Hi, readers!Let's play a short game. Close your eyes and tell us what comes to your mind when we say KERALA'. A majority of you see the mushy shorelines, coconut groves, spas etc. that portray "God's Own Country" as a picture-perfect honeymoon destination/tourist attraction. Well, that's too mainstream for Kerala. There's a lot more that define it.First of all, we'll not be talking about its culture or monuments. This time, it is something that will involve your senses, especially the lips and tongue.The cuisine of Kerala is something that cannot be overlooked. It contains numerous food items for the vegetarians as well as non-vegetarians. Whether you love the fragrance of seafood or the fried vegetarian items seduce your taste buds, you'll get everything at Kerala.So, keep the digestive pills ready because you'll need them soon.
You'll adore eating the cylindrical rice cake. Yeah! Apart from the rice ball form, the rice also exists in a cylindrical shape and stuffed with the grated coconut. This dish is known as Puttu (cute name) and is usually eaten with Kadala curry. Kadala curry is prepared out of black chickpeas and enhances the taste of Puttu. It is eaten by the people on a large scale.
No Malayalee's taste buds can deny savoring Appam. Eaten as any meal, Appam is a rice pancake with crispy outsides and stuffed in the center. The stuffing can include any of the food items you wish you munch. You may ask your Malayalee friend and he/she will not stop praising the taste of the heart-throb appam. It tastes best when eaten with stew or sweetened coconut milk.
Would you believe if we tell you that India is the first place where noodles were prepared? Surprised? Yeah, you should be. Kerala is the place that gave birth to the concept of noodles and dish is known as Idiyappam. It is a widely eaten food of Kerala and is made up of rice, flour, water, and salt. It involves a simple process for its preparation. Just entwined a fistful of vermicelli and prepare it. It can be eaten with any stew!
How can a true Keralite say a no to a fried chicken? Whenever you smell the chicken being fried, you gut reminds that it should be eaten. Nadan Kozhi Varuthathu is a dish that is adored by 98% of Malayalees (rest 2% are vegans). All you require is finely chopped chicken, diced onion, garlic, vinegar, and coriander. Fry this miscellany together and treat yourself with a luscious meal.
How can the seafood be left out from the cuisine of Kerala? Any trip to Kerala is incomplete if you do not savor the palatable seafood, especially the prawn curry. This topnotch dish is mouthwatering. The marinated prawns are cooked with onion, red chili powder, tamarind, salt, and water. Once this miscellany gathers together, heat them on a flame and make them groove for 20 minutes. Once done, relish it.
Naadan doesn't mean a fool over here. Apart from the seafood, beef is among the rich tastes of people in Kerala. Naadan Beef Fry is a delectable food of Kerala that involves fried beef coated with ginger-garlic paste and adorned with the coriander leaves diced onions. Its paralyzing taste is simply (slurp) indescribable. Do try it, if you aren't a vegan, eh.
Here's the Kerala version of a parantha. If you're missing paranthe ka swaad, relax, Malabar Parotta is here. It is flaky and crispy bread that has the flavor of lachcha parantha and prepared out of a mixture of maid and flour. It is cooked over a medium flame and basted with oil so that it maintains the softness. Once it is cooked, slice it and savor it with the mayonnaise.
Seriously, did you think that we'll miss it? Nah, how can the highlight dishes lag behind when this state is surrounded by the seafood, sorry, we mean sea. Kerala Style Fish Molee is a lip-smacking fish curry that never ceases a chance to rule the taste buds. Fish Molee constitutes freshwater fish fried in oil and then cooked with the tomatoes, onion, garlic paste, chili, and coconut milk.
Do you know that fried bananas taste good? No idea? Alright, allow us to tell. Banana Fritters is the fried version of a banana. It is a luscious dish that is prepared using a batter of the mashed bananas, cardamom, baking soda, milk, eggs, maida, and sugar mixed together. In simpler words, pakora is the apt word for this dish. If you have missed it during your trip to Kerala, try it at home now!
Malayalees call it Payasam and you know it by the name of kheer. This delicacy is often prepared on the festive occasion like Onam and as a welcome dish for the newlyweds as well. It is made in the similar manner kheer is prepared. Palada Payasam is often eaten as a dessert, so do not forget to relish its flavor. After all, vacation calories are exempted.
And here we give the final full-stop. Throughout this journey, you licked your lips, burped, and noted the quick recipes of the appetizing dishes of Kerala. If you have missed eating any of these dishes from the cuisine of Kerala during the trip, go and prepare them. If you are planning a trip, these sumptuous foods await you.