Famous Joints and Drinks in Madurai

Madurai is famous for the Jigarthanda and Paruthi Pal, and carumbu (sugarcane) juice. Jigarthanda is a delicious drink made of algae, milk and sugar. Paruthi pal is yet another drink made of cotton seeds, flour of raw rice, coconut and jaggery. There is also a special 'fruit mixture' drink that is sold here, mostly near the Meenakshi amman temple. Some of the famous restaurants in Madurai are the Modern Restaurant (since 1956), Arya Bhavan and the latest Madurai Meenakshi Bhavan. The Modern Restaurant is the scrumptious chilli parotha(paratha/parotta), which is spicy shredded bits of parotha garnished with green chilies, lemon, and cilantro. Also competing with the new Café Coffee Day is the very old Visalam coffee shop in Goripalayam. Another favorite joint is Murugan Idli Shop that serves steaming hot idlis and a variety of chutneys to go with it. One great distinction about Madurai's road side food joints is that they are available almost all the time, including nights.