The food of Kerala has its essence coming from the rich culture and history. To prepare the dishes, all the ingredients are locally sourced, such as herbs, spices, coconut, and rice. In Kerala, the most used food is rice. If you notice going ahead, you will notice the majority of the dishes have rice. There is no second thought that Kerala is popular for its culture. Kerala cuisine is a blend of flavors, aromas, and textures.
Top 10 Kerala Famous Foods to Try on your Next Trip!
Puttu with Kadala Curry
This one dish is a staple breakfast choice all around Kerala. It is made with grated steamed coconut, rice flour with some salt, and water for forming large logs. Along with this, one gets kadala curry or the black chickpea curry, and it tastes very well with puttu. Kadala curry is made using a blended mix of coconut milk, roasted coconut, and a zing of spices. It tastes spicy due to the thickened gravy. In Kerala, you will get Puttu served with ripe bananas and pappad as side dishes.
Palada Payasam
No occasion is complete without Palada. This dish is prepared using rice, milk, and sugar. It’s kept in the way of a rice adda. The preparation needs to be done traditionally and is stirred to make a thick but running, consistent gravy.
Karimeen Pollichathu
Kerala is popular for its seafood, and this dish is popular for making a culinary experience enriching. For the preparation of this dish, pearl spot or karimeen is the fish that is used after marinating it in spices, salt, chilli powder, and lemon juice. Then it's cooked through after being baked with plantain leaves. The aromatic flavor of this dish is due to the plantain leaves and ingredients cooked well on a slow flame.
Malabar Parotta and Beef Curry
Many people often confuse the North’s paranthas with the Parotta. This favorite dish amongst all the Keralites is made using a flaky bread with either maida or plain flour, after kneading it into a dough. The Malabar Parotta is served well with a curry, making it taste flavourful. The taste of parotta comes out to be delicious due to beef curry, garlic, tomatoes, onion, and a lot of spices for an exquisite experience.
Pumpkin Lentil Curry or Erissery
This is a vegetarian dish of Kerala made using sliced yams or raw plantains. To pair this dish well, there are sweet pumpkins boiled in water with some green chillies and salt. The moment the pumpkin gets cooked, it is grated with some turmeric powder, dried lentils, garlic, and some dried lentils. This gravy is more luscious with brown or white rice.
Banana Fritters or Pazhampori
It’s a perfect snack-time dish in Kerala. Pazhampori is liked a lot by Keralites along with a hot cup of tea. To prepare this dish, ripe bananas are dipped either in plain flour batter or atta flour in coconut oil and are served hot.
Appam and Stew
It is a light dish due to the mix of coconut milk and fermented rice. The sweet taste comes from the sugar and the yeast, resulting in fermentation. While a little bit of sugar adds sweetness and a pinch of yeast leads to fermentation. To prepare this dish, a different style of kadai i.e. appachatti. This kadai can have different ladles of the batter. To give them a crispy-edge shape, a smooth round shape is given. For a more flavourful experience, Ishtu or a stew is a side dish made of vegetables or with chicken or beef.
Kerala Prawn Cur
It’s a dish from Malabar made of a mix of black mustard seeds, coconut milk, fenugreek seeds, green chilli, and mustard seeds. The brindleberry or kudampuli is used as one of the important ingredients that gives it a unique taste. To complete the dish, the marinated prawns in spices are kept for a while and then boiled with a mix of drumsticks for a sweet, sour, and tangy taste.
Fish Moilee
Fish Moilee, also known as Fish Stew, is a kind of Christian delicacy. To prepare the Fish Moilee, a Manchatti is used to give an earthen taste. To fry the fish, pepper, cinnamon, spices, turmeric, and green chillies are used. Only kingfish or seer fish is used. Before the fish gets into the marinade,n it is added to the gravy.
Thalassery Biriyani
Biriyani is an emotion for Keralites. A different type of rice is used for making Thalassery Biriyani, i.e., known as “Kaima”. A special cooking technique is used just before serving, i.e., the chicken or beef gravy, and rice are cooked and layered. Then there is another technique in which once the biriyani gets layered, a lid is kept on the vessel and sealed with dough. This helps in infusing the flavors and is supposed to be opened before it's served.
The Final Roundabout!
Kerala is just like a culinary route full of landscape and culture. Each dish is a mix of blended preparation and spices. Try all the Kerala famous foods when you visit this beautifully enriched heritage place to explore.
Also Read -
