In God's Own Country, the food belongs to the gods too, so scrumptious it is. Yes, you have not experienced food unless you have eaten a proper Kerala repast, preferably on a banana leaf, preferably put together by a traditional cook, preferably on a houseboat, preferably floating down a watery backway under palm trees, past fishing hamlets, quacking ducks...
Sreeja S Nair makes a delicious curry out of tiny, tasty sambar onions (a kind of baby onion). The fresh coconut, tamarind and masala flavours come through beautifully blended and this theeyal tastes good with rice and sambar.
Please find the recipe here: Ulli Theeyal
Says Divya Nair: "After Avial, sambar and rasam, if there is another vegetarian dish my non-Malayali friends and neighbours relish with more compliments than complaints, it has to be Kootu." She makes it according to her Amma’s recipe -- chana dal is slow-cooked with a trio of diced veggies, raw bananas, yam, and ash gourd, creating a dish that’s both yummy and nourishing.
Please find the recipe here: Kootu
Gauri Venugopal makes her typical Kerala Olan from either white or yellow pumpkin (also called ash gourd) with black-eyed beans or chawli and just 3-4 other ingredients. Says daughter Durga about this preparation: "It's very simple, but I love her Olan". It is a humble curry that celebrates simplicity, with just the right touch of green chilly and taste of coconut.
Please find the recipe here: Pumpkin Olan
Anita Aikara calls puttu the ultimate Kerala recipe that makes perfect use of the sweet, creamy tropical fruit called naalikeram in Malayalam. Puttu contains four ingredients -- rice flour, fresh coconut, salt, water. And needs a special steamer. She chooses ragi instead of rice flour and the final product matches a spicy chicken/egg/fish curry beautifully. Or have as a dessert.
Please find the recipe here: Ragi Puttu
In Ramapriya Suresh's precise recipe, the fish -- he uses a black pomfret -- is first marinated with spices and semi-cooked. It is then coated with layers of a special tangy spicy masala and cooked in a roasted banana leaf to give it a distinct smoky flavour.
Please find the recipe here: Meen Pollichathu
Also known as Chemmeen Masala, this fiery coastal indulgence, by Supriya Nair, that uses, fennel, cinnamon and clove powders too, hits all the right notes. She says, "I promise that your tongue, olfactory glands and brain are sure to surrender to Kerala prawn masala, just like mine did, all those years ago."
Please find the recipe here: Prawn Masala
Tender jackfruit goes into a stir-fry with spices, green chillies and coconut. Another recipe from Sreeja Nair's kitchen, it takes 10-15 minutes to prepare.
Please find the recipe here: Jackfruit Stir Fry
Here's the Malayalam name: Kappa Shappu Meen Curry. One of state's glorious dishes, often relished by locals at toddy shops, Chef Manoj Sharma makes the cutlets like his last name is Nair, using surmai, black pepper, coconut oil, sambar onions and wraps it in a tapioca covering, breadcrumbs it and fries each complex-tasting morsel up.
Please find the recipe here: Tapioca Fish Cutlets
Chef Sara Jacob Nair's gorgeous sweet relish is had at the end of a meal in small quantities. Ripe jackfruit is simmered and reduced in jaggery and ghee, ever so slowly.
Please find the recipe here: Chakka Varatti
Christmas is time for pork in Kerala. But Jenny D'Souza's recipe is so divine you will find other occasions to make these chops. She marinates the pork in a vinegary masala for 10 hours plus and pressure cooks it an then fries it, serving up a juicy dish typical of Malayali Christian cuisine.
Please find the recipe here: Pork Chops
In this classical Kerala-style kheer, Jolly Aikara adds cashews, almonds, cardamom, ghee along with buffalo milk and sevaiya (vermicelli). Enjoy it warm or chilled. Jolly's payasam is loved for its thickness, which she achieves by letting the milk simmer and simmer and simmer, over low heat, to reduce it.
Please find the recipe here: Semiya Payasam
Fish -- choose whichever fish you prefer -- is gently, leisurely cooked in an earthen pot to bring together the bold heat of green chillies, the warmth of black pepper and several other spices along with the sour of kodam pulli (Kerala tamarind).
Please find the recipe here: Meen Curry