Kerala Thali
If you have been wondering if we have abandoned our Weekend Thali Project, no we haven’t!!
In 2020, we had cooked up Thalis from 12 Indian States and this year we have 16 more Indian State Thalis to go. We took a brief intermission through the New Year to relax and renew our energy and now we are back sharing with you our attempt at cooking the Kerala Thali.
Our tryst with Kerala food has been largely through the meals shared with us by our amazing Malayali friends and savoring dishes like Avial, Malabar Paratha and Appams at restaurants. Visiting Kerala is on our bucket list and we have always been fascinated with the cuisine from this region. So it would be an understatement to say that we were intrigued and excited about cooking this thali.
Avial (Link to recipe)
The Avial is the first curry I added to the menu for the Kerala thali. I have always wanted to make this dish but have never been brave enough. The Instant Pot recipe above was surprisingly easy to make and it tasted very authentic. This is definitely going to be a staple at our home.
Cabbage Thoran (Link to recipe)
Both Vikram and I are not fans of cabbage, but we chose it since this dish seemed to be featured in a lot of Onam Sadhya meals (Onam Sadhya - Feast for the festival Onam celebrated in Kerala). We were pleasantly surprised by how well the grated coconut complimented the cabbage and the sliced green chillies elevated the taste further.
Beetroot Pachadi (Link to recipe)
Coconut, Beetroot and Yogurt - three ingredients that I would never have thought to bring together. But whoever did, has to be given kudos!! If you are looking for a variation of a Raita - I highly recommend this dish. Simply amazing!!
Parippu Curry (Link to recipe)
This is the Kerala version of the dal that is enhanced with a ground paste of fresh coconut, shallots, cumin and green chillies. But the true differentiator is the tempering that is cooked in coconut oil instead of ghee.
Pulissery (Link to recipe)
A buttermilk based dish that again featured grated coconut, this ended up being my favorite item on the thali even surpassing the Avial. It called for Ash gourd which I couldn’t find, so I ended up making this with cucumber (as suggested in the recipe).
Kerala Rasam (Link to recipe)
Had to include Rasam to the meal. This version does not include Rasam powder or Dal but is still scrumptious.
Meen Molee (Link to recipe)
This dish is a lightly spiced fish curry with a coconut milk based gravy. Similar to the Kerala chicken stew, what sets this curry apart is the use of ground pepper and tomatoes.
Konju Varutharacha Curry (Link to recipe)
The prawns in this curry are cooked in a Varutharacha paste made out of roasted coconut, shallots and spices. Make sure that you use coconut oil to cook this dish since it adds that extra special taste.
Malabar Parotta (Link to recipe)
We couldn’t find time to make the trademark Kerala Appams but we made the Malabar Parotta instead. Light and flaky, these take time to make but are well worth the effort. Our daughter is an expert at rolling these Parottas!!
Unniyappam (Link to recipe)
In Malayali, Unni means small and Appam means rice cake. These small rice cakes are made out of rice, jaggery, banana, coconut pieces and sesame seeds. Cooked on a special “appam pan”, they are delicious, wholesome and were a bit hit with our daughter.
Coconut was the star ingredient of the Kerala thali and it featured in almost every dish either as coconut oil, grated coconut, coconut milk or coconut pieces. We thoroughly enjoyed learning how to make a lot of the dishes we have always been fascinated by.
Now to make Appams in the near-future and to actually visit Kerala in the distant future…
