Chennai beach food’s secret is sea air, not masala alone

Chennai's beachside food vendors draw crowds for snacks like fish fry, bajjis and sundal, but the distinctive taste comes from more than just spices. Vendors at Marina Beach, including Ganesh who has run a fish stall for 30 years, say the masala blend is complex but the real flavour comes from the sea breeze, salt air and sand. Visitors like 56-year-old Jayashree recall childhood trips where fathers worried about hygiene, now she and her family share fried fish at the shore as a monthly ritual.

The Alli Muthu fish stall coats vanjaram and other fish in a bright red marinade of nearly 10 masalas. Bajji stalls serve long green chillis and potato slices dipped in batter, with a chutney that online recipes cannot replicate. For 23-year-olds Rajeeth Nisha and Kirijha, fish fry has become a post-college ritual. The experience, vendors and customers agree, is inseparable from the setting: salt, waves, sand and the easy fun of eating together at the coast.