CUISINE OF KERALA 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. Kerala Backwater offers tours to Kerala, India, that showcase the best of Kerala. One of Kerala's popular attractions is its delicious Kerala cuisine.
Kerala is a coastal state, it is a covered with emerald green paddy fields and has plantations where spices that have been exported worldwide for centuries, are grown. Add to this mixture a touch a coconut and a bunch of bananas and you're halfway to a recipe for Kerala cuisine, which you can try on Kerala Backwater tours.
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. Breakfast specialties of the cuisine of Kerala are usually made from ground rice and pulses that are steamed or fried in different ways. "Puttu", a dish of steamed rice powder is a popular breakfast. Garnished with coconut and eaten with stew, curry, or bananas, Puttu is best eaten by hand, though it can be eaten with a spoon. Traditional south Indian specialties, such as dosas, idlis, sambhar and uttapam are part of the breakfast cuisine of Kerala, which you can enjoy, when you travel on Kerala tours with Kerala Backwater. Typically Kerala breakfast dishes include "Vallepam" - a frilly pancake made from fermented rice paste, cooked in a curved pan and served with stew or coconut milk. Also called hoppers, Vallepam is also made with egg and meat curry.
Lunch and dinner are similar in the cuisine of Kerala. Rice is the staple diet of Kerala, India. A typical lunch or dinner meal would consist of rice, dal - a gravy made of pulses, various seasonal vegetables cooked with coconut and different spices for flavor, a seafood curry and a sweet dish for desert, such as "payasam or "pradaman." Sweet dishes are usually made using rice, milk, sugar or jaggery and bananas and cooked to form a thick custard like consistency.
Seafood is very popular in Kerala and consumed with every meal. Various fish including sardines, mackerel, tuna, rays and shark are eaten, as are crabs, mussels and oysters. "Karimeen" or fried fish is a popular dish as is fish curry called "Fish Moilee."
Various locally available vegetables such as tapioca, cassava and yam form part of the cuisine of Kerala. Seasonal fruit such as papaya, jackfruit, mangoes and lime are eaten at different times of year. Bananas and coconut are available year round and are a staple of the Kerala diet. The refreshing juice of the tender coconut is a delightful drink, which you can enjoy on Kerala Tours with Kerala Backwater.
Apart from meals, various snacks are part of the cuisine of Kerala. These include banana chips, murku (friend rings made from a batter of rice, pulses and spices), shakaruperi (banana chunks coated with jaggery and ginger) and various kinds of halwa (thick pudding made from flour and sugar and flavored with fruits), which are eaten during the day. The best Kerala cuisine can be had during the festival of Onam. A grand lunch called "Sadya" is the highlight of Onam day.
Two of the integral constituents of Kerala cuisine are
Coconuts in Kerala
Bananas in Kerala
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