Pondicherry French Food: 13 French Foods You Can Eat in Pondicherry

Want to know 13 of the authentic Pondicherry French Food that you can eat in Pondicherry? In addition, get to know ten French restaurants in Pondicherry.

Do you know the favorite tourist destination in India for tourists from France? Where they can find authentic French restaurants that sell delicious French food?

The tourists from France go to Pondicherry, union territory, on the east coast of India, bordering Tamilnadu, to answer their taste buds’ cravings for their homeland food.

Of all the cuisines of the world, French cuisine is alone unique. You can’t find a semblance of the French cuisine even in n countries that are located very close such as:

• Italy
• Germany
• Switzerland.
• Belgium
• Spain

A minor exception is Luxemburg, where some of the bakery items and red wine remind you of French food and drinks.

What are the top French foods you can eat in Pondicherry french restaurants? Pondicherry  shortly called Pondy? Pondicherry also known as ‘Puducherry’.

1. Quiche, Pondicherry French Food

Let us start with this popular Pondicherry French food “Quiche”. After all, it is a breakfast food and it is correct that we start with it.

The ‘Quiche’ is a ‘tart’. A tart is a baked food, a pastry that has one-two fillings, usually jams, custard, or some savoury item.

Tarts contains beaten egg but with no icing decoration. In some bakeries, the quiche, finely dotted with fruit jelly crystals in various colors, just to attract the children.

This French breakfast dish sold widely in Pondy’s French cafes.

I think you are wondering why ‘quiche’ is not sounding French. There are a few variations in the ingredients and appearance of quiche that carry very French names.

Look at the following varieties of Quiche:

• Quiche aux Champignon (filled with mushrooms)
• The Quiche au Fromage( cheese-filled quiche)
• Quiche au Provencale (see cherry tomatoes spread liberally inside the pastry)

2. Poisson du jour, Pondicherry French Food

Sounds odd and dangerous-eh?  I searched hard for the meaning of ‘Poisson’ in the French food scenario and came to know it is the name of a fish. I wonder whether the same fish caught in the Bay of Bengal, that is in Pondy coast.

Nonetheless, Poisson fish grilled and served with raw grated carrot or radish with cucumber accompanying the French dish on the platter.

3. Croissant stuffed with Tandoori chicken
   

Yes, you have seen them in every departmental store in India and on an impulse I have bought a croissant a few times. Nothing was found inside and thus the taste was bland and it was hard to bite off.

Nonetheless, the French people’s favorite snack is croissant that filled with either chicken or lobster.

The Indian version of French croissant sold in Puducherry stuffed with tandoori chicken.

Very innovative recipe-eh?

4. Bouillabaisse, French food in Puducherry

It is a stew all right but not a clear one. I mean there are several solids floating around and from the look of it, I could detect crab, lobsters, and shellfish.

The fish used in the coastal areas of France in this French food ‘Bouillabaisse’ are various species such as:

• Rockfish
• Sea Robin

• Monkfish

So, I am mistaken; it was not a lobster that was mentioned as one of the solids that was floating on the soup and it is actually a ‘Sea Robin’, distinctly orange in color.

5. Nicoise Salad, French food in Pondy

When I read the ingredients used in this French salad that originated in the Nice city, France, I wonder how this French specialty is made in Pondy, India because of the use of native herbs in the dish made n France.

Oh, I need not have wondered at all. Anything can be imported these days; both the ingredients and the recipe.

I think there are numerous native chefs from France that are living in Pondicherry.

The Nicoise Salad comprises both cooked and raw vegetables, boiled tuna fish, olive fruits and eggs.

6. Poulet Aux Champignons A La Crème, Pondicherry French Food

Looks creamy! It is a traditional French way of eating healthy. This French-sounding dish made of chicken, mushrooms, and fresh cream. Is it the native of the Mediterranean region and later entered the kitchens in France?

7. Crepes, French food
   

Oh, yes, the tasty and juicy pancakes called ‘crepes’ in French is widely found in the restaurants and bistros in Pondicherry.

A normal pancake is thick and almost cylindrical but in this case, the crepes are also pancakes but are baked very thin so that you wrap it around a mixed salad of fruits and vegetables.

In Pondy, India, the crepes are wraps containing cooked seafood or mushroom. I like cheese crepes.

8. Ratatouille, French food in Puducherry

This French food is purely a vegetarian dish made of several vegetables including shallots, capsicum, and aubergines (eggplant).

This dish is again a native of the Nice city, France.

Below is another version of Ratatouille. This liquid made of white sauce.

Only select exclusive French restaurants in Pondicherry serve the authentic French dish in spite of the availability of all the ingredients. I suppose since it is not a meat dish, there are not many takers in Pondy, India.

9. Cassoulet
   

This is an exclusive French food that served in French cafes in Pondicherry.

The name of the cooking vessel (in the above image) is “Cassole”, a pottery and the French dish is named after that.

It seems the gravy is thick and contains French beans apart of meat that include pork and duck.

10. Croque Monsieur, Pondicherry French Food
    

The name screams, I am “French”. A sandwich containing cheese topping and boiled ham, it’s a favorite French item offered during the evening tea that the English call “High-tea’. It means a cup of tea served with something light, not filling.

I think I would skip my supper if I eat the Croque Monsieur.

Note that I skipped the very popular ‘French Fries’ that are available now even in remote countryside of Africa and India. It is no more an exclusive French food.

11. Baguette, Pondy French Food
    

Yes, you remember seeing this in several departmental stores in India but you may not be aware of its French connection.

It is a long loaf of bread measuring more than 2 feet! However, it is rather thin with a crispy outer surface. I have tasted this French food once and I found it dry on the inside.

You require a gravy dish to dip every piece of it and shove it in your mouth.  How about a buttery dip that sold these days with a fruity flavor?

12. Steak Frites, French food in Pondicherry

As the name indicates, this French dish is fried steak. Steak Frites served along with the tasty French Fries.

13. Escargots de Bourgogne, Pondy French Food
    

They are snails, buddy! How do they take care of the hard snails’ shell while cooking and eating the ‘snails’?

Thus far, how do you like these Pondicherry French Food served in French restaurants and bistros in Pondicherry, India?

I can guess your next query. In which Pondicherry French restaurants, these French foods served.

Here are the names of some of the French restaurants in Pondicherry.

Don’t expect a very posh ambiance in any of the French cafeterias in Pondy. All of them exude simplicity and it is the way of life the French people lead in Pondy.

There is an area called “White Town” in Pondicherry where you can find French restaurants. Another popular street for French cuisine in Pondy is Mission street.

French Cafes, restaurants, bistros, and cafeterias in Pondicherry:

• La Maison Rose, French cafe
• Les Dupleix-Very French name
• Auroville Bakery
• Le Chateau
• Crepe in Touch
• Café Xtasi
• La Maree-Hotel Du Parc
• Les Saveurs
• Marc’s Café
• Carte Blanche

Oh, there are ten best French Cafes  and restaurants in Puducherry where you can establish a French connection on the dining tables covered with typical French table clothes.

Though the French people eat chicken, they are fonder of seafood and bakery items. That’s what I noticed while researching and composing this blog post on French foods and French restaurants in Pondicherry, India.