Cochin, Kerala

I don't know if I've mentioned it before but I love travelling! Especially when the travel includes indulging in delicious local fare. India is the best place to travel. Every state, every city has its own unique identity - its own culture and own cuisine. The dish might look the same, but tastes way different. Take fish fry - a fish fry in Mangalore is completely different from a fish fry in Kerala or Orissa. The spices used are local and representative of the state. 

Kerala is one of my favourite places to visit. I've been to Cochin with family, as a student and with friends, each time experiencing different aspects of the place. The staple foods I must have are the banana chips, fish fry and curry, puttu (most often home-made) and appams with stew or chicken roast. True most of the cuisine is coconut-heavy and it works for a Mangalorean like me, but I would still suggest you keep your taste palates open to savour these delicacies. And if possible have it at someone's home. When I went to Cochin recently for a friend's wedding, I sampled dishes which used all the core ingredients of Kerala cuisine: coconut, bananas and spices like pepper and cardamom. 

The culinary journey began with a ride on a traditional boat in the backwaters of Kumarakom to Soma Kerala Palace. A friend recommended the place since we wanted to see the backwaters. The boat ride was relaxing with the weather gods being kind. 

Soma Kerala Palace is a beautiful old Kerala-esque place with a lot of open ground which faces the backwaters. You see the waters on three sides of the place. It was a the perfect place to have true blue Kerala food and then relax by the backwaters!

Without the frills of appetisers, we just dove into the main course. This is the chicken curry. Soft chicken pieces laced with a thick gravy of tomatoes and onions. The curry was perfectly spiced and tempered with curry leaves. What made this curry different from other chicken curries, was that the spices used were fresh grown in Kerala and hence the best quality. There was hardly any coconut taste to this dish so you can definitely give this a try with some Kerala parotas!

Prawn curry! Fresh, soft prawns in a red chilli gravy! The gravy was similar to that of chicken, but the fresh prawns lent their own taste which made this dish significantly different. Have these with Kerala boiled red rice and you will be in heaven!

This is the infamous Kerala red rice. Thicker than the normal white sona masuri rice most people are used to, this rice is healthier and goes very well with the various Kerala gravies. Vegetarians can eat this with spicy sambar and pappadums! I don't have a picture of the pappadums but a Kerala lunch is not complete without them. Please do ask for them.

Vegetarians can also try the thoran, a side dish of mustard tempered vegetables with fresh coconut. We had a mixed veg thoran but other popular thoran vegetables are carrot, beans, cabbage, any leafy vegetable. It goes well with rice, sambar/rasam and pickle and is more often served with meals.

If you don't have the time to sample these traditional Kerala dishes in a serene backwaters resort (like we did), you can always visit the Grand Hotel in Cochin to sample most of these dishes. Also do try the karimeen pollichathu - a vinegar based fish preparation.

If you are in the city for a day, you must visit Fort Kochi!  A 5 minutes boat ride away from Cochin, it is a beautiful island with both Kerala and Portuguese influences. Walk around the Fort to see the Jewish church, the Chinese fishing nets and the cobblestoned streets near the nets. It's my must-visit place every time I'm in Cochin. You can also sample some good Kerala dishes at the various cafes and restaurants on the island.

This is pazham pori which is essentially banana fritters. Ripe plantains are used for this snack - these plantains can't be eaten uncooked even if its ripe. The plantains are coated with a batter of all purpose flour and is deep fried. Have a bite of this with a hot masala tea on a rainy evening and all your worries will disappear! 

Our snack here at Ginger House in the old Jewtown had the batter flavoured with fresh cardamom powder which added a nice touch to the sweet bananas. The restaurant has a beautiful view of the sea at the back and has an extensive stock of antiques including a very long snake race boat on display which is traditionally used for the famous boat race which happens every year for Onam in Kerala.

While walking around the fort, we saw this cart seller making fresh tapioca chips. We bought a bunch sprinkled with red chilli powder. Nothing can beat the taste of fresh, sweetish tapioca chips! Tapioca is also another root vegetable used extensively in Kerala cuisine. If you can, do also try the Kappa which is mustard tempered, boiled tapioca traditionally eaten with fish curry.

Kashi Art Cafe is the most popular cafe in Fort Kochi. A cafe which also doubles as an art gallery, they serve light and fresh food. Having had a lot of sweetish food all day, we started with their herbed cheese sandwich. Thick pieces of fresh bread (which was slightly sweet) sandwiching fresh cottage cheese with parsley and topped with cool cucumber and tomatoes. I loved the herbed cottage cheese! Light cheese which makes a perfect snack with their French press coffee or masala chai. Their salads looked fun too but we were saving space for their signature dishes.

I had their lemonade sweetened with a herb named narunandi. It added a nice ayurvedic taste to an otherwise normal lemonade. 

And this is what you must go to Kashi Art Cafe for! Fresh, home-baked chocolate cake topped with chocolate syrup. The chocolate cake is fluffy and soft and not too sweet - hence perfect. The chocolate syrup lends sweetness and makes the cake sufficiently moist. This is a must try when you got to Kashi Art Cafe.

We also tried their banana cream pie. It was a tad too sweet for me  and I would have liked more fresh banana pieces. But it was good nonetheless and my friends loved it!

This is the art instalment which welcomes you when you enter the cafe. Don't freak out. They serve equally good food!  

All in all, Kerala is a beautiful place to vacation. They have beaches, Ayurveda massages, houseboats and amazing food! To end, these are the foods you must sample when you are there*:

• Fish fry - the karimeen fry is a must try: Grand Hotel
• Prawn curry: Grand Hotel
• Karimeen Pollichatthu: Grand Hotel
• Puttu with egg curry or kadal (black chana) curry: Dhe Puttu if you can't get homemade puttu
• Iddiappams with coconut milk: Any place which serves breakfast
• Appams with stew: Grand Hotel
• Pazham puri: Ginger House and any authentic Kerala restaurant
• Beef roast
• Any seafood dish on offer
• Kerala parota: Any Kerala cuisine restaurant
• Boiled red rice: Any Kerala cuisine restaurant
• A traditional Kerala meals - called sadya during Onam
• Chips made of banana, jackfruit and tapioca: Chips shops and bakeries
• Rose cookies: Chips shops and bakeries
• Payasam - made of rice or ada (made of rice flour)

* In Cochin

Enjoy!