The staple food of Kerala by the history and arts of the state. It’s a mix of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian derivatives, in which the latter is prepared a variety of things like fish, poultry and red meat. Rice, fish, and coconut are the most usual constituents of almost all Kerala famous food. The flavours with chillies, curry leaves, mustard seeds, turmeric tamarind, black pepper, cardamom, clove, ginger, cinnamon, and asafoetida. Though the traditional food of Kerala, including Kerala Sadya prepared during festivals and celebratory pomps, is vegetarian, the modern food of the state includes non-vegetarian dishes. One might also be able to recognize the taste of coconut in most dishes in Kerala, owing to the reality that mixed grated coconut and its milk in food for thickening and seasoning is a usual cooking practice in India.
Famous Food of Kerala:
1. Iddipayam with Curry:
One of the well known dishes of Kerala is Idiyappam which by most of the people. Also known as Noolappam in Kerala cuisine, Idiyappam, food of Kerala, of rice flour, salt and water with a number of thin strands or sevai weaved together to make the lovely texture that this dish bears. It is this texture that makes it adaptable. You can have it with all kinds of curries, but it tastes best with Egg Curry.
2. Appam with Ishtu:
Appam with stew, one of the traditional Kerala dishes is pleasant and yummy. A famous food of Kerala, made from brewed rice flour, coconut milk, coconut water, and a teensy bit of sugar, Appam is basically a thin pancake with firm edges. These crepe-like bowls with Ishtu, a kind of stew that has from the European stew and from coconut milk, cinnamon, cloves and shallots, and sometimes also mango pieces and vegetables. The smell of spices with the sweet coconut milk is enough to tempt foodies to the kitchen!
3. Ela Sadya:
With more options than you’d ever have seen on your platter, Sadya is prepared during religious and pomps like festivals, weddings, and more. This royal lunch combination of dishes like pachadi, kichadi, pulissery, Olan, sambar, varavu, thoran, aviyal, payasam, served with hot steaming rice on a banana leaf can give the huge thali of Chokhi Dhani a run for its money any day!
4. Parippu curry:
If you are searching to have some good food to eat in Kerala, then you must try out this intricacy of Kerala known as Parippu curry. Though unforeseen, it is actually one of the most mouth-watering of Kerala food items. The Dal Curry served in Kerala small gram and ghee with a sizeable number of spices and chillies. Don’t jump on this one by misunderstanding it for your classical ‘ghar ki dal’! You will certainly be disappointed if you do so, trust us!
5. Dosa Ghee Roast with Kerala style Sambar:
Food connects us all and if you are looking to have the best food in Kerala then do try dosa Ghee roast with Kerala style Sambhar which will blast your mouth with awesome flavours. Listed among the ‘World’s 50 Most Delicious Foods’, dosa and sambar in Kerala cuisine make up for a deadly combination! Made from fermented rice and lentils, the ghee roast dosa to perfection in pure ghee, and then roasted till it gets as crisp as it can. It is, no doubt, the best food in Kerala district.
6. Idly Sambar
How about relishing some south Indian food when in Kerala? Idly Sambhar is one of the best foods in Kerala which is good to go for breakfast and the best healthy food in Kerala as well. Perhaps the most famous food of Kerala, idly sambar in not just all households in Kerala, but everywhere else in India! The perfect combination of fermented rice cakes and a deliciously tangy curry of aromatic spices and vegetables like lentils.
7. Kerala Style Prawn Curry:
Want to add spice on your palate? Then, you must try one of the national foods of Kerala that is tangy chicken fry or Kerala style prawn curry as there is no single national food of Kerala. Served with onion, spices, garlic, and vinegar on a banana leaf, Nadan Kozhi Varuthathu is fried chicken made with a lavish number of spices. One can have it with chapattis, Kerala Parotta appam or rice. It also serves as a well known street food in the list of Kerala dishes served with dosa.
8. Karimeen Porichathu:
When in Kerala then enjoy Kerala food culture and order for yourself Kerala style fish molee. One of Kerala’s most traditional delicacies, Karimeen Pollichathu is a dish made out of the Pearl Spot Fish, a marked fish basically found in the backwaters of this Alleppey and Kumarakom. Karimeen Pollichathu is originally a Syrian Christian delicacy but has now become part of the rich Kerala cuisine. The dish is prepared by marinating the fish in a mixture of lemon juice, red chillies, and other ingredients and then wrapped and baked in plantain leaves.
9. Kerala Style Fish Mothu:
A completely amazing component of Kerala food, the Kerala Style Fish Molee is a favourite of all living in and visiting Kerala. The notable taste of coconut and kocoum, also known as Kudampuli will directly gust your senses! All seafood lovers must try this dish at least once in their life to take the idea of fine dining to a whole new level!
10. Nadan Beef:
Kerala is maybe the only place in India where you can still eat beef without any restrictions or guilt. Nadan Beef is among the most popular Kerala dishes that is either cooked in thick gravy. It to excellence for that perfect delicious steadiness before with Parotta, chapatti, or rice. Beef lovers, here’s another tremendous reason for you to escape to Kerala!
11. Thalaserry Biryani:
Biryani in Kerala? Hell yeah! It’s actually the most exotic Kerala cuisine. Among the various places in Kerala, Calicut and Thalasseri offer the most irresistible varieties of biryani in Kerala. One can enjoy the taste of Chicken 65 or Chilly Chicken Stir Fry with a lavish platter of Kozhikode or Thalasseri Biryani for the ultimate biryani affair.
12. Kallumakkaya Ularthiyathu:
There’s no end to the varieties of seafood one can have in Kerala. Every seafood dish in Kerala holds a distinctive touch, thanks to the variety of Kerala food recipes. The mussels out with care and then cooked in shallots, garlic, chillies, turmeric, garam masala, and a hefty dose of grated coconut.
13. Erachi Varutharacha Curry:
The king of non-vegetarian Kerala food recipes, Erachi Varutharacha is not likely to be on the menu. It is a traditional food of Kerala. The preparation usually involves frying and grinding the spices before mixing them in a base of mutton, onions and tomatoes. We bet you’ve never had as delicious a dish of mutton as this!
Traditional Sweets of Kerala:
1. Palada Payasam:
One of the common Kerala sweets, Palada Payasam is a staple for families in the state. Made with boiling the crunchy vermicelli and rice in milk to the soft stage and flavoured with cardamom, sugar, and butter. To add to the taste and texture, this delicious dessert with raisins and cashew nuts. This sweet can as a part of the Onam special meal.
2. Banana Halwa:
Sweet that melts in your mouth is nothing less than heaven. Banana Halwa is one such dessert. Shiny texture, dark brown shade and tenderness make this dessert one of the most relished Kerala special sweets. Made with the staple ingredient- ripened bananas along with sugar, ghee, almonds, and cardamom powder, Banana Halwa is a must-try when visiting the land of backwaters.
3. Neyyappam:
Neyyappam is one of the most loved sweets of Kerala. When on a culinary journey in Kerala, Neyyappam should definitely be on the list of Kerala sweets and snacks that one wants to try. Fried in ghee, this sweet and jaggery stuffed pancake not only fulfils the stomach but also fulfils the cravings of people. Neyyappam from rice flour, coconut, cardamom, milk, ghee, and then stuffed with a mixture of jaggery.
4. Unniyappam:
This is one of the best traditional and old sweets in Kerala. A form of Neyyappa, Unniyappam is sweet that you can never have just one! Served during the pomps of Onam Sadya, these small hemispheres clasp childhood memory for the locals. Basically prepared at home, this sweet with basic constituents of pulped bananas, jaggery, and coconut.
5. Elaneer Pudding:
Elaneer Pudding is one of the most exotic dishes when it comes to Kerala sweets. Something similar to a pannacotta, hero of this sweet is nothing but lots of coconuts! Set with gelatine or agar-agar, Elaneer Pudding is very refreshing and especially enjoyed under the hot sun. Prepared with densed milk, coconut, sugar, milk, agar-agar, and essence this sweet has a perfect balance of sweetness making it one of the delicious Kerala sweets.
6. Rava Ladoos:
Laddoo in itself is the popular sweets of India made in different ways in different parts of the country. One of the favourite Kerala sweets amongst kids, Rava Laddus are small hemispheres flavoured with coconut, dry fruits, and cardamom. When traveling to God’s own country, do not neglect to get a box packed of these tasty sweets for friends and family back home!y
7. Arisi Thengai Payasam:
Also knows as rice coconut kheer. This traditional payasam is prepared by soaking jaggery in warm water, crushing it and heating it till it becomes thick. Rice and coconut before adding to the milk for cooking. After adding the jaggery to the porridge-like rice, the whole surroundings fill with heavenly smell and scents of this enticing delicacy.
8. Mutta Maala:
A sweet made of only three basic ingredients- egg, sugar, and water, Mutta Mala is another Ramadan stream dish in Kerala. Made by streaming the egg yolk through a small hole into boiling sugar water so that the yolks resemble strings, this sweet is not to when travelling to Kerala during the holidays.
9. Chatti Pathiri:
A combination of lasagne and pie in appearance, this tempting delicacy is layered with sheets of pastry dough and filled with salty or sweet fillings. Ate widely during the festival of Ramadan at the time breaking the fast, Chatti Pathiri is a popular Malabari dish. Alternate layers of pastry sheets and sweet custard filling, top with sesame seeds make Chatti Pathiri rank amongst the top ten Kerala sweets.
10. Ada Pradhaman:
Tagged as king of sweets in Kerala, Ada Pradhaman is full of all the important flavours of Kerala- coconut, banana, rice, and jaggery! No meal is complete without a bowl of Ada Pradhaman making it one of the tasty sweets of Kerala. Made using coconut milk, this sweet has the authentic and traditional flavour of Kerala that reflects the cooking culture of this South Indian state!
11. Bamboo Rice Payasam:
Returning from a Kerala trip without tasting even a single kind of Payasam, is like returning from a Goa trip without visiting a single beach. Payasam is one of the most famous sweets in Kerala. And when you have it available in such a wide range, you can easily choose your favourite flavour or ingredient. Bamboo Rice Payasam is a popular kind, as this rice for preparing sweets dishes. They have a unique taste that uplifts the flavour of the dish. And the roasted cashew garnishing makes the icing on the cake.
12. Coconut and Mawa Ladoo:
Kerala is a land of coconut trees. Coconut in different forms to almost every dish, then how can something as popular as laddu be spared? Coconut Laddoo is highly famous throughout the country and when it mixed with mawa, the taste becomes heavenly. Mawa also becomes a good substitute for sugar.
13. Pumpkin Payasam:
Malayali’s love Payasam and you can tell that from the wide variety in which this sweet dish is available. Though pumpkin in several sweets made throughout the country, this versatile veggie has always been a victim. Pumpkin Payasam stands out for its spicy-tangy taste. And topping it with roasted almonds and cashew nuts just makes it even more irresistible. This is why is one of the most delicious sweets of Kerala.
Famous Street Food of Kerala:
1. Erissery:
Erissery is one of the famous dishes of Kerala. A hit in every kitchen of Kerala, this curry from either raw plantains or sliced yams. It is typically prepared by boiling sweet pumpkins with salt, chillies or pepper, dried lentils, grated coconut, turmeric powder, cumin seeds and garlic, and on a bed of rice once cooked.
2. Malabar Parotta:
As the name suggests, Malabar Parotta is a famous parotta deriving its origin from Malabar region of the coast. It has a crispy, flaky along with crumbly texture leaving a sweet yet savoury taste within your mouth. This parotta is a must try if you are visiting Kerala which will indeed become your all-time favourite for you as well as your family and friends.
3. Nadan Kozhi Varathathu:
Want to add spice on your palate? Then, you must try one of the national foods of Kerala that is spicy chicken fry or Kerala style prawn curry as there is no single national food of Kerala. Served with onion, spices, garlic, and vinegar on a banana leaf, Nadan Kozhi Varuthathu is fried chicken made with a generous number of spices. One can have it with chapattis, Kerala Parotta appam or rice. It also serves as a popular street food in the list of Kerala dishes served with dosa.
4. Sundal:
Enjoy a delicious and flavourful sundal bowl before exploring Guruvayur’s holy Hindu temple with its tilted beads. Sundal is a favourite fried dish from South India with legumes and lentils, various fresh spices, and coconut.
5. Puttu and Kadala curry:
Puttu and Kandala curry by people of Kerala which to be one of the popular traditional Kerala dishes. A famous breakfast recipe out of the many Kerala dishes, Puttu is a cylindrical steamed rice cake that in a mould with grated coconut. It can with ripe bananas, grated coconut, and kadala curry (the Keralite version of ‘Kala Chana’! Don’t by the simple appearance of this dish; Puttu can be very flavoursome!
