Kongu Nadu · Deccan Inland Plateau
Idli, ven pongal, filter coffee and the fixed tiffin sequence
Founded by the Dhamodarasamy Naidu family, which began by running a cinema canteen before opening a restaurant. It is the reference point for what people mean by Kovai tiffin, and it now runs a chain, but the pongal is still the test.
Mysurpa — a soft, ghee-loose version of Mysore pak
A Coimbatore house that made its name on a sweet named for another city, and which now sells more of it than that city does. The soft version does not keep, which is why it is bought on the way to the train.
Turmeric traded by lot, on fixed days, by open auction
One of the largest turmeric trading floors anywhere. The floor is worth a visit for the sight and the smell of several hundred tonnes of cured rhizome graded by hand.
Pit-loom cotton carpets and blankets
Buy from the weavers' society rather than the highway shops if the point is a hand-woven piece; the power-loom copies use the same name and are visibly lighter.
The regulated sago and starch market
A single institution through which the great bulk of the district's sago is auctioned, which is unusual — most Indian food commodities have no equivalent single floor.
Cotton knitwear, sold from factory seconds outlets by the kilo as often as by the piece
Worth walking for the compression of an entire supply chain into a few square kilometres — spinning, knitting, dyeing, printing and stitching, often on the same street.
Famous shops, markets and workshops in Kongu Nadu, and what each is known for. (6)