Mouth-watering huh?

As anywhere else in the world, Kerala’s cuisine is influenced by its culture, traditions and the changing lifestyles of its people. Kerala’s rich and diverse history adds to this. Each part of Kerala has their own unique cuisine, the areas with a mixed populations have an even more diverse one.

The Malabar area is known for its non-vegetarian dishes. The most known and asked-for combos are Pathiri (rice-based pancake) and meat curry, Porotta (layered flatbread), and Meat Biriyani. Biriyanis and Pulaos are made with meat, onions and spices cooked in boiled rice. There are varieties of sea food, too—prawns, mussels, squid and sea fishes.

Travancore cuisine makes use of vegetables and fruits like plantains, bitter gourd, taro, colocasia and Ash gourd. Spices like garlic, cloves pepper and cinnamon are used. The Syrian Christian Cuisine, too, has its own history and patrons.

A typical breakfast can be anything from the following—Puttu (steamed rice cake with coconut scrapings) and bananas or peas curry, Idlis, Dosas and Appam and stew. Lunch and dinner is mainly rice with meat (usually chicken and beef) and vegetarian dishes like Thoran (chopped vegetables and grated coconut cooked in very little oil), Kaalan, Pachadi (yoghurt, sugar, coconut, chilli, mustard seeds and spices) and Olen (ash gourd and coconut milk).

Avial is made with mixed vegetable, coconut and Yoghurt in a gravy-like form. Sambar, which is prepared using lentils, cooked vegetables and spices including asafetida is gravy that goes well with idlis and dosas as well as with rice.

Banana and Tapioca chips make good accompaniments for rice dishes. They also serve as snacks. They become sweet dishes when cut into bits, fried and dipped in jaggery.

Fish is eaten both as curries and fried varieties. Sometimes, it is baked in a plantain leaf over a fire. Meen Vevichathu or fish in red chili sauce is also another favourite item. Erachi orlarthiathu is made from beef or lamb, and is a common food item that goes well as snacks and as part of the main course. Payasam, a porridge-like sweet with a vermicelli-rice base, cooked in milk and sugar or jaggery serves as dessert.

Here’s a recipe for Kerala Beef:

Ingredients:

* 1 kg beef cut into 2 inch-long, one inch-think strips

* 2 large onions thinly-sliced

* 2 large tomatoes finely-chopped

* 2 tbsps ginger paste

* 2 tbsps garlic paste

* 2-3 green chili

* 3 tbsps coriander seeds

* 4 tbsps fennel seeds

* 8 cloves

* Seeds of 6 green cardamom

* 1 inch stick of cinnamon

* 25 black peppercorns

* 50 curry leaves

* 1 cup fresh coconut cut into 1 inch-long think slices

* 1 tbsp mustard seeds

* 4 tbsps vegetable/ canola/ sunflower cooking oil

Preparation:

* Heat a flat pan on medium flame till hot. Reduce the flame to simmer and add fennel, coriander seeds, cloves, peppercorns, cardamom seeds and cinnamon. Stir well till spices become darker. Turn off fire, and cool.

* Grind the above roasted spices into a coarse powder in a dry grinder.

* Put the meat, sliced onions, green chili, tomatoes, ginger and garlic pastes and ground spices into a large mixing bowl. Mix well till all the meat is coated. Marinate for an hour.

* After an hour, put the mixture into a deep vessel and cook on a medium flame. Do not add any water as the meat will give off its own juices. Cook till the meat is tender.

* In a separate small pan, heat cooking oil and add the chopped onions and fry till transparent. Add curry leaves and mustard seeds and cook till they stop spluttering. Now add the coconut slivers. Cook till they begin to turn a pale golden colour.

* Add this to the meat and mix well. Turn on the fire (medium flame), stirring often, till the meat browns. The whole dish begins to turn a deep, dark brown. After the water dries off, serve hot.