Last year, we did three trips to Kerala and absolutely fell in love with the food. The spicy hit from the chillies to the creamy, velvety touch of coconut milk is something that I enjoy a lot. So when the traditional food of Kerala was coming to the Tabula Beach Cafe through the Travelling Tiffin popup, we headed up there pronto. Chef Sangy, the mind behind the Travelling Tiffin is bringing the flavours of three of the most exotic of Kerala’s cuisines to the world. Being a Syrian Christian, she has also incorporated parts of the Muslim and the Hindu cuisines into her pop-up.
We decided to start off with their uniquely named cocktails, all of them named after superstars from the Malayalam film industry. While the Silk Smitha is essentially a Bloody Mary with curry leaves, the Madhavan is a coconut margarita that you must try out. A slew of traditional food of Kerala serves as our Chakna including the tightly spiraled rice crispies. A plate of Raw Banana cutlets and Fried Okra makes it’s way to our table as the ambiance at the Tabula Beach Cafe is perfect to enjoy a Malayali drinking session.
Traditional Food of Kerala
There are quite a few similarities between the Malayalis and the Bengalis. One of these is the frying of anchovies and consuming them just like the crispies. Chef Sangy(Sangeeta Kurakios) tells us about how this was a regular “Chakna” during her father’s drinking sessions. Just like Bengalis, Malayalis love their complement of non-vegetarian food. There is a decadent Masala Egg Roast with some Idiyappams and a Pork Fry served with Malabari Parotha. The sweet melting fat of the pork makes for a lovely combination with the flaky Malabari Parotha.
If you truly want to try out the Traditional Food of Kerala, you should definitely try out the Thali and end with Pancakes with Coconut Cream and Jaggery Ice Cream and some deep fried Banana Fritters.
