2021 (duh, we had a lot of time on our hands and wanted more snacks) that you're so going to swoon over.
Seriously South Indian, Addictive Snacks For You Tokyo 2020 Streaming Session
Joot Foods
Fresh out of Madras, Joot Foods comes from the famous family of Sri Krishna Sweets, a name everyone is familiar with in this part of the country. Since already being iconic we wouldn't have to stress too much on the quality but the variety is something we cannot stop talking about! From melt-in-the-mouth Butter Murukku, Ribbon Pakoda (season and deep fried besan batter that look like ribbons), to Kara Boondhi, Madras Mixture and Kadalai Mittai (chikki) they make it all. If you've got a serious sweet tooth, definitely try the Kamarakattu. Lethally addictive these are little chewy balls of jaggery and coconut. Shop for their snacks right here on LBB, Woohoo!
Petti Kadai
Petti Kadai, a name that literally translates to small or corner shops will take you back to nostalgic memories of hoarding snacks from jars at these stores. Only difference is you won't have to literally travel to a petti kadai. All you want will be delivered to your doorstep and you will definitely want the Nei Laddu (ghee ladoo), Seepu Seedai (a Chettinad special fried snack similar to murukku) and the Athirasam or Kajjaya (deep fried, almost like a really dense donut made with ground rice and jaggery). Read more about this delicious brand and their offerings here.
Motherland Superstore
Motherland Superstore is a speciality retail store that does some super kick-ass merch, but it's their super snacks (a new offering) that we're here to spotlight. Think the crispiest of crispy and thinnest of thin chips, yum. Yes, since it's South Indian these are banana and tapioca chips. The brand calls them gourmet as they are made using only the choicest of handpicked ingredients and are kettle cooked. We love the seasonings and flavour options, especially the curry leaves, turmeric and mustard combo. There's ripe banana fried in coconut oil and seasoned with rock salt too. Mmh, a delicacy if you ask us.
Postcard Snacks
Postcard Snacks hit home especially with their mantra of why look elsewhere when local snacks are literally king! This brand is bringing regional snacks from across the country to our doorstep and you guessed right, we're loving the Hurigalu from Bengaluru (a delicious combination of crunchy deep fried lentils, in short the perfect chakna) and Sattur Seeval from Tamil Nadu (a deep fried fatter cousin of a chip made with rice flour and roasted gram dal speckled with sesame seeds). All their snacks are made from locally ingredients, from the same city using heirloom recipes to nail the flavours and nostalgia) Hop on to Shop On LBB to buy a buttload of these munchies.
GirijaPaati Homefoods
Nothing comes quite as close to paati's snacks and thankfully this grandma has her kitchen open for us all. From Chennai, GirijaPaati Homefoods has an online store run by a family that has been churning out fabulous snacks, sweets, pickles and podis for over 50 years. On their karams (savouries) menu, they've got classic Mixture, Omapodi (the South Indian equivalent of sev mixed with a bunch of seasonings), Butter Murukku and Ribbon Pakoda among others. From their sweets, that very well qualify as snacks, try the Maaladudds made with gram flour, cashews, cardamom and desi ghee and the Theratti Paal, slow buffalo cooked milk with jaggery and ghee.
Rusingo - Taste Of Chennai
To give us all the taste of a South Indian home, a mother-daughter duo decided to begin this enterprise. Rusingo is known for their authentic Idli Chutney and Sambar Powder, and Puliogre Mixes, but they also sell Chaliks and Applams. Applams or Pappad make for great snacks if you didn't know and Rusingo has very Southie options like Green Chilli Rice Papad, Tomato Rice Papad, Jeera Applam and more.
Kiru
Kiru, a healthy snack brand from Bengaluru may not make all traditional South Indian snacks but they do use ingredients popular in the region to make their treats. Like a Crunchy Ragi and Coconut Cookie flavoured with vanilla and and Millet Puffed Bites that can easily replace any cheese ball or puff in our opinion! In the familiar territory they have Peanut Chikki, Millet Masala Cookies (like Iyengar salt biscuits but with a kick of spice) and Pearl Millet or Muttu Ragi Mixture (puffed flakes or millet seasoned with curry leaves, peanuts, spices, garlic and dry red chilli). Shop for their snacks on LBB.
Graminway
Another Bengaluru snack brand doing us a service with their range of guilt-free snacks is Graminway. They too use ingredients like ragi, soya and other millets to make perfect tea time munchies like Ragi and Avalakki Chivda and uber crunchy Soya and Ragi Chips. They've also recently introduced ready-to-eat Gluten-free Multi Millet Pongal Mix and Masala Jowar Upma mixes that totally sound good with a cup of hot filter coffee for us to enjoy, say around those 4 pm or 5 pm hunger pangs. Yum! Shop for their snacks on LBB.
Dakshyn
If the name of this brand doesn't make the South Indian in you jump, their snacks (a delectable range) certainly will. For those who don't know, Dakshyn literally translates to South, exactly what the brand represents through their authentic regional snack recipes from Southern India. The line up is *chefs kiss* -- with all things iconic, from Gunpowder Tapioca Chips, Karasev, Boondhi Masala, to Malabar Banana Chips, Hyderabad Mix and Madaras Hot Mix mixtures. The sound of these snacks makes us think Dakshyn and us will be BFFs!
Lo! Foods
Lo! Foods isn't an all out South Indian snack brand but consider them a blessing in disguise, because what they are is low carb! So they make many of our favourite South Indian munchies in low carb versions like the Low Carb Murukku, Low Carb Jeera Biscuit, Low Carb South Indian Mixture and more. How is this for guiltless South Indian munching?
Pro-Tip
If you do not discriminate when it comes to snacks and can enjoy anything and everything, check out the Snacks Section on the LBB Shop. We stock everything in the snack world - local to fancy and healthy to indulgent!