Eating Well in Kerala

The Kerala table is eclectic, savory, and adventuresome. Rice is the staple, coconut the essence, seafood the star, and spices the local zing.

Kerala means "land of coconuts" in Malayalam, and its cuisine certainly bears that out. Keralan food, both sweet and savory, uses every part of the coconut, and its milk, meat, and oil.

Expect distinctive meat and fish dishes—rich beef or mutton stewed in coconut milk, seafood, chicken and mutton (goat) fried up dry and spicy, biryanis (often spelled biriyanis locally) cooked in an assortment of spices, and fish curries. Vegetarian dishes are plentiful, like the sumptuous vegetarian thalis or sadya, a platter of many choices served on banana leaves. Kerala is known for iddiappa, thin strands of dough formed into little nests that are steamed and served with coconut milk and sugar for breakfast or as an accompaniment to curries. Appam, similar to the rice-and-lentil dosa, is an oil-free coconut-and-rice pancake, thin and crispy on the edges with a steamed, raised center. Puttu, ground rice and coconut steamed in a bamboo cylinder is a common breakfast item unique to the area.

Christian Cuisine

Kerala’s Syrian Christian cuisine bears the stamp of all those who traversed its coasts. A typical day begins with pallappam, a rice pancake with Portuguese origins. Red meat is a major ingredient, with lamb ishtew (a stew with coconut milk), urachi varutharachathu (goat or beef cooked with ground coconut) and ularthiyathu (dry beef or goat with spices) all favorites.

Meen Pollichathu

A central Kerala delicacy, meen pollichathu is a fragrant preparation of stuffed fish in a banana leaf. Any fish in season can be used, but the karimeen pearl spot is a freshwater local. The fish is marinated with various spices and a paste of diced tomatoes, onions, ginger, garlic, and coconut milk, then wrapped in a banana leaf sealed with a clove and cooked. This dish is available in almost every restaurant in Kerala.

Meen Pathiri

Malabar’s stuffed fish pancakes, or meen pathiri, are found at almost every highway eatery in the northern part of the state. A pathriri—or parota, as it's often called—is a flat bread based on rice flour and coconut milk. This is filled with fish (usually kingfish, sardines, or pearl spot) that is shredded and cooked with spices, including chilli powder and turmeric. While some meen pathiri are so generously stuffed they look like a pie, in some parts of Malabar the pancake is flattened with a rolling pin after being stuffed. Chicken, egg, and mutton stuffings are also used.

Idiyappam

String hoppers, or idiyappam, are made with rice flour and can be eaten with a curry, a stew, or at breakfast with mutta (egg) roast or simply with coconut milk. This Kerala staple can be sweet or savory and is a standard accompaniment to all meals, often garnished with grated coconut. Most often you will find it served with chicken stew.

Pazham Pori

An evening snack available from street vendors, cafeterias, and train stations across the state, pazham pori are plantain fritters—deep-fried delights that are best when served hot. A ripe Kerala-grown banana, which is very similar to a plantain, is chopped and coated in a flour-based batter before it's fried. A similar fritter is made using yams.

Meen Mulakittathu

Using the fresh catch of the day, meen mulakittathu, or fish curry, is a staple at the dinner table. Traditionally cooked in a brass pot, the gravy is a combination of coconut milk and spices that are all grown in Kerala—and freshly crushed when the dish is cooked in traditional homes. Different kinds of fish can be used, although the most popular are pearl spot and kingfish. The emphasis is on freshness. This dish is served with steamed red rice or with idiyappam.

Puttu

Another specialty of the region, puttu is a puddinglike dish made from fresh-grated coconut and rice flour, molded into a cylindrical shape, and then steamed.