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.
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