CUISINES:

Like the unique cultural and heritage of the state, the cuisines of Kerala are unique, special and remain unmatched when it comes to pleasing, the plates. The Malayalee food platter reflects the culinary expertise of the people. Generally, Kerala’s cuisine is hot, spicy , fresh, aromatic and flavored.

Since Kerala is a rice producing state, keralite thrives mostly on fish and rice. Some of the most commonly used ingredients in its traditional food are coconut, chilly, curry leaf, mustard seed, tamarind and asafetida. Thus the dishes are a mix of the local produce and the traditional expertise, with the coconut and banana being the inseparable part of the delicacies. Besides the cuisine can also be classified under the two categories – vegetarian and non vegetarian dishes. While the non vegetarian dishes are all heavily spiced, the vegetarian repertoire is mildly spiced and feels especially easier o the non native tough.

Spice of life:

Kerala is famous for its traditional Sadhya, a vegetarian meal served with boiled rice and a host of side dishes. As per custom, it is served on a banana leaf. Traditional dishes include sambar, avail, kalan, thoran, injipully, pulisherry, and so on. Coconut is an essential ingredient in most of the food items and liberally used.

Puttu is a culinary specialty of Kerala. It is a steamed rice cake, which is favorite breakfast dish of most Malayalees. Puttu is prepared from rice flour and steamed in long hollow bamboo or metal cylinder served with either brown chickpeas cooked in spicy gravy, papadum and boiled small green lentils, or tiny ripe yellow Kerala plantains. In the highlands there is also a variety of Puttu served with paani( boiled down syrup of sweet  palm toddy ) and sweet boiled bananas.

Another popular dish in Kerala is Appam which is a soft pancake made from toddy fermented rice batter, with a softy spongy centre, laced with a crispy edges. Appam is generally eaten with vegetable, chicken or mutton stew thoroughly mellowed with thick coconut milk and garnished with curry leaves.

A combination of kappa (tapioca) and Meen (fish) curry is every Malayalees delight. This delicious fish curry is prepared from garlic paste, onions, and red chilies and seasoned with mustard seeds and curry leaves.

Apart from meals, various snacks also form integral part of the keralite cuisine. Snacks like banana chips; murukku, made from batter of rice, pulses and spices; shakkaraperatti made of banana chunks coated with jiggery and ginger; and various kinds of halwas, made from flour and sugar, and flavored with fruits and nuts, can be munched on through out the day.

A meal is not complete without a desert right? Yup, desserts are served midway through the meals. There are different types of payasam, such as the lentil payasam, jackfruit payasam, Bengal gram payasam and so on. Adapradhaman, a rich payasam with thin rice wafers is considered as top delicacy. Another type o payasam, which is also delicious Palpayasam which is made out of rich milk, sugar and garnished with cashews and raisins.