Pantry essentials for Kerala Cuisine

Kerala cuisine is very intriguing indeed. Inspired from various cuisines of those who invaded the state, the flavours are myriad and a lot of recipes have interesting stories behind them. Kerala cuisine varies in different regions of the state—Travancore, Malabar, and central Kerala.

Even the traditional Kerala sadya served in Thiruvananthapuram is different from that in Palakkad. Malabar cuisine is heavily influenced from Persian and Arabic styles of cuisine and involves cooking with meats and spices like cardamom and cloves. Syrian Christian or Nasrani cooking has Dutch and Portuguese influences.
Here are some ingredients you need to stock in your pantry to recreate dishes from Kerala cuisine in your kitchen.

Pepper, cardamom, cloves: Kerala cuisine isn't for the mild-hearted. Be it beef roast or nadan chicken curry, these three spices form the heart of it. When cooked with ground coconut or coconut milk, the combination forms base for some vegetarian preparations like black chana curry and peas masala.

Curry leaves: Curry leaves are most commonly used for tempering along with mustard seeds and dried red chillies. Curry leaves add a slightly pungent, slightly bitter flavour to to your dish. Curry leaves are also a must in vegetarian dishes like avial (mixture of steamed vegetables in a coconut base ), thoran (vegetables stir fried with coconut), theeyal (a curry made from roasted coconut with onion, tamarind and spices) and even in fried chicken dishes.

Coconut, coconut oil: Both coconut and coconut oil are important flavouring agents in Kerala cuisine. The oil adds a nutty flavour to curries and other dishes. Coconut in different forms like ground, grated or coconut milk is used in different vegetable preparations, meat gravies and stews. Coconut water too, is used in certain preparations like appams (rice pancakes cooked in a deep dish) and kallappam (a sweet cake made from rice).

Rice: Rice is yet another important part of the cuisine. Apart from being an accompaniment for many curries; rice powder is used for making puttu (rice powder steamed in a cylindrical utensil) or idiyappams which are also known as string hoppers. Other than this, it is also the main ingredient of breakfast items like dosas and idlis.
Shallots: Shallots or pearl onions play an important role in adding flavour to dishes. They are also used in chutneys. Shallots often replace onions and form the base for meat and seafood dishes.

Tamarind: A souring agent, tamarind, is used in dishes like avial, theeyal or fish preparations. Tamarind is also used to make chutneys and pickles. It is also used in lentil curries like sambhar and vendakka puli or okra in tamarind gravy.

Coriander: Coriander powder adds a nice aroma and flavour to various meat preparations. Be it egg curry, chicken curry, fish curry or moong bean curry, all use coriander powder for the earthy flavour it brings to a dish.