Also known as the spice cost of India, Kerala is known for its pungent spices such as cardamom, ginger, pepper, cinnamon, curry leaves, nut meg, tamarind, chillies and many more. It is the flavour that these spices lend, that makes the cuisine of Kerala, an epicurean delight. Some mouth-watering delicacies of the Kerala spread are:

Naadan or Traditional Sadya served in plaintain leaves is a splendid affair of rice, several curries, pickles, pappadams and a warm dessert called payasam. The vegetable dishes complementing the rice are Sambar, Avial, Thoran, Pullissery, Puli Inji, Pachadi, Kaalan, rasam, etc.

The most common auxiliary to rice, Sambar is lentils, tomatoes, ashgourd, ladyfinger, drumsticks, and potatoes cooked in gravy of tamarind water, asafetida, turmeric, chilly powder and mustard seeds. It is garnished with curry leaves and sometimes with coriander leaves too.

It is a mix of several vegetables like yam, ashgourd, raw banana, drumstick, string beans, pod beans, snakegourd, carrots etc cooked in gravy of coconut, cumin seeds, green chillies, a few shallots and turmeric. Low on spices, it goes well with rice.

A warm dessert, payasam can be made with or without milk. The most favourite variety is the ‘Paladaprathaman’ which is made with flattened rice, milk, and sugar. Payasams without milk generally have coconut milk and jaggery in them. Parippu Prathaman, Pazham Prathaman, Gothambu (Wheat) Payasam etc are some of the payasams made without milk. Vermicilli payasam made with coconut milk is another delicacy.

This dish is prepared by cooking marinated pearl spot fish (in a mixture of shallots, onions, ginger, garlic, chilly, pepper, salt and curry leaves) wrapped in a plantain leaf, in some coconut oil. Available in almost all toddy shops, it is something all seafood lovers wouldn’t want to miss.

This curry is a spicy affair with chicken cooked in a paste of fried grated coconut, an assortment of spices such as ginger, garlic, pepper, cinnamon, coriander powder, turmeric, salt and curry leaves. Vegetable ingredients are shallots and onions. This curry makes for a really interesting meal with a bowl of steaming hot rice or rotis.

Beef is cut into small pieces, marinated in turmeric, salt, garlic, ginger, pepper and chilly powder before being cooked. The cooked beef is added to a pan of sautéed shallots, onions and curry leaves before being served. Beef Ularthiyathu is an indispensable dish in traditional Kerala Christian feasts.