Indian State Cuisine with eating habit, famous food preparation and Food history.

1. KERALA
INTRODUCTION:
Kerala situated between the Western Ghats and the Arabian sea is home for Malayalee
Christians, the namboodri Bhramins, Kerala Hindus and the Moplahs. Kerala has a beautiful
coastline running along the coast line running along the western side.lush green paddy fields
with small rivulets passing through and fro with its lifeline connected to the Arabian sea,
peaceful backwater and coconut lagons, all of which has made it one of the most popular
state of India. Before integration into Kerala state, the coastal land comprised of Cochin,
Malabar and Travancore, ruled by the maharaja of Zamorin. Christians localized themselves
to Cochin, the Muslims to Malabar and the Hindus to Travancore. Each community has its
distinct specialty and it is not difficult to localize a dish to the particular region.
CULINARY ASPECTS
I love my mother’s food or my grandmother’s food. How were they able to dish out such
delicious food? For the older generation, cooking was a ritual. Although cooking a meal was
time consuming.
Ingredients used:- coconuts available in abundance and its rich oil is used to make rich
aromatic gravies , delicately flavored stews , seasoned dry vegetable preparation , delectable
sweets , Payasams , and Pradamans. The native housewife uses lentils, grams, Malabar,
bananas and jackfruit to make desserts with taste without parallel. In the coastal towns, fish
or seafood predominates on the menu.
During the ‘Chakra’ or the fisher folk festival marked by the abundance of ‘catch’, much
fish is dried and salted. Kerala, renowned for its spices, attracted people from all parts of the
world. The impact with the different culture had its effects on the living styles, food habits
and religion of the locals. The natives adapted to eating meat and fish slowly evolving an
indigenous cooking style of their own with the available local ingredients.
Keralites usually use parboiled rice, which is tastier and more nutritive in value. The back
gardens of every house provided green chilies, plantains, raw papaya, jackfruit, ash gourd,
Mangalore cucumber etc. Tamarind is collected , salted , beaten and rolled into balls before
storing in porcelain ‘Barnis’ or ‘ jars’. ‘Uppu manga’ made from small mangoes and red
chillies with spices. The abundant Nendram bananas are also used for making the popular
Kerala chips and also Halwa or ‘Verrati’. Jackfruits are also used in the same way. All ripe
mangoes are used for vegetable preparation like ‘Pullisseri’ and ‘Morekootan’, and the extra
ones are transformed to mango fruit leathers. Cardamom, pepper, nutmeg, tea, coffee, cloves,
ginger, turmeric, yam, pineapple and cashew nuts are some of the other grown items here.
Coconut is used in a very versatile manner to churn out numerous dishes. Coconut is ground
with red chillies, coriander, sambar onion and peppercorns for simple gravies while the same
masala is stir fries to golden color and then ground for making more aromatic gravy. Coconut
paste is flavored with ground mustard for pachadi and khichadis. Chandra karan mangoes
“pulliseri’ is the specialty during season.
SYRIAN CHRISTIAN CUISINE:
The influence of various cultures of traders visiting Kerala coasts for spices and the
conversion to Christianity of the locals had an impact on the native food habits and slowly a
distinct cuisine evolved amongst the natives of the community.

2. The Appam and the stew is a must for any occasion. Beef cutlets with salads. Chicken roast,
‘Erachi ularthiyathu’(beef), ‘Meen milagitathu’ (fish) and ‘Peera pattichthu”(fish) are
some of the famous dishes. The Christians use coconut oil, mustard, curry leaves and coconut
milk in mist of the dishes. Local toddy is used to enhance the taste of ‘Aappam’. The daily
diet has to include a fish gravy or dry fish along with a beef preparation taken with rice or
‘Aappams”.
MOPLAH CUISINE:
Moplah cuisine holds its origin to the numerous Arab traders, who used to
visits Kerala, eventually got married to local ladies and paved way for moplah style of
cooking. For the Moplah the lightly flavored Biryani- made of mutton, chicken, fish or eggs
takes the pride of place. Mussels are the favorite in seafood.
The Arab influence is very visible in the rich meat curries and desserts” Pathiris”, a chapatti
like bread made from rice flour or wheat flour is generally prepared for all meals. ‘patharis’
are also stuffed with fish, mutton, beef or chicken- fried or steamed and served. They retain
form consuming pork. Desserts are mainly made from eggs, sugar and flour. Some popular
desserts like ‘chattipathiri’, ‘mutta mala’, halwa’, ‘tharipola’. Etc are a must for festive
occasion.
NAMBOODRI BRAHMIN CUISINE:
Hindus in Kerala, other than the Namboodris, eat meat and fish as a matter of course.
The Namboodris are strict vegetarians and usually involves themselves with the service of
god. There is no use of onion and garlic is their food.
To be precise, serving a “Sadya” has its own rules. The narrow tip of the leaf should face the
left & service starts from the bottom left half of the leaf on which the small yellow bananas is
placed followed by jaggery coated bananas chips, banana chips and papadum. Then
beginning from the top left half of the leaf are placed lime curry, mango pickle, injipuli , lime
pickle, thoran, olan, aviyal, pachadi and kichadi. Only after these are placed, does the
person begins to eat. Thereafter the rice is served at the bottom center. The sambar & kalan
is poured in the rice. Then the meal is over, pradaman (dessert) is served. After dessert,
rasam is taken with rice or drink straight. The meal ends with curd rice or buttermilk service
to aid digestion.
RELIGIOUS CUSTOMS AND EFFECTS OF FOOD:
“ONAM” the most popular festival falls in the month of August or September. At this time
the harvest is over and the granaries are full. Peoples are happy and participate in the
festivals.
The boat race takes place in Aranmula & Kutanad backwaters.
“Vishu” falls in April- may, when the rains are just about to commence. It is offer of pooja
to mother earth. The house elders organize a visual treat in the night with coconuts,
vegetables, fruits cereals and ornaments- all arranged on a plantain leaf with photograph of
Deities in the center. Everyone is supposed to see the “vishu kani” or the visual treat, the first
thing in the morning.

3. “Tiruvathira” in December –January is a festival of women. “trichur pooram” or the grand
elephant march is an event worth watching.
The Moplah community celebrates Ramzan. All kinds of special dishes are made break the
fast of Ramzan.
During Christmas, the Christians also make all their meat delicacies and sweets.
FAMOUS PRODUCTS FROM KERALA:
1. APPAM : These are rice flour pancake, cooked on flat tawa.
2. UNNIAPPAM: It is rice flour product. A batter is made of rice flour, jaggery,
mashed banana, and milk and then cooked.
3. UPPAMA: It is a savory vegetables and semolina pilaf
4. MEEN VEVICHATHU: Fish in very hot red chilli sauce, pickled for 3 days. As
souring agent- kodampoli (fish tamarind) is used.
5. ERACHI OLARTHIATHU: It is a red meat (beef, lamb) curry made by boiling beef
with spices till water almost evaporates, and then lightly fried with curry leaves and
shallots.
6. THORAN: A vegetables usually made of shredded papaya.
7. PRATHAMAN: A delicious pudding made by boiling mung dal with coconut milk,
flavored with palm sugar and ginger powder, garnished with fried cashewnut, coconut
flakes.
8. KALAN: Green plantain stewed in butter milk.
9. OLAN: Little square of ash gourd (winter melon) poached with lentil and yoghurt.
10. KOOTU: A dish made of different vegetables such as pumpkin, carrots, spinach etc
with chana dal and coconut.
11. KONJU PAPPAS: Prawn cooked in coconut milk, soured by kodampoli.
12. MEEN MOILEE- Thick steak of fish (seer) cooked in coconut milk, flavored with
curry leaves.
13. POOTU: A cereal dish made steaming the mixture of ground raw and parboiled rice
with grated coconut in bamboo tube in upright position. It may be eaten with milk and
small sweet banana.
14. KONJU PULAO: A prawn/ shrimp pilaf
15. PACHADIS: It is flavored and spiced yoghurt. It can be made with different kinds of
vegetables such as okra, pumpkin etc.