Food and Food Habits Kerala

Food is an important indicator of a region’s history. The diversity that one sees today in Kerala food evolved from its past, when profound historical and social events influenced the diet of the inhabitants. The various people, who invaded, colonized, traded with or settled in this area, all left their indelible mark on Kerala cuisine that, in course of time, evolved into one with an identity of its own. One that is remarkable for its simplicity, taste and range.

Popular Kerala Cuisine

Rice is the staple food of Kerala. Some also take ragi it is supplemented with ground cross legged. Nowadays, the western impact is visible, especially in urban areas, where food is eaten from utensils. Only the right hand is used for eating. Water boiled with dried ginger or with jeera and cooled with meals.

Tea and coffee is generally taken in the morning and between meals. Tea is more common among Muslim communities. The Tea/ coffee are generally taken with milk, but also as kattam (black). Breakfast consists of tea/coffee and some rice preparation such as dosai, idli, idiyapam or noolputtu, vellayappam, pittu/puttu and pathiri. Sometimes, the excess of boiled rice prepared for dinner is preserved in cold water and eaten in the morning.

The first meal (in the morning) comprises of rice gruel or a preparation of rice/flour with accompaniments. Lunch and dinner consists of rice, vegetables and or non vegetarian dishes (fish, meat etc). Along with the meals, buttermilk, pickles and fried savories are eaten. The desserts are avalose, achappam, cheeppappam, aluva,payasam etc.

The most common consumed pulses are redgram, greengram, Bengalgram and blackgram. Pulses are generally cooked with the vegetables. Apart from the usual vegetables consumed in South India, green jackfruit, green breadfruit, various varieties of green plantains, the trunk and flowers of the plantain tree and a variety of yams are favored in Kerala cuisine. Non-vegetarian food is very common Kerala cuisine. Except a few communities (Brahman, Ambalavasi, etc) all are non-vegetarians consuming fish, egg, chicken mutton, beef, pork and wild boar etc.

The most flavored fat or oil used for cooking Kerala food is coconut oil, but this being replaced partly by the recently introduced palm oil. Some affluent people use ghee as a cooking medium. Ground nut and sunflower oil are used by the urban middle and upper classes.

Spices and condiments are important ingredients in the preparation of vegetables, fish and meat curry, sambar, rasam in the preparation of Kerala food. Pickles of various kinds’ mango, citruses and nellicka (amla) are taken along with meals and sometimes with snacks also.

The fruits eaten are mainly of the local varieties, like vazhapazham (plantain), mampazham (mango kappa/poola/ marachini (tapioca). Rice is often taken for one meal and wheat foe another. Tapioca is eaten raw, boiled or dried.

The majority (especially the Hindus) eat their food off a plantation leaf, sitting on the, pineapple, guava, jackfruit, sapota and papaya. The most commonly eaten fruits are Jackfruit, mango and banana.

Coconuts in Kerala

Kerala is one of the leading producers of coconut in the world, producing 1.3 million nuts per annum. Not only is its landscape dotted with green palms and their swaying fronds but this tree is an integral of the lifestyle and the economy of the state. Because of the numerous products and by products derived from its various parts that contribute towards providing food, shelter, fuel, even producing art, this multi faceted tree is known as kalpakavriksham or the “Tree of Life”.