The fare of Kerala is probably unlike any Indian food you've ever eaten. Located on the extreme southwestern verge of the subcontinent, facing the Arabian Sea and isolated by mountains, Kerala is an area of palm trees, lagoons, and fearsome monsoons, a land rich in spices over which European powers contended for centuries. The Portuguese first gained a foothold when Vasco da Gama marauded up and down the coast in 1498, establishing a colony at Cochin in 1503. His most enduring legacy is the chile pepper. Eschewing the fistfuls of powdered spices used in northern cooking, Keralite fare recalls the cooking of ancient Vedic times, relying on curry leaf, black mustard seed, tamarind, and tender young ginger root. Coconut oil is preferred for frying, and coconut milk thickens sauces. Fish and rice are staples, while mutton assumes its deserved spot as king of meats.
ah...it's good to be malayalee :)
thank you TAN, for sending me the link to this article in the Voice...which discusses a restaurant that *i* emailed him about yesterday. if i still lived at 9D i would have dragged you out there by now, T. and just for the record? vellayapppam is my LEAST favourite appam. i'll eat the "frill" but the middle always grossed me out. :p
now that ghee sada dosa? THAT sounds like something that could give even hunger-striking-due-to-insomnia-me a reason to panthi out. ;) yum.
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