Kerala, a beautiful state in southern India, is famous not only for its beautiful landscapes and relaxing backwaters. It is also popular for its delicious food. Kerala cuisine is a delightful fusion of flavors, spices and traditions that will take your taste buds to a next level.
Basics of Kerala Cuisine
Kerala cuisine revolves mostly around rice, the region’s staple food. Rice is the core of every meal and is typically served with a variety of additional dishes. Kerala cuisine is identified by its usage of coconut in various forms, including grated coconut, coconut milk, and coconut oil. These components provide the dishes a rich and unique flavor.
The Spices Symphony
Kerala is also known as the ‘Land of Spices’. The cuisine of the state is known for its significant use of spices, which are necessary for flavoring the food. Black pepper, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon are popular spices in Kerala. These spices not only help you to improve the food taste, but they also have several other health benefits.
Kerala’s Delightful Dishes
Sadya: It is a typical Kerala dish served on a banana leaf. It features food items like sambar (a lentil-based vegetable stew), avial (a mixed vegetable curry with coconut), and thoran (a dry vegetable dish with coconut). Sadya highlight is the wide variety of chutneys, pickles, and papadams served with it.
Appam and Stew:
An appam is a soft, fluffy pancake made of rice flour and coconut milk that is often paired with vegetable stew. The stew has a light and creamy coconut base with carrots, peas, and potatoes as well.
Fish Curry: Because Kerala has a huge coastline, seafood plays an important role in their cuisine. Meen Curry or fish curry, is a sour and spicy meal made with coconut milk, tamarind, and spices.
Karimeen Pollichathu: For seafood lovers, this is a must try dish. Karimeen, also known as pearl spot fish, is marinated in spices before being covered in a banana leaf and grilled or steamed to perfection. This results in a delicious and flavorful delight.
Parotta with Chicken Curry from Kerala: Parotta is a crispy layered bread that goes perfect with spicy chicken curry. The curry is made up with a hot blend of spices, making it popular among those who like spicy food.
Puttu and Kadala Curry: Puttu is a steamed rice cake cooked with grated coconut that is served in cylindrical shape. It is mostly served with kadala curry, a savory dish of black chickpeas cooked in an aromatic coconut based gravy.
The Happy Endings
No Kerala meal is complete without something sweet. Desserts which are popular include:
Payasam:
It is a creamy, sweet dessert made with rice, vermicelli, or lentils cooked in milk and enriched with cardamom and almonds.
Unniyappam: These very little, deep-fried rice cakes with a hint of banana and jaggery are both sweet and delicious.
Neyyappam: A fried snack prepared from rice flour, jaggery, and ghee. It is very similar to unniyappam.
Palada Pradhaman: A rich and creamy rice pudding made with milk, sugar, and sometimes cardamom and saffron.
At last, we can say that Kerala food is a delectable trip that integrates the richness of heritage with natural flavors. Every meal in Kerala tells a story of culture, history, and a love of food, from the hot fish curries to the sweet, sour and creamy desserts.
Don’t forget to explore Kerala’s different food culture during your tour to Kerala. Kerala offers something for everyone’s palate, whether you’re a spice fan or have sweet craving. You can book your Kerala Tour Package From Anywhere In India with us (Epic Trips). We Also Provide Customized Tour Packages, according to user needs.
