To reach Rameswaram, the nearest airport is Madurai, from where it is a good three-and-a-half-hour drive. The roads are good, dotted with small cafes on either side. The best place to kickstart the food trail is right here, on the highway, with a filter coffee. The hot, strong, sweet, aromatic beverage topped with bubbly froth served in a brass ‘dabara tumbler’ is known as ‘filter kaapi’ in south India. Its best version is found in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Accompanied by a couple of hot medu vadas, served on a small banana leaf, with red and white chutneys (tomato, and coconut) will certainly make a good beginning to the food journey.

In the absence of street food in Rameswaram town, there are ‘Thattu Kadais’ (small shops selling food) all around. These serve idli, dosa, vada, puri-bhaji, etc., in the morning; and noodles, Manchurian, Chinese fried rice, and paneer dishes in the evening. All these are vegetarian joints, as non-veg is shunned anywhere close to the temple. The non-vegetarian Thattu Kadais selling mostly regular chicken and mutton dishes are far away from the temple.

In the absence of street food in Rameswaram town, there are ‘Thattu Kadais’ (small shops selling food) all around

In southern India, temple prasadams have a distinct taste and are sought after with reverence. In the Rameswaram Temple, there is free Annadanam, where a full-fledged, tasty south Indian vegetarian meal is served on a banana leaf. At specified timings, the temple also distributes ‘Puliyodarai’ (delicious tamarind rice with a spicy seasoning) and ‘Sarkarai Pongal’ (sweet rice cooked with moong dal, jaggery, lots of ghee and topped with nuts). Tasting these foods is a great experience.

In a coastal city like Rameswaram, it is better to focus on seafood Shutterstock

In a coastal city like Rameswaram, it is better to focus on seafood. Less than 20 km from Rameswaram, as you take a scenic ride on the Dhanuskodi Beach Road, flanked by the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean, groups of fishermen are seen hauling heavy nets from the sea. Their women clean and cook this fresh catch quickly and efficiently: the makeshift shacks are equipped with a few plastic tables, chairs, and a huge cast iron griddle. In Bharathan Hotel, Sudha and Rajeswari clean and cook while Namburajan supervises and collects the cash with a broad smile. Sudha’s 12-year-old school-going son Ramesh takes care of the customers on Sundays and holidays, communicating smartly in broken Hindi and English.

Rajeswari about to clean and cook a plate of fish and prawns, at Bharathan Hotel

You can choose fish/prawns/crabs, and the price will be decided, followed by scrubbing, cleaning, rubbing spices, etc. Mostly fried, the dish is ready in a few minutes as the customer watches the chulah being lit and the sizzling seafood swim in huge amounts of oil (some new oil added to the old).

Rice is already cooked and kept ready to be served on order. In Mr. Fish, which is one of the more popular joints, some people opt for ‘Meen Kozhambu’ (fish cooked in tamarind juice along with onions, ginger garlic paste and other spices). This dish comes with fish pieces in a thick gravy, which is kept cooked and ready, and is served instantly with hot rice.

Meen Kozhambu at Mr. Fish

At Sri Bhagawan Hotel, mackerels get fried to perfection. These orange-coloured (smeared with chilli powder and turmeric) coastal darlings are much relished. Dhanuskodi, the ghost town, buzzes with these gastronomic activities till evening and is enveloped in an eerie silence once the entry is closed at 5pm.

Most of the hotels, including top ones like Daiwik – Rameswaram, serve only pure vegetarian food, since people on a pilgrimage stick to a vegetarian diet. In their Ahaan restaurant (most popular with locals and tourists, preferred for its clean ambience, delicious food), white, lacy ‘idiappams’ are served in the buffet with vegetable stew and sweetened coconut milk as accompaniments. Called String Hoppers in English, the idiappam is equally, if not more popular in neighbouring Sri Lanka. Made of roasted rice flour, the dough is passed through a press and steamed lightly. This thin, noodle-like delicacy has many variants – sweet, salty, slightly sour with lemon juice etc.

Idiappams with sweet coconut milk and stew

At Daiwik, they prepare a few dishes on request like ‘Paruppu Payasam’ and ‘Kothu Paratha’. ‘Paruppu Payasam’ is the most-loved regional dessert slow-cooked on a wood fire in an ‘Urli’ (a thick, flat, brass vessel that retains heat and prevents burning of the ingredients). Moong dal fried in ghee is cooked soft and mixed with jaggery and coconut milk, simmered till thick and seasoned with a liberal dose of roasted kaju-kishmish.

Paruppu Payasam is the most-loved regional dessert

‘Kothu Paratha’, inspired by a similar Sri Lankan dish, is popular in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. It is a chopped chapati with a topping of meat, scrambled eggs, onions and chillies. Ahaan serves it using paneer instead of meat.

Kothu Paratha

The much-loved ‘Paniyaram’ is an omnipresent snack (salty or sweet-small and round balls) that appears at breakfast and evening ‘tiffin time’ in all eateries – big and small. Basically, it is leftover idli batter, mixed with finely chopped onions, chillies, seasoning, and shallow fried with minimal oil in a thick, cast iron paniyaram pan. If you buy this pan as a souvenir and lug it home, that’s your ‘takeaway’ from Rameswaram!

The much-loved Paniyaram is an omnipresent snack, cooked in a thick, cast iron paniyaram pan