Being a Brit I have been exposed to some great Indian food growing up and during my 3 previous trips to India I have had good food but not often have I had consistently great food. However from the moment we landed and started eating in Kerala the food that has been available has been fantastic.
Veg and Non-veg alike the food is amazing, a rich blend of local spices, recipes and styles to bring together a fantastic selection for our taste buds. Some of the highlights have been a daal/dahl we had at a little street restaurant in Fort Kochi that the owner of our home stay recommended, it was to die for. The Chicken Tikka in Varkala, in a restaurant overlooking the beach, the spices blended so well and the chicken succulent with the flavours soaked into it. The vegetable Pakora’s in a fusion restaurant in Kovalam, I don’t think I have eaten better!
Kerala also deserves high praise for the western style food it also serves, for those of you who have been to India, it does not matter how much you love Indian food, you cannot eat it 3 times a day, 7 days a week! So there are plenty of opportunities to have a break and get a taste of home. One highlight on the western menu was a little Art Café in Fort Kochi, called Kashi, we had Cheese Toasties with a Greek salad, not hard to get right I hear you say, but the Toasties were fantastic, they were made with a homemade wheat bread that they make locally. Sometimes the translation from menu to plate did not always work, in one of my Favourite named restaurants we went to, “ABBA” I decided to order a pizza for lunch pepperoni, now i normally don’t have to high expectations, but it was hilarious when it arrived my pepperoni was sliced tinned hotdogs!!!! Genius. To be fare it tasted great so maybe there’s one for NYC! On the flip side we had a couple of fantastic Pizzas at a restaurant in Kovalam, post surf lunch overlooking the beach with Pizza and Pepsi in a glass bottle, heavenly.
All in all the food experience in Kerala was amazing and probably the best Indian food I have had in India, even beating a Goan Fish curry!!!