Kerala is known worldwide as a wonderful tourist destination.

The backwaters, beaches and hill stations of Kerala are known for their calm and serenity, which provide a relaxing holiday in God's Own Country.

AGRICULTURE IN

KERALA

The Kerala is known as the "land of Spices" and known for its spicy and hot foods. The cuisine of
Kerala is characterized by the use of coconut, either chopped or grated and used as garnishing; coconut milk or paste is used to thicken gravies and coconut oil is used for cooking. The food is made even more interesting with lip-smacking chutneys and pickles. Inhabitants of the state lay a great emphasis on health aspect of their food. Use of oil, sugar and artificial additives is kept to a minimum.

The staple food of the masses is rice. Puttu, Appam, Idli and Dosa are most often seen at breakfast tables. Plain rice served with an upperi and thoran and some 'koottan'/gravy/ curry forms the lunch. The crunchy pappadams are truly an indispensable

item in lunches and dinners. Dinner, quite similar to lunch follows a few hours after tea and snacks.
Mix population of the state comes as a boon to the cuisine of Kerala. Hindus in the state excel in the preparation of vegetarian dishes while kitchens of Muslim households offer a rich variety in nonvegetarian dishes. Christians on the other hand have given some interesting fish recipes to the coastal state. Cuisine of Kerala also changes from region to region. People living in coastal Kerala consume more sea food, while those living in plains take more vegetables in their regular meals. However, tribals and people living in northern part of the state take meat in the main course. An impact of voyagers from Greece, Italy, France, China and Africa can also be seen on the coastal Kerala.

Normally vegetarian food dominates Kerala cuisine with too many variations. Non-vegetarian dishes are almost part of everyday meals in the north. The Pathiri, Biriyani, Muttamaala, Chattipathiri etc. are especially famous in the north where there is a larger population of Muslims. Halwas are typical of the north and especially Kozhikode. Dishes prepared from mussels are also a speciality of the north where it is relatively easily available. Kottayam, kuttanad areas with their many waterways and thrivingfisheries, are the best places to try the varieties of dishes in fish. Fish such as sardines,
mackerel, tuna, rays and shark are eaten. "Karimeen" or fried fish is a popular dish as is fish curry called "Fish Moilee."

Key spices used are

As with almost all Indian food, spices play an important part in Kerala cuisine. The main spices used are cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, green and red peppers, cloves, garlic, cumin seeds, coriander, turmeric, and so on. Few fresh herbs are used, unlike in European cuisine, and mainly consist of the commonly used curry leaf, and the occasional use of fresh coriander and mint. Tamarind, kodampuli (Garcinia Cambogia), and lime are used to make sauces sour, as sour sauces are very popular in Kerala. Spices are used in Kerala to tone up the system the way wines aid the digestion of Western cuisine.

:::::::::: Drinks ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Being mostly a hot and humid area, Keralites have developed a variety of drinks to cope with thirst. A variety of what might be called herbal teas are served during mealtimes. Others are: Ilaneer/ tender coconut
The juice of tender coconut - 'world's safest natural soft drink' - is a refreshing nutritious thirst quencher.

Sambharam/ Mor
A refreshing drink prepared from curd. When salted it is called morr and when made sweet it is called sambharam.

Sharbat
A very sweet drink made from a particular herbal extract, this drink is famous among the Muslims.

:::::::::: Sweets and desserts :::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Payasam

An enticing dessert made usually from rice, rice products or pulses, and cooked in condensed milk, coconut milk or jaggery syrup.

Payasam and Boli

Boli is a pancake with a sweet mixture stuffed in between the layers.

Muttamaala
This delicacy is actually string hoppers made from egg yolk and pickled in sugar syrup. It is famous at Muslim feasts.
Other popular sweets include Unniappam (a fried banana bread), pazham-pori (plantain slices covered with a fried crust made of sweetened flour), and kozhukkatta (rice dumplings stuffed with a sweet mixture of molasses, coconut etc.) Avalose (rice-based sweet rolled into a ball with jiggery) prathaman ( lentils boiled with coconut, cardamom and ginger). Halwa is made from bananas. Cakes, ice-creams, cookies and puddings are equally common. Generally, except for payasam, most sweets are not eaten as dessert but as a tea-time snack.

Other key food options

In almost all places in Kerala, North Indian food and Chinese preparations are available. Famous restaurants serve certain Italian, Mexican and other exotic dishes and also improvise their menu from time to time. There are also many fast food joints and burger counters where one can quickly grab a bite.

Influence of other culture on food

The many people who had invaded and left the land at different points in time have left their impact on the cuisine as well. With many households having a working mother and children who prefer a different meal everyday, though food habits are bound to change. Cereal and bread loaves have found their way to some breakfast tables; pastries, cakes, pizzas and burgers also have a market in bakeries and snack bars; and Chinese and Italian are served in many restaurants. Soft drinks, fruit juices and shakes have taken the place of tender coconut juice and sambharam.
SADHYA Sadya is the traditional vegetarian feast of Kerala. Usually served as lunch, it consists of par boiled pink rice, side dishes, savouries, pickles and desserts spread out on a plantain leaf. The feast begins with the serving of Parippu, a liquid curry made of small gram and ghee. The second course is Sambar, the famous South Indian vegetable stew in which any available combination of vegetables is boiled in a gravy of crushed lentils, onions, chillies, coriander and turmeric and with a pinch of asafoetida. Avial, an unavoidable side dish is a blend of vegetables, coconut paste and green chillies. It is seasoned with a spoonful of fresh coconut oil and some raw curry leaves stirred in immediately after the dish is taken off the stove. Some of the other important side dishes include Thoran, and Olan. Thoran can be minced string beans, cabbage, radish or grams, mixed with grated coconut and sauted with a dash of red chillies and turmeric powder. Olan is a

bland dish of pumpkin and red grams cooked in thin gravy of coconut milk. The savouries include Upperi, Pappadam, Ginger pickle, Pachadi and Kichadi. Upperi is deep fried banana chips. Pappadams are fried creamy yellow, sun-dried wafer of black gram flour. The Ginger pickle is a rich brown, hot and sweet ginger chutney while the Kichadi consists of sliced and sauted cucumber or ladies finger in curd, seasoned with mustard, red chillies and curry leaves in coconut oil. Pickles are usually mango and lime. Desserts are served mid-way through the meal. The Payasam is a thick fluid dish of sweet brown molasses, coconut milk and spices, garnished with cashew nuts and raisins. There could be a succession of Payasams, such as the Palada Pradhaman and Parippu Pradhaman. Pazham, a ripe golden yellow plantain, is usually had along with the payasams. After the payasams, rice is served once more with the spicy Rasam. Rasam is a mixture of chilly and peppercorn powders boiled in diluted tamarind juice. Kaalan, seasoned buttermilk with turmeric powder and green chillies, and plain sour buttermilk that comes salted and with chopped green chillies and ginger, are also served before the feast is finally wound up.

MEAL PATTERN

The local inhabitants of the land, Keralites are popularly called "Malayalees" because of the language they speak (Malayalam). Malayalees prefer non-greasy food. To a large extent, rice is the staple food. The routine diet in a family consists of breakfast, lunch, tea and supper.

Breakfast :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Puttu-kadala
The main dish Puttu is ground rice and grated coconut steam cooked together. Kadala curry is Bengal gram deliciously cooked in a finely ground paste of fried coconut.

Appam and vegetable stew/chicken curry

Appam is a kind of pancake, made of rice flour fermented with a small amount of toddy (fermented sap of the coconut palm), which is circular in shape, rather like a flying saucer, edged with a crisp lacy frill. Chunky pieces of vegetables or meat cooked in lavish portions of coconut milk constitute what is normally referred to as stew.

Idiappam and stew

Idiappam the main dish is string hoppers, rice flour pressed out in the form of noodles and cooked in steam.

Idli sambar/Chutney
Idlis are slightly sour cakes made from a fermented mixture or rice and black gram. They are usually eaten with sambar, a gravy rich in spices and boiled pieces of vegetables; or chutney, a hot/ sour paste made from ground coconut.

Dosa Chutney
Dosa is a thin layer of a fermented mixture or rice and black gram cooked over a hotplate.

Pathiri and Chicken curry

Pathiri, like appam is a delicacy among the breakfast items. It is a think pancake very skillfully prepared from dough prepared from rice powder.

Parota and Chicken curry

Parotta is a flaky layered pancake made from dough and makes a rather heavy breakfast.

::::::: Lunch
Avil Combination of vegetables like pumpkin, drumstick, potato, chilly etc and coconut sauce, it is a very popular side dish.

Even

mango,

jackfruit

and

cashew

nuts

are

included

in

Avil.

Thoren Vegetables like Cabbage, Coconut, and Green chilly and mustard seed are either fried or steamed with spices like turmeric. Sometimes green papaya is used.

Sambar It is made out of drumstick, tomato, potato, onion etc mixed with turmeric powder, chilly powder, coriander seeds and many more spices. Olen Beans and gourds mixed with several spices like chilly powder.

Kaalen Made using Banana and curd mixed with coconut paste and green chilly.

Rasam Rasam is a best for digestion. It is similar to a clear broth; Rasam may be flavoured tamarind, lemon, tomato, lentils and/or pepper.

Pachadi Main ingredients are Pumpkin, Coconut milk and curd with green chilly. A pleasing finish to the meal Kichadi
Kichadi is a relatively simple dish made by steam cooking rice and gram (usually, bits of green gram) together. It can be considered a meal by itself. By adding sugar, instead of salt, in the dish, it can be served as a sweet. Kichadi is a preparation rich in protein content.

Kanji and Payaru (green gram)

Kanji (kanhi) is a simple porridge or rice gruel. The grated coconut mixed in a bowl of hot 'kanji' adds to the taste. Different types of kanji are prepared from the many varieties of rice available in Kerala. Nelloothari or Podiyari variety is made from rice that is ground to very small bits, and it is a specialty. Payaru is the chief dish served along with kanji. Green gram is cooked along with shredded or grated coconut to form a dry but tasty dish.

Kappa (Tapioca) and fish curry

Chunks of tapioca are steam cooked and later mixed with red chilly and mustard and the dish nearly melts away in one's mouth. The special fish curry served as side dish with kappa is a tangy dish in which tamarind is a main ingredient.

Biriyani

A mouthwatering dish made using a special variety of rice, Biriyani is probably the most popular choice on the lunch and dinner menu. Fried rice is cooked for long hours along with meat, onions, chilies and several spices. This scrumptious dish is a meal all by itself. Apart from meat (chicken, beef, mutton), mussels and fish are also used in biriyani.

Karimeen fry
An appetizing dish prepared from Karimeen (carp), a fresh water fish. Karimeen marinated in a paste of chilly powder, salt and turmeric is a deep fried delicacy.

Prawn fry
Dishes prepared from prawns are relatively costlier. Cleaned prawns are first cooked, then lightly fried and then cooked along with chopped onion and masala resulting in a spicy mouth watering dish. Tiger prawns are the most popular of the many varieties of prawns available.

Rice and Fish Curry

Rice would also be eaten with fish curry (pieces of fish cooked in gravy prepared from grated coconut and spices).

:::::::::: Tea Time :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Tea or chaia, in Kerala means with lots of milk and sugar served along with various snacks such as:

Banana Chips
These are wafer thin slices of banana fried in oil. It is a speciality of Kerala and so popular that within the state 'chips' has become synonymous with banana chips.

Achappam
Achappam is a sweet, crunchy snack. Flower shaped metallic moulds are dipped in a loose, sweet mixture in which rice powder is the main ingredient, and later placed in boiling coconut oil to get crispy, golden brown achappams.

Murukku
A paste made from rice powder is squeezed out in different shapes and fried in oil. Crunchy murukku in the shape of small coils are the most common

Vada
A very popular snack, Vada is characteristic of South India. There are mainly two types of Vada. Uzhunnu vada resembles a doughnut or a ring and is made by frying a fermented mixture of rice

and black gram. It Parippu vada is ground pulses/dal/

is served with sambar and chutney for side dish. circular in shape and prepared by deep frying parippu in coconut oil.

Ada

Jaggery soaked desiccated coconut pressed in between rice dough, wrapped in banana leaves and steam cooked.

Cheeda
Cheeda is a salty, crunchy snack. Rice flour is made into a paste and then rolled into small tablets that are fried in coconut oil till they turn golden brown.

Kuzhalappam
Crunchy kuzhalappam is a slightly salty snack popular in South Kerala. Rice flour is rolled into thin layers, which are then rolled and fried in oil.

:::::::::: Dinner :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

In most cases items on the dinner menu are the same as those on the lunch menu. In traditional cases the main dish is rice or gruel with a simpler (relative to the lunch menu) side dish. Items on the breakfast menu are also served for dinner at many places.

RECIPES

Cabbage Onion Coconut (ground) Green chilli Mustard seed Urud Dal Oil Turmeric Curry leaves Salt

1/2 kg one one cup 3 one tea spoon One teaspoon one table spoon one pinch few To taste

Cut cabbage in to very small pieces using a grater. Grind coconut, turmeric, onion, green chilli together. Add one table spoon of oil in to a frying pan ( Cheena chatti in malayalam) and add mustard. When the mustard pops add urud dal . Then add cabbage and mix well. Add ground coconut masala in to it and cover with the cabbage. Add curry leaf and salt to taste. Keep the pan covered and cook in a low flame for 5 minutes. Stir well and serve hot.

Heat oil in pan. Splutter mustard, jeera and toor dal. When it is brown, add tomatoes and all other ingredients one by one except lemon. Add a cup of water and boil for five minutes. Remove from fire and squeeze lemon in it. Stir well and serve.

Pumpkin Cubed Brown Peas / lobia beans Green Chillies Coconut Milk (thick) Coconut milk (thin) Curry Leaves Coconut Oil Salt

1 cup 1 cup 2 sliced 1 cups 2 cups a few one table spoon To taste

Cook the peas. Add the pumpkin, green chillies, thin coconut milk, salt and cook on a low fire for 5 minutes. Pour thick coconut milk, curry leaves and bring to boil once more. Pour coconut oil and remove from fire to serve hot.

1. 2.

Cucumber 150 gm Green Chilli 5

Mustard

1 teaspoon

3. 4.

Coconut ground Curd Coconut oil dry chilli curry leaves Salt to taste

1 cup litre 2 table spoon 3 cut into two a few

Cut cucumber into small pieces and cook in salt and water. Grind item no. 2 and add to cucumber. Cook for 5 minutes and then add curd. Low the fire and keep on stirring till it is just about to boil. Remove from the flame. Season it with dry chilli, mustard and curry leaves.

Medium sized cauliflower Red Chillies Coriander seeds Dal Medium sized coconut Jeera Tamarind Curry leaves Fenugreek Salt

1 6 1 One handful piece teaspoon 1 lemon sized ball 1 sprig A pinch To taste

Fry all the masala ingredients in a little oil. Grind with raw coconut scraping to a thin paste. Cook the cauliflower in a little water. Add a little turmeric salt and tamarind extract. Allow it to boil. Add cooked dal and ground masala. Allow it to boil for 2 more minutes. Take of from fire. Season it with mustard, black gram and 1 broken red chilli and serve.

Fish Chilli powder Coriander powder Turmeric Ginger ground Garlic Small onion sliced Curry leaves Kodampuli Oil Mustard Fenugreek powder Salt

15 Pieces 21/2 Tablespoon 1 Teaspoon (optional) A pinch Two Tablespoon 4 Cloves 10 2 Sprig 5 Pieces 3 Tablespoon Teaspoon Teaspoon To Taste

Grind chilli powder, coriander, turmeric, garlic and ginger to a paste. Soak the Kodampuli in one cup of water. Heat oil in the pan . Splutter mustard seeds. Fry the cut onions and ginger, when brown add 2 cups of water, salt and soaked Kodampuli together with water. Boil and add fish pieces. Allow it to boil again. Add fenugreek powder and cook till gravy thickens and stir it occasionally. Season it with curry leaves. Remove from fire.

Basmati rice Chicken Curds Chilli powder Ginger garlic paste Green chilli Onions sliced Mint leaves Coriander leaves Ghee Cardamon Cloves Cinnamon Poppy seeds (Khas khas) Water Salt to taste

3 cups 1 kg cup tsp 2 tsp 4-6 no.s 5 no.s 2 tbsp cut small 2 tbsp cut small 6 tbsp 5 nos 5 nos 3 nos 2tsp 6 cups

Mix chicken pieces with curds, one teaspoon salt, chilli powder and ginger-garlic paste. Soak for two hours. Heat ghee in a vessel and fry onions till brown and crisp. Add chicken with curds to it and stir. Fry till the liquid is absorbed. Powder cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and poppy seeds and add it to the chicken. Add mint and coriander leaves. Fry till chicken is th cooked. Clean rice and add it to the chicken. Add water. Mix well and cook till the water is almost absorbed and dried. Mix gently and serve. Garnish with boiled eggs and fried nuts. If it is in a pressure cooker, cook it one whistle is out and open the lid only after the steam has completely gone.

Raw rice flour Grated coconut Salt to taste

2 cups (well roasted) 1 cup

Mix rice flour with boiling water and salt with a big spoon or a rod. Knead it in to a smooth dough. Fill it in idiyappam presser/sieve and press it on to banana leaves on which a little grated coconut has been sprinkled. Add a little grated coconut on top and steam it in an idly-maker for 5 minutes.

Banana Oil Turmeric Salt to taste

12 (ripe ones) kg A pinch

Cut banana into thin round slices. Heat oil in a deep pan. When the oil is boiled add the turmeric and stir. Add banana pieces and fry till it becomes crispy. Drain out from oil and sprinkle salt to taste. Keep it closed in air tight jar.

Milk Sugar Cardamoms Raisins Cashew nuts Rice Condensed Milk

1 Litre 1 Cup 6 Crushed 15 10 1 Cup Cup

Cook rice in pressure cooker till one whistle comes up. Open the lid and add milk to it and stir till it becomes thick. Add condensed milk, cashew nuts, raisins and cardamom powder. Serve hot or cold.

Grated coconut Channa dal Green chillies Garlic Ginger Tamarind Curry leaves Salt

1 cup cup (soaked for hr.) 3 (small) 1 pod cm cube 1 small size A few teaspoon teaspoon 2 1 sprig One tablespoon

Seasoning:
Mustard Red chillies Curry leaves (karivepila) Oil

Grind all the ingredients other than those for seasoning into a fairly fine paste. Mix well. Heat oil, add mustard. When it pops add red chillies, curry leaves. Lower the fire and add the ground chutney. Mix well. Dilute with water into the consistency of thick sauce. Keep on stirring and cook for 4 minutes. Serve with dosa or idli.

To the
To the South West extreme of India, lies a land, rich in every aspect imaginable; lush green, fertile land crisscrossed by seething rivers; beaches- stunningly beautiful where the waves seem to well up and kiss the golden sands; backwaters and marshlands where the flora seems to have tamed the Ocean itself; and above all a race of people, who seem to have mastered the essence of civilization. Rich in culture, cuisine and, capabilities, excelling in education, sports and unique martial arts, this is the blessed land of Kerala. Kerala's cuisine is an integral part of its culture. The cuisine of Kerala boasts of a rich repertoire of recipes, dishes and sweets that brings to the fore the culinary expertise of the people of Kerala. Notwithstanding the fact that the taste for food is one's subjective opinion and different people can have different views about what constitutes a delicious and healthy food, yet there are some cuisine that enjoy worldwide recognizition and appreciation. Kerala cuisine is one of them. The cuisine of Kerala is what you describe as extremely exotic and relishing. Cooking in Kerala is more than just preparation of food. It is a celebration of the rich culture that is deeply imbued in the life of Keralese.