Kochi travel guide

Kerala fish curry

Kerala's most celebrated dish—fresh fish (typically kavuni or sardines) simmered in a sauce of coconut milk, kodampuli (gamboge) and a blend of Kerala spices; the gamboge gives it an incomparable deep tangy flavor absent from any other Indian fish curry

Karimeen (pearl spot)

Keralas prize freshwater fish—found only in the backwaters; pan-fried or pollichathu (wrapped in banana leaf and flame-cooked); the flesh is sweet and slightly earthy from the brackish Vembanad Lake; a must-eat at houseboats and backwater restaurants

Appam with stew

Kerala's delicate combination—thin, lacy rice pancakes with crispy edges and soft centers, served with a Christmastime stew of coconut milk, chicken or vegetables and pearl onions; the contrasting textures and temperatures is a Kerala breakfast masterpiece

Parotta

Keralas flaky layered bread—stretched wheat dough folded and cooked until hundreds of layers separate; pairs with island fish fry, egg curry or the classic Kerala beef curry; the parotta-skill competition among roadside restaurants is intense

Toddy

Kerala's fermented coconut palm today—sap tapped from the tops of palm trees early morning and fermented by afternoon into a mildly alcoholic fizzy drink; served at toddy shops that double as the state's most democratic social spaces; eaten with fish curry and tapioca