There is a very specific kind of craving that hits you on a grey Tuesday afternoon in the UK. It is not hunger exactly. It is more like a memory, the smell of something frying in the kitchen, the sound of a steel dabba being pried open, the particular satisfaction of a snack that your mum made without a recipe because she just knew. South Indian snacks have that effect on people. And the good news is that you no longer have to wait for a trip home, or rely on someone’s suitcase, to get them. Ordering Indian snacks online in the UK has become genuinely reliable, if you know where to look and what to buy.

Here are ten South Indian snacks you can order right now that actually taste the way they are supposed to.

1. Murukku

If there is one snack that belongs at the top of this list, it is murukku. That spiral of rice and urad dal flour, deep fried until it snaps clean, there is nothing else like it. The crunch is different from any Western crisp. It has weight to it. You can buy murukku online UK through Lakshmi Stores in several varieties, including the classic plain, butter murukku, and the slightly spiced version that goes dangerously well with a cup of filter coffee. Shop murukku and South Indian snacks online.

2. Mixture

Mixture is exactly what it sounds like, a jumble of fried bits and pieces that somehow becomes greater than the sum of its parts. Thin sev, peanuts, curry leaves, dried chillies, and small fried dough pieces all tossed together. Every brand has its own balance of spice and crunch. The Haldiram’s version is widely known, but if you want something closer to what you would find in a Tamil Nadu provision shop, look for regional brands stocked in a proper South Indian snacks UK selection rather than the generic options at a mainstream supermarket.

3. Ribbon Pakoda

Ribbon pakoda does not get enough credit outside of South India. Made from rice flour and chickpea flour pressed through a mould into flat, ribbon-like strips, it fries up into something remarkably light, barely there in your hand but very much present in your mouth. It is one of those Tamil snacks UK buyers tend to discover through family and never quite let go of. Mildly spiced, extremely moreish, gone faster than you planned.

4. Thattai

Thattai is a disc-shaped rice cracker, flattened by hand and fried until it puffs and blisters. Sesame seeds and chillies pressed into the surface give it a flavour that is hard to compare to anything else. It is a Diwali staple in many South Indian homes but honestly deserves year-round attention. When you buy from an Indian grocery online store that actually curates its snack range, thattai is usually there waiting.

5. Kozhukattai (Modak)

Not everything on this list is fried. Kozhukattai, steamed rice dumplings filled with jaggery and coconut, are the kind of snack that reminds you food can be gentle. They are often associated with Ganesh Chaturthi but eaten well beyond the festival in Tamil households. Ready-to-eat and frozen versions are increasingly available through Asian grocery online platforms, and they travel surprisingly well.

6. Achappam (Rose Cookies)

Achappam is one of those snacks that stops people mid-conversation when they see it for the first time. A flower-shaped fried biscuit made from rice flour and coconut milk, pressed using a decorative iron mould. It is crispy, very slightly sweet, and completely addictive. Kerala and Tamil Nadu both claim it. Nobody argues about that when there is a box open. Look for it in the Indian biscuits UK section at Lakshmi Stores. [Browse Indian biscuits and fried snacks 

7. Seedai

Seedai are small round fried balls made from rice flour and coconut, sometimes with a little sesame. They look unassuming. They are not. The texture is unlike anything else, almost crumbly inside, with a thin fried shell that gives way immediately. They are made at home for Krishna Jayanthi in most South Indian households, but packaged versions from trusted brands hold up well. This is the kind of find that makes shopping at a dedicated asian supermarket online worth it, you simply will not find seedai at Tesco.

8. Kara Boondhi

Boondhi, those tiny fried gram flour pearls, come in sweet and spicy versions, but the kara (spiced) variety is the one that disappears fastest. Eaten on its own, mixed into raita, or just scooped straight from the packet while pretending you have not started yet. It is a snack with no occasion requirement. Any time is boondhi time. Most Indian snacks online UK retailers stock it, but availability of the more traditional spice blends tends to be better at specialist stores.

9. Nei Biscuit (Ghee Biscuit)

Nei biscuit is a soft, crumbly shortbread-style biscuit made with ghee, and that is genuinely all you need to know to understand why it is so good. It dissolves rather than crunches. It is sweet without being cloying. It is the thing grandmothers served with afternoon tea long before anyone in South India called it afternoon tea. Finding authentic nei biscuits in the UK used to require the right auntie with the right connections. Now you can just order it. [Shop traditional South Indian sweets and biscuits.

10. Banana Chips

Kerala banana chips are in a different category from any other crisp you have eaten. Made from raw nendran bananas, sliced thin and fried in coconut oil with a little salt or jaggery depending on the variety, they have a density and flavour that potato crisps simply cannot match. The coconut oil matters. The banana variety matters. When you buy them from a retailer who sources properly, rather than a generic banana chip from a health food aisle, you taste the difference immediately.

A good comparison piece on traditional South Indian snacking culture and its health context can be found via the BBC Good Food guide to Indian snacking traditions, worth a read if you want the broader picture beyond just the recipes.

Why Buying from a Specialist Makes All the Difference

The difference between finding these snacks at a general supermarket and ordering through a proper Indian groceries shop online is not just about availability. It is about freshness, variety, and whether the person sourcing the stock actually knows what good murukku is supposed to taste like.

At Lakshmi Stores UK, the snack range is curated with exactly that in mind. These are not afterthoughts on a shelf. They are stocked because people ask for them, grew up with them, and want them to taste right.

Whether you are putting together a Diwali box, stocking up for a long weekend, or just chasing that Tuesday afternoon craving, you will find what you are looking for.

And if you are shopping for more than snacks, browse our wider pantry selection too, from rice and lentils to fresh flours and spices, all delivered across the UK.