KERALA CUISINE
Kerala
has a distinctive cuisine, very unusual and different from the rest of
India. Kerala cuisine is very hot and spicy and offers several gastronomic
opportunities to those willing to experiment with the local cuisine.
Kerala is also one of the richest states in India with forests and
plantations of rubber, cashew, and coconuts everywhere. The meeting place of
many cultures, Hindu and Muslim, Christian and Jewish, Kerala has a
particularly rich heritage of dance and drama and the people are among the
most industrious and well educated in the country.
Staples
in Kerala Cuisine Rice, or rather unpolished rice, is the main
food of the Keralite. Aside from the boiled product eaten as a staple, there
is also a wide range of snacks and breakfast fare made of the cereal.
Pounded into flour, it gives shape to the bamboo formed puttu, the round
spongy vattayappam, the lacy edged palappam, the pancake-like kallappam, the
sweet uniappam, the idiappam that looks like fine noodles, and the stuffed
ball called kozhikotta. And then, there is the pathiri, chapatti-like bread
that can be made into a plain thin one called vatipathiri, a box type
pettipathiri and a sweet cake-Chattipathiri. Pathiris are also stuffed with
beef, chicken or mutton and fried, or steamed when filled with fish.
From time immemorial, the coconut tree has been an integral part of
life for the people of Kerala. Kerala with its Marvellous cuisine that is
simple yet palate tickling.
Except for the Nambudiris who are strict vegetarians, Hindus of other castes
eat both meat and fish as a matter of course. However, they do not serve
non-vegetarian food on important days, though for the other communities no
festive occasion is complete without it. In Some of the other parts of the
country, beef is quite popular in cuisine of Kerala.
The high
ranges of Kerala boast of vast plantations of cardamom, pepper, nutmeg, tea
and coffee while in its lower elevations there are clove, ginger and
turmeric. The midlands have paddy fields, tapioca, all sorts of hardy
vegetables such as yam, narrow, gourd, drumstick, etc. and a huge collection
of tropical fruits-banana, jackfruit, mango, pineapple and cashew. In the
lowlands, cultivation is mainly that of coconut trees and paddy.
Preparing Kerala Cuisine Like most South Indian cuisine, be it
seafood or rice and other cereal dishes, the emphasis is on 'healthy food',
less use of oil, sugar, and artificial additives, and more use of natural
herbs, spices flavorings, and coconut. Spices that flavor the local cuisine
of Kerala give it a sharp pungency that is heightened with the use of
tamarind.
In the Kerala kitchens, be it of any of the various
communities living there, simple methods and the locally available foodstuff
are used to dish out mouthwatering delicacies. Even the ordinary tapioca
root, for example, becomes a main course when boiled and sautéed with
coconut and spices, a snack when sliced fine, salted and fried, and a sweet
dish when steamed with coconut and jaggery.
Specialties in
Kerala Cuisine Kerala is noted for its variety of pancakes and
steamed rice cakes made from pounded rice. Though the same ingredients are
used all over the state, each of the communities has its own specialties.
For the Muslims, the lightly flavored biryani-made of mutton,
chicken, egg or fish-takes pride of place. In seafood, mussels are a
favorite. A concoction of mussel and rice flour, cooked in the shell is
called arikadaka. The Arab influence on the local cuisine is very visible in
the rich meat curries and desserts. A community of Muslims who live in an
area called Kuttichara, have a special dish-a whole roasted goat stuffed
with chickens inside which are eggs.
For the Christians, who can
be seen in large concentration in areas like Kottayam and Pala, ishtew (a
derivation of the European stew), with appam is a must for every marriage
reception. There would also be beef cutlets with sallas (a salad made of
finely cut onions, green chilies and vinegar), chicken roast, olathan erachi
(fried mutton, beef or pork), meen moilee (a yellow fish curry), meen
mulligattathu (a fiery red fish curry), and peera pattichathu (a dry fish
dish of grated coconut). Another interesting feature is the abundant use of
coconut oil, mustard seeds, curry leaves, and coconut milk.
Kerala also has it's own fermented beverages -the famous kallu or (toddy)
and patta charayam (arrack). Arrack is extremely intoxicating and is usually
consumed with spicy pickles and boiled eggs (patta and mutta).
Having food in Kerala 
The method of serving a sadya or meal in Kerala is very precise. The leaves
to be eaten from are always the end section of the plantain leaf. When it is
laid on the table, the narrow part of the leaf must always be on the left
side. Serving begins from the bottom left half of the leaf on which is
placed a small yellow banana. Next to this are served jaggery coated banana
chips plain banana chips and papad. Then beginning from the top left half of
the leaf are placed lime curry, mango pickle, injipuli (a thick ginger
tamarind curry), lime pickle, thoran (a dry mix of any vegetable with
coconut), vegetable stew or olan (gourd is the main ingredient), aviyal (a
thick mixture of vegetables in a coconut based gravy), Pachadi (raw mango
and curd mixture) and khichdi. Only after all these are placed on the leaf,
does the person begin eating. Thereafter the rice is served at the bottom
center. The sambhar (a lentil based gravy that came to Kerala from
neighboring Tamil Nadu) and kalan (a curry of yam and curd, spiced with
pepper) is poured onto the rice. When the meal is over, pradaman (rice
flour, coconut milk and jaggery) or pal payasam (sugar sweetened milk and
rice) is served onto the leaf. After dessert, rasam (fiery pepper water) is
poured into cupped hands to be drunk and then a little bit of curd to aid
digestion.
