Eat your heart out while in Kerala!
Want
to taste the authentic and variety dishes in Kerala? Kerala tour packages offer you the best destinations where
you can enjoy most of Kerala’s authentic food too. Kerala is abundantly rich in
forest wealth, beaches, and backwaters. There are many colorful parks, shopping
arcades, museums and other man-made attractions that equally attract people.
Kerala’s rich traditions and culture are showcased in the colorful festivals that
are widely celebrated along with music, dance and feasts. The exotic spices,
coastal coconuts, seasonal fruits, and seafood make up for some of the most
exotic flavors of the South.
Kerala’s
authentic flavors are a favorite among all the tourists who visit this God’s Own Country on Kerala tourism packages. The cuisine has a special connection with the history, culture
and location within the state. Each and every dish is unique and differs from
location to location but improves in taste with each variation. On your trip to Kerala, you get to try all the
varieties of the dishes well-known in the state. The multitude of vegetarian
and nonvegetarian dishes is very popular among the tourists. Most of the dishes
are prepared using vegetables, fish, poultry, meat and native spices. Being the
coastal area, marine food is very common in the dishes and quite popular among
the locals. The fishes differ from region to region. The freshwater fishes are
abundantly available in the regions where they have many backwaters. Coconut is
abundantly available and used in the dishes served. Some dishes are made using
the plantain leaf which brings in a unique and striking flavor to the dish. The
Karimeen pollichathu (fish wrapped in banana leaf and toasted in the pan with
mixed spices), Ada which is a sweet dish made out of rice flour and jaggery etc
are a few varieties cooked in a banana leaf.
Kerala’s Sadya – The invigorating feast with 25 varieties of dishes and 3 Payasams
When
you hear about Kerala, the first thing that comes to your mind will be a grand
feast called Sadya which is served on a banana leaf with a lot of variety dishes
spread out religiously. Sadya is a main vegetarian feast that is served on many
of the functions and festivals in Kerala. The Sadya has many curries with a
different taste that ignites the taste buds. The commonly used ingredients that
add to the taste of the cuisine include black pepper, tamarind, red chilies,
mustard seeds, curry leaves, coconut and asafetida which are abundantly used in
the curries. Sadya is served to the tourists visiting Kerala on their Kerala packages. The variety of dishes
served are Sambar, Aviyal, Stew, Kalan, Olan, Thoran, Parippu, Pappad, Payasam (kheer),
Pickles, Plantain chips and much more. Each and every dish served has a
different taste, so overall it satisfies every nook and corner of your mouth.
Sadya will fill your stomach without a doubt and your mind too with its
delicious flavors. All these varieties go along with the boiled rice served on
the banana leaf. It has to be enjoyed eaten with the hand. The elders say
there’s an order in which the dishes are to be served and eaten which will make
sure every grain of rice you eat will be completely digested without fail.
Sadya’s used to be occasional earlier. But with tourists visiting the state all
round the year, most of the hotels and restaurants serve a Sadya on most of the
days with the variety of dishes.
Malabar Cuisine – Exotic, Royal, and Flavorful
The
Malabar side of Kerala has again different varieties served on their platter. Malabar
region is famous for their non-vegetarian pick. The Malabar Biriyanis are
famous among the tourists as well as the natives. Kallumakaya or Mussels are
one among the dishes loved by the people on their Kerala holiday packages. Other varieties that can be tasted in the
Malabar side of Kerala include Irachipathiri, Malabar duck roast, Malabar lamb
curry, Beef Kurumulakitathu(with pepper), Unnakya, Wayanad chicken curry, Kozhi
varutharachathu (chicken served in the fried coconut blend with masala). All
these varieties are mouthwatering and invite everyone's interests. These varieties
widely use black and white peppers other than cloves, bay leaves, cardamom, cinnamon
cumin and nutmeg. Rice varieties like chicken biriyani, mutton biriyani, and
prawns biriyani are the most popular dishes served in the feasts for weddings
and festivals in the Malabar region.
The Quintessential Breakfast varieties
Kerala’s
breakfast cuisine also presents you with many dishes that are healthy and
indeed taste and one of a kind. The common breakfast dishes includes idli, dosa
served with coconut chutney, appam and stew, appam and kadala curry (black
chana), puttu-kadala, appam mutton stew, appam and chicken curry, Kallappam, Idiyappam,
and pathiri. You have to try these filling and healthy breakfast dishes while
you are here and I can bet you will fall in love with the place! On your Kerala tour packages from Mumbai, enjoy
the authentic Kerala style breakfast.
Variety of Seafood
The
seafood is the most common dish you would love to eat from the north to the south
of Kerala. The specialty seafood varieties here have a beautiful blend of gravy
and flavors made of coconut, spices and tamarind. The fish curry is prepared
using mango or Kokum that adds a special flavor to the fish curry. During the
season of mango, the people of Kerala use mango or else Kokum. Prawns and Karimeen
are the common fishes used in the dishes. The Karimeen Pollichathu is a
well-known dish served on boat cruises in the most popular Kerala tour packages from Delhi. Fish molly is another dish famous
among the Christian community in Kerala. Arikadukka, a spicy seafood delicacy made
of Kallumakkaya (mussels) is a must-try meal. On your Kerala trip, while visiting the beaches, you can find many people
drying prawns in the sun. This becomes the sundried prawns! A side dish
prepared with it called the unakka chemmeen (or dried prawn) is a common dish
for the people of Kerala.
Mouth-watering pickles – The best ways to preserve seasonal produce
No
food is complete without a pickle in the platter. A wide variety of pickles are
made in Kerala. A variety of Mango, lime, dates, prawns, garlic, fish pickles
and vegetable pickles are made in Kerala. The people of Kerala surely relish
the spicy taste of hot pickles. The mango pickles are the popular ones which are
made in many different ways. Pickles of tender mango, sliced mango, sun-dried
mango and much more are prepared and served in most of the households even now.
A huge airtight ceramic container called the Bharani is used to preserve these
pickles. In olden days, the pickles were reserved for the monsoon times, when
you don’t get much of the vegetables due to heavy rain. You can find the Granny’s
Uppumanga Bharani (tender mangoes in brine) in a majority of the households and
everyone enjoys and savors the taste. On your Kerala tour, you can find many vendors with huge vessels filled
with a variety of pickle on the beaches and roadsides. Don’t have them,
though, as they may not be as healthy.
Snacks and Savories
Snacks
are something everybody likes to munch on in their free time. The common snacks
prepared in Kerala which is quite popular are the Plantain chips, Sharkara Varattiyathu,
Pazham pori, Vattayappam, Sughiyan, Kottayam churuttu, jack fruit fry, ada etc.
The plantain chips are popular among all the people visiting on Kerala tours. During the Jackfruit
season, every shop is loaded with jackfruit chips, another variety that gives
you another delicacy to enjoy. The Pazhampori (banana fritters) served in the
evenings are a common tea time snack. In fact, Kerala’s varieties of chips
are very popular among the tourists. You will find fresh chips made of Potato,
Yam, Tapioca, slightly ripe bananas, Bitter guard and a host of other fruits
and vegetables in Kerala.
Sweets and Desserts - A celebration of the flavors
The
food feasts are always ended with the sweet satisfying the sweet tooth of
anyone. Again you will be presented with many variations to taste. Payasam
includes milk, jaggery, ghee and fried cashews or coconuts that give you a
chance to enjoy the most of Kerala cuisine on your Kerala travel. Ada Pradhaman, Palada Pradhaman, Pal Payasam and
Ney Payasam are the most famous desserts served for the feasts. The Ada is made
of rice and the Payasam can be made of coconut milk and jaggery or with milk
and sugar. Palada Pradhaman is considered the king of the feasts! Pal payasam is
usually seen served in temples. On your Kerala honeymoon packages in Allepey, you can pay a visit to
the Ambalappuzha Krishna temple and enjoy the famous pal payasam offered as a
blessing.
The never ending array of delicacies
Other
than these authentic dishes served, there are many dishes which one can try out
in their travel. Kappa (tapioca) and fish curry, freshwater fishes like natholi
fry, kappa biriyani etc are few of the other dishes you must try on your honeymoon packages in Kerala. Kerala
has many bakeries and hotels that serve you some of the most delicious traditional
dishes. It’s a true bliss to know more about the Kerala cuisine when you go to
interior parts of Kerala, where the tribals use some secret spices that add a
taste that you surely will not forget.
One
must try at least a few of these dishes. It a true saying that when in Rome be
like a Roman, hence tasting these authentic Kerala dishes and wearing the
traditional Kerala costumes add color to your honeymoon packages and family holidays.
