14 dishes of Malabar Cuisine

Dr Roshan Radhakrishnan
42

Malabar cuisine is a blend of Arabia, Zamorin and Chirakkal styles of preparing food, unique to the region spanning from Kasargod to Malappuram in Kerala. In my opinion, it is heaven for a food lover, offering some of the tastiest dishes that Kerala has to offer. Using the commonly available ingredients (fish, prawns & crustaceans aplenty from the sea and rice, plantains and coconut from the land), you see a wide variety of dishes ranging from options for breakfast to tea time snacks.

What are the dishes you should try out when visiting the Malabar region of Kerala?


So what are the dishes you should try out when visiting the Malabar region of Kerala?

Breakfast:


Appam with Egg Curry
These lacy soft hoppers are one of Kerala's most famous breakfast (and dinner) options

You could also opt for Appam with Coconut Milk (and maybe some sugar drizzled on top?)

Puttu and Kadala curry
A very popular Kerala breakfast option made with rice flour and coconut. Other options include puttu with bananas.


Main Course:

Thalassery Biryani
Every time someone says that that damn potato-filled Kolkata biryani is better than the beautifully flavoured Thalassery fish / chicken / beef horned chicken with hooves / mutton biryani, a Kerala jungle crow screams out "Blasphemy"! 

Nool puttu/ Idiyappam (String Hoppers) with Prawn fry with Egg Curry 
Do I really need to describe this?

Kozhi Porichathu
Chicken Dry Fry Malabar style is a classic blend of spices and mouth-watering flavour!

Kerala style Fish fry
Blessed with the abundance of variety, from sardines to hamour (groupers), the Malabar style of fish fry offers a well-seasoned fried version

Crab Roast Malabar
Crab Roast
Sinfully sweet meat that is also surprisingly healthy (you can get the details and recipe here)

Sulaimani Tea
Sulaimani Tea
After your heavy meal of a biryani and fish fry, calm that tummy with a tea popular in Malabar with roots going all the way across to Arabia. (You can read about the amazingly kind Operation Sulaimani initiative here and get the recipe too)

Tea-time / Roadside Snacks:


Sugeen
Sugeen
Fried dish filled with green gram, hints of jaggery, coconut and cardamom

Arikadukka / Fried Stuffed Mussels
Arikadukka / Fried Stuffed Mussels
Quintessential Malabar roadside seafood snack - the rice dough is placed in the opened mussel shells and then steamed so that the mussels and rice stick together. The shells are then removed and the dish coated in masala paste and deep fried. 

Thattu Dosa The thicker, smaller dosas are a common sight at thathu kadas (roadside mobile stalls) and ironically, even in 5 star hotels today.
Thattu Dosa 
The thicker, smaller dosas are a common sight at thathu kadas (roadside mobile stalls) and ironically, even in 5 star hotels today.

 Sweets:

Kalathappam - Jaggery based rice cake with very unique 'incomplete striated columns' within, having a relatively crunchy exterior and a soft interior
Kalathappam
Jaggery based rice cake with very unique 'incomplete striated columns' within, having a relatively crunchy exterior and a soft interior

Chatti Pathiri
A layered pastry that can be made in both sweet and savory form.
Image Source: Nitks (You can get the recipe here)



Unnakai are Distinctively shaped dish made of plantain (which forms the outer coating) and filled with sugar, beaten egg, coconut and nuts.
Unnakai
Distinctively shaped dish made of plantain (which forms the outer coating) and filled with sugar, beaten egg, coconut and nuts.

Have you been to the Malabar side (Kasargod, Kannur, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Wynad, Palakkad) of Kerala? Did you get a chance to try out the above dishes? What were your favourites?

Author's disclaimer:

No cows were harmed during the making of this post.
No peacocks cried either.


You can find other posts of Day 3 of the #Barathon here. The theme is 'Seven' but I'm going with multiples of seven at times.

My posts in this challenge have been:
1. Thanos & the Infinity Stones (Marvel Movie Trivia)
2. 14 Movies Better than the Book
3. 14 Dishes of Malabar Cuisine
4. Top Disney Songs Over the Last Three Decades
5. Top 28 Suspense Movies That Will Keep You Guessing Till the End
6. Which Movies Do You Enjoy Watching Over and Over?
7. Seven acts of Kindness from around the World

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42Comments

Let me know what you think.

  1. I always felt Malabar offered the richest variety of food in the south. On the last trip weade had this kalumakai biriryani and ordered some king prawns that were simply out of this world.

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    1. It really does. Things like kalumukai biryani... you're never gonna get it made that way anywhere except in Malabar

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  2. Oh god - I thought my food coma from my Kochi visit was just abating and then this post of yours happened! Doc I am dying of foodgasm and I seem to have missed out on so much (am largely vegetarian/ no seafood) cuisine while there. The sweet cocnut milk sprinkled with a bit of cardamom was my fav at the homestay as were the appams and egg curry! Banana chips, variety of spicy chicken that I cant pronounce.... Oh man I need some Malabari food in lunch today!!!

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    1. yes, we do have sweet coconut milk with appams as a breakfast option... and I would have struggled to make a top 14 list for vegetarians via Malabar cuisine honestly :)
      We specialize in non-veg

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  3. Thalassery biryani >>>>>>>>>>> any other biryani in the world. I don't even like any other kind of biryani, tbh.
    Malabari cuisine has so much to offer, but it's rarely seen outside of Malabar. Even those who visit Kerala usually visit the southern parts, and (I know this from experience) even though it's in the same state, it seems to lack the authenticity (or maybe I'm just too snooty about Malabari food, idk, really)

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    1. Southern parts have at best, their preparation of Karimeen (polichathu) to show off. Rest, they dominate with veg dishes :)

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  4. Its lunch time. I am sitting at my desk and reading this post.
    How mean can you get Roshan?
    Yummmyyy the pictures look

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  5. Oh yum! Looks amazing...I'm now craving these meals even though I have just finished dinner

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    1. hehe... your dishes would be a lot more different, I presume/

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  6. Yumm.. I love the idiyappams and appam. But some dishes mentioned here I have not even heard about. I will rectify in next trip.

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  7. I'm fasting at the moment & you had me at the first pic!!!! (hungry now!)

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  8. Omg!! This had me drooling all over my phone and more Doc! Too sumptuous to resist. I'm a big fan of Malabar cuisine and through this post I discovered so many more.

    Thank you 😊

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  9. Why in the world I missed out on so many delicious looking for! I had aapam a couple of time in Chennai and I loved it's soft texture. Had puttu only once when I visited Kerala... But rest of the stuff... I should look for a Kerala restaurant here and demand for those spicy mussels.

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    1. The appam and puttu can be found here and there.. for the true non veg delights, you need to travel down to malabar

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  10. Why in the world I missed out on so many delicious looking for! I had aapam a couple of time in Chennai and I loved it's soft texture. Had puttu only once when I visited Kerala... But rest of the stuff... I should look for a Kerala restaurant here and demand for those spicy mussels.

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  11. So mouthwatering...the pics seem to enhance the descriptions and make me drool! Fab post, as always, Roshan!

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  12. I have had a few of these dishes from my childhood because my neighbours are Malayalis! After reading your post I cravings for sea food at 11.30 pm :P

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    1. ah yes... we do try to indoctrinate you all with food :D

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  13. Awesome list! I love deserts and I have lots of Malayali friends but except for Unnakai, I haven't tasted any other (need to catch hold of them)

    http://www.nehatambe.com/you-acquire-new-skills-like-being-a-detective-and-selective-listening/

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  14. the recipe is in the article (the link)... you can actually do it yourself :)

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  15. Arikadukka has been my favourite since I bit into one years ago. Sadly,I give gatecrashing wedding eves a thought, to get a taste of Thalasssry biryani. Some of the popular joints in Thalassery has lost it. My mom's place Payangadi is a heaven for sea food. When we visit, they make spongy kallappam (toddy appam)at home and is served with prawn curry made in chutty on low flame. It's waft ...I have enough water in my mouth for a ship to sail :-) .

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    1. You're right. Popular sentiment is that the usual standard restaurants in Thalassery do not serve the best biryani these days. You need to find other places for it.

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  16. My mouths watered enough already. Can't wait to have each one of these dishes.
    BTW, horned chicken with hooves! 🤣🤣🤣 now that's a thing.

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  17. Thalaserry biryani is it different from the Kozhikode biryani(Sagar or Topform or Paragon)

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    1. Minor variations (coconut chutney, date pickle) aside, I believe the Thalassery biryani is the same as Malabar biryani which is the same as the Kozhikode biryani.

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  18. I simply adore malabari cuisine and have tried many of their dishes in my kitchen days. One entirely different range of dishes and flavor.
    Thanks for bringing back some good gastronomic memories.
    Cheers!!

    UK

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  19. I'm a foodie personally. The top dishes looks very tempting

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  20. My god i went through a Gastronomical journey while reading the post, kerala style fish fry and the biryani looks amazing are all these cooked in coconut oil?

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  21. Loved this mouth watering post. Today I am eating Malabar Egg Biryani.

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  22. I am hungry now as I am drooling right now after looking at all the pictures. Malabar chicken biryani is our favourite. I love idiyappam too.

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  23. Great set of dishes for Malabar Cuisine.

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  24. Huge fan of Malabar cuisine. Now i want that suleimani chai and appam with kadala curry

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  25. A wonderful and delicious post .Loved reading all about the food options in Kerala.Will give opinion regarding Biriyani after having it.😊

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  26. I am reading this in the morning and my stomach is growling for food looking at such delicious food pics. I haven't tried many from this list yet :)

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  27. Hi, most of dishes are similar to Mangalore/Tulunad style dishes.Nice diahes

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