Cuisine of Kerala(India)....Travel

The cuisine of Kerala is as distinctive as its cultural life and religious tradition. The cuisine of Kerala is very rich and the culinary skills of the various communities in Kerala have given very large varieties to it. While Hindus specialize in delicious vegetarian food, the Muslims and Christians excel in non vegetarian cuisine like Pathiri, Kozhi curry, Biryani, fish dishes like Meen Pollichathu and Fish Molee. The cuisine of Kerala is influenced by the long coastline and flavoured by the all-pervasive coconut. The cuisine is enriched with exotic tropical fruits, vegetables, cereals, seafood ad herbs. It is garnished with the distinctive aroma of spices like pepper, cardamom, chillies and

cloves that brought explorers like Marco Polo and Vasco da Gama from across the seas. It is a holistic, natural nutritious cuisine that follows the tenets of Ayurveda.

Coconut and spices are added to every dish in Kerala. No meal in the State is complete without rice. Bananas are also very popular in Kerala cuisine. A typical Kerala breakfast may comprises of Puttu, the rice powder and grated coconut steam cooked together, idli, sambar and dosa with chutney, idiappam (string hoppers) or appam, a king of pancake made of rice edged with a crisp lacy frill, eaten with chicken or vegetable stew. Toddy, which is tapped from coconut trees is a favorite drink among the rural men, local people and tourists. Kanji and Payaru, Kappa and Fish curry are traditional favorites. 'Kappa' (Tapioca) and fish curry served with toddy make a unique combination. The crunchy

pappadam, achappam, Pazham Pori, Kozhalappam, Churuttu, Cheeda, Murukku, Upperi, Avalos unda, banana and jack fruit chips can be eaten at any time. With innumerable lagoons, lakes and canals, estuaries and a network of over 44 rivers, Kerala's backwaters offer a wealth of freshwater fishes amongst which the Black Pearl Spot is famous for its irresistible taste. The vast stretches of seashore ensures that Kerala is blessed with succulent lobsters, prawns, crabs, mussels and a whole range of delicacies. Malabar, the spice coast of Kerala has a unique cuisine where the Arabic influence is unmistakable. The lightly flavoured, aromatic biriyani, rich meat curries and sweet desserts are a treat for the taste buds. Tender coconut water, the world’s safest natural soft drink, is a refreshing and nutritious drink.

The sadya, an integral part of the Kerala's culture is a feast that is served on a plantain leaf and eaten with the hand. With an amazing variety of up to 400 vegetarian dishes, the Sadya is served mostly during marriages and festivals. The preparation of the dishes and the order in which they are served is important in a Sadya. Sadya is the sumptuous spread of rice and more than 14 vegetable dishes of Sambar, Rasam, Olan, Kaalan, Pachadi, Kichadi, Aviyal, Thoran, Pickle, Crisp pappadam and banana chips topped with Payasam, the deliciously sweet

dessert cooked in milk. Usually, the Sadya is rounded off with different varieties of payasams, which are sweet desserts. The Syrian Christian and the Malabar community have their own variants of the Sadya which include non-vegetarian dishes too. In Kerala, the utensil in which the food is cooked is important in determining the taste and nutrition of the dish. Terracotta, bamboo, brass, bronze, copper or even leaves are used in cooking various traditional dishes. Many of the traditional vessels like Chembu, Uruli, Varpu, Bharani and Chatti are aesthetically attractive too.

Kerala Food and Cuisine

"There is no sincerer love than the love of food."
-George Bernard Shaw

Kerala, the land of diverse culture, offers extraordinary cuisine to its guests that definitely highlights the culinary proficiency of the Keralites. The state is considered to be the source of some of the world’s most famous and flavoursome dishes on earth. The hot and peppery cuisine of Kerala is abounding with coconuts. The Keralites are indeed the varied connoisseurs of their cuisines. The recipes are usually crisp, aromatic and tangy.

Specialties

The best thing about Kerala cuisine is that you can find every blessing of the land in their preparations. Kerala cuisine are prepared with coconuts, chillies, curry leaves, mustard seed, tamarind and asafoetida. Interestingly, a dash of tamarind can act as a wonder and an appropriate replacement of tomatoes, however there is no true alternative for curry leaves. Coconuts comprise an essential part of the cuisine of Kerala since ages.

A few of the specialties of Kerala cuisine are:

• Fish curry, fish molly, fish fry and fish peera are the most sought after items usually served with steamed rice or tapioca (cassava).
• Karikku or Ilaneer (tender coconut), Sambhaaram (buttermilk) and fresh toddy from local coconut trees not only quench thirst, but also fill one's mind with ecstasy.
• Avial is an all time preferred combination of vegetables, coconut paste and green chillies. It is usually used for seasoningpurposes.
• Kottucurry is prepared with cubed potatoes, onions and green chillies in coconut milk added with red chillies.
• Olan is a bland dish of pumpkin and red grams made in thin gravy of coconut milk.
• Rasam is a concoction of chilly and pepper-corn powders boiled in diluted tamarind juice.
• Appam is a soft pancake prepared from toddy fermented rice batter. Puttu is also another type of steam cake.

Apart from the main course dishes, the creamy and tempting sweet dishes form an integral part of the meals in Kerala. These mainly include a variety of Payasam - a thick fluid dish of brown uncrystalised sugar syrup, coconut milk and spices, embellished with cashew nuts and raisins which are dished up halfway during the meals.