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| An Introduction To The Food |
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| Kerala |
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The south west state of Kerala lies on the Malabar Coast of India, a tropical region
made up almost entirely of inland waterways, coconut groves, and spice
plantations. Kerala has traded its spices - cardamom, ginger, turmeric and black
pepper - with Arab, Chinese and European merchants for thousands of years.
Sugatha Kumari, a Keralite poet and ecologist says “Once there was a time when
the whole world was enamoured of the fragrance of Kerala.” |
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Kerala's culture has evolved and has an open attitude to visitors and a strong mix
of religions. Kerala was the first place the world freely to elect a communist
government (and vote it out several years later) it has India's lowest birth-rate andits highest literacy rate, and possibly the highest concentration of poets |
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Rasa means taste (but not only of food), and we want you to experience a taste of
Kerala's villages and dishes from other southern Indian states. Here we can remind you of Kerala's traditions: the vibrant temple dance, Kathakali; compelling music,\the elephant parade and boat festival. Every year around September, Kerala's greatest festival, Onam, is celebrated with music, dance and of course, food. |
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| In Kerala, your dishes are served on a huge fresh banana leaf, a disposable platter.Contact with your food is direct and tactile as you eat with your right hand, mixingwet into dry ingredients - a messy business for the uninitiated. |
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No meal is complete without a selection of pickles and chutneys to add piquancy
(in India these are placed top left on the leaf), rice to fill you, a very liquid dal
(spiced cooked lentils) to moisten dry dishes, some yoghurt to cool the more fiery
curries, and a selection of crisp savouries. Not surprisingly these dishes are often
made from bananas, as Kerala has over 250 types, from bright green through every shade of yellow to clay pink. They also appear in stews, dumplings and a rice
breakfast dish steamed in bamboo. |
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To complete a feast, there may be bananas cooked in raw sugar syrup, scented withcardamom from Kerala's cardamom hills in the east, or a sweet pudding with
raisins and cashew nuts, since Kerala is the cashew capital of India. |
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| Feast |
ur team of award winning chefs, are expert at preparing the most exquisite mix of
flavours and textures in a Kerala Banquet. Why not let us prepare your own personal feast enabling you to sample a wide range of our dishes.
A taste of all our specialities samples from our pre-meal snacks, starters, curry
selection, side dishes, rice, breads and a traditional Keralan sweet.Please let us know if you have any particular favourites you would like us to include. |
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| Rasa Vegetarian Feast |
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£19.50 |
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| (Selection of vegetarian starters, curries, side dishes. rice, bread and a dessert) |
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| (Selection of non-vegetarian starters, curries, side dishes, rice, bread and a dessert ) |
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| These light and crispy treats are popular in Keralian tea shops for “tiffin” (afternoon tea) and to munch while waiting at the station for the Trivandrum main train. They are best accompanied by our unique selection of home-made chutneys and pickles. A snack tray consisting of: |
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| A flower shaped snack made of rice flour and coconut, black sesame seeds and cumin seeds. This snack began life in the Christian homes of Travancore and is now eaten all over Southern India. |
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| Pappadoms dipped in a light batter of rice flour, cumin and sesame seeds and fried togive them extra “crunch and crackle” - these are Pappadoms with a difference. |
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| Plain crispy snack made of black gram lentils and rice. |
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| Crispy banana chips |
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| Murukku |
| Crunchy sticks made from roasted rice flour, black sesame seeds and cumin seeds. |
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| Pickles And Chutneys |
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£2.50 |
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GarlicPickle
Lemon Pickle
Mixed Vegetable Pickle |
Mango Pickle
Pickle Coconut Chutney
Coriander Chutney |
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| Starters |
| Vadais, Bolis and Pakodas are very popular and enjoyed all over South India. Whenthe tea shops start making these, the whole area is suffused with the aroma of curryleaves, fried onions and lentils. This in itself is an irresistible attraction to enter thesecolourful little village restaurants and taste these delicious snacks. |
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| A selection of our vegetarian starters with chutneys. |
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Plantains, like coconut and spices, are an integral part of Kerala cooking. Plantain
slices are dipped in a batter of rice and chickpea flour seasoned with black sesame
seeds, then crisply fried. Served with our specially prepared peanut and ginger sauce. Perfect for children and people who prefer non-spicy starters |
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| The tea time snack in Kerala, but delicious at any time. Potato balls laced with fresh ginger, curry leaves, coriander and black mustard seeds, dipped and fried in chickpeaflour batter and crisply fried. Served with a moist, creamy coconut chutney. |
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Finely sliced pieces of aubergines are dipped in a special batter, blended with
coriander and chilli, before frying. Served with a fresh tomato chutney. |
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Literally translated as “soft silky dumplings”. A spongy dumpling in a crunchy case,
made from urad beans and chillies - served with coconut chutney. |
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| The aroma of lamb puffs beckon you at tea time to the many bakeries in Kerala wherethey are sold in little paper bags. Baked puff pastry stuffed with Kerala bakery speciallamb masala and vegetables and served with chef's special chutney. |
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| Kannoor Express chicken samosa |
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£4.75 |
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Vadas and idlis are popular snacks on any train in South India, but the Kannoor
Express has chicken samosas on offer, amazingly light and addictive snack. Lightly
spiced chicken and potato filling in filo pastry. Served with tomato chutney. |
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A speciality from a fishing village near Cochin, this is a cruncy prawn dish with
shallots, curry leaves and green chillies. |
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| Soups |
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| The essence of Kerala - a peppery lentil broth laced with garlic, tomatoes, spices and tamarind. |
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A soup made from a combination of three different lentils, flavoured with tomato,
garlic, coriander and black pepper. |
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| Chilli Onion Rava Dosa |
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£9.95 |
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| A large lacy, crispy pancake made of semolina and rice flour batter mixed with ginger, green chillies and cumin seed. Served with sambar (lentil and vegetable sauce), coconut chutney and spicy potato masala. |
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A speciality dosa from Kerala, usually eaten during festivals and celebrations. A rice
and black gram flour pancake filled with a mixture of potatoes, beetroot, carrot,
onions and ginger. Served with sambar and fresh coconut chutney. |
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| A paper thin pancake made of rice and black gram, folded in half with a filling of spicypotatoes cooked with onions and ginger and served with sambar and coconut chutney. |
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| Main Meals |
| Thalassery Chicken Masala |
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£7.50 |
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Thalassery in the North is well known for its meat dishes. A friend once suggested
that if I wanted to taste real Malabari food, I should try Chef Sidhique's food in
Calicut. That was a revelation. Our own chef Prasad reinvented this recipe - cubes of chicken cooked in a thick sauce of onions, green chillies, ginger and tomatoes. Try it with something a bit sweet like appam or coconut rice. |
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| Calicut Chicken Kurma |
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£7.50 |
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| A lunch time favourite in restaurants on mittai theruvu (sweets street) in Calicut with 'choodu choodu' (hot-hot) Malabari parathas. Chicken cooked in a creamy coconut sauce with cashew nuts, green chillies, ginger and fresh curry leaves. It goes well with parathas or lemon rice. |
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| Varutharacha Kozhy Curry |
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£7.95 |
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A home speciality chicken curry with dry roasted coriander seeds, freshly grated
coconut, dried red chillies, fresh curry leaves and tomatoes. Goes well with parathasor boiled rice. |
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| Malabar Erachi Chaaru |
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£7.95 |
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Popularly known as aattirachi curry, a sought after meat dish in a Kerala home.
Tender pieces of lamb cooked with aromatic spices, turmeric, red chillies and onions. Highly recommended with Malabari Paratha or boiled rice. |
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| Adipoli Erachi Mulegu |
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£8.25 |
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Hugely popular kallu shappu (toddy shop) dish that is consumed either with or
without coconut toddy. It would be only fair to say that this is the favourite dish in
achayan families (Christian homes) and a wedding would be unimaginable without
this lamb dish cooked in chilli and turmeric water and then stir-fried with Indian
shallots, ground black pepper and coconut slivers.
Makes an unbeatable combination with appams or pooris. |
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| Vadakkan Koyi Biriyani |
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£9.95 |
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This is the Malabar variant of that famous Hyderabadi dish that has become the
favourite rice dish of millions. Aromatic masalas, and the combination of rice and
meat makes an attractive package for any feast. Perfumed basmati rice cooked with cubes of chicken, saffron, cashew nut and served with yoghurt raita. |
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| Varutharacha Meen Curry |
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10.95 |
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This unusual curry is made by fisherman on board their boats, during long fishing
trips. Telopia is cooked with Indian shallots, red chillies and tamarind juice. This is a
curry dish with a thick sauce. |
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The most famous dish of “Kallu Shaap ( Toddy Shops ) all over Kerala. King fish
cooked in a sauce made from onions, fried chillies, turmeric and ginger served with a plate of cassava steamed in turmeric water. This combination tastes so good that people walk into these village bars just to taste it even though they don't drink alcohol. |
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| Koyilandi Konju Masala |
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12.95 |
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Speciality of Koyilandi, a place very close to Vasco de Gama's first step in India. A
thrilling prawn dish cooked in a thick sauce with ginger, curry leaves and onions. |
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| Vegetarian Curries |
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| An unusual combination of sweet mangoes and green bananas cooked in yoghurt with green chillies, ginger and fresh curry leaves. A sweet and sour dish that is highly recommended. |
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| Beet Cheera Pachadi |
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£6.25 |
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An amazingly vibrant dish, traditionally only served at wedding feasts. Fresh
beetroot and spinach are blended together in a yoghurt sauce with roasted coconut, mustard seeds and curry leaves - a must for the adventurous. |
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| A fresh and tangy dish made of fresh tomatoes, cooked in yoghurt with fresh ginger, onions, spices and coriander |
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A mixed vegetable speciality from the Southern State of Karnataka. A spicy curry
made of beans, carrots, cauliflower, potatoes and simmered in a sauce of garlic,
ginger and fennel. |
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A Hyderabad recipe of aubergines cooked in a ground paste of roasted onions,
coriander seeds, chillies and tamarind, mixed with yoghurt and cashew nut sauce. |
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| Cheera Parippu Curry |
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£6.25 |
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| Fresh spinach and toor dal cooked in a thick sauce of garlic, tomatoes and green peppers, flavoured with curry leaves. |
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| Side Dishes |
| Savoy Cabbage - Stir Fried |
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£5.25 |
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| vegetables. This one is made from chopped cabbage, cubed potatoes and lentils stirfried together with onion, fresh coconut and mustard seeds. |
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A combination of potatoes, peas and peppers stir fried with onions, cloves, black
pepper and tomatoes. |
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Chickpeas cooked in a thick tomato sauce flavoured with onions, chillies and fresh
coriander leaves. |
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| Rice Dishes |
Rice is the staple diet of Kerala and South India. Keralites cook their rice for variety
and texture. |
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| Plain rice mixed with fresh coconut, urad dal (black lentils) and curry leaves. |
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| Rice tossed gently with tamarind juice (a sweet and sour fruit), cooked with cashewnuts, peanuts and dried red chillies. |
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A tangy, fresh tasting rice tossed with lemon juice, fresh curry leaves and mustard
seeds. |
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| Plain white basmati rice. |
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| Breads |
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| A Kerala speciality - wheat dough layered and coiled into a coir mat shape then cooked on the griddle. A must with our curries. |
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| Chapatti (2 Pieces) |
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£2.50 |
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| Round, flat wholemeal bread. |
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| Traditional puffed wheat flour bread. |
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| A very fragrant bread made of rice flour, Indian shallots, cumin seeds and roasted |
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| Madhuram |
| Any auspicious feast in Kerala is not complete with out a “payasam”. It is said that the payasam (the sweet) will make the meal memorable for years. |
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| This is the Palakkad Iyer (Brahmin) speciality with a difference. These tiny pancakes are made from bananas, plain flour and cardamom. |
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| An auspicious rice pudding from the famous Krishna temple in Kerala. Rice cooked in boiling milk with cashew nuts and raisins. |
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A Brahmin recipe of semolina, mango, cashew nuts, and raisins, they are more like
Halwas but much lighter and with more flavour. |
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| Kulfi (Pistachio/Almond/Mango) |
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£3.00 |
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| Home made Indian ice cream made by slowly reducing the milk over a slow fire then adding sugar and one of the following nuts or fruit: |
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| Ice Cream |
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£2.50 |
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