Flaky, fluffy, crispy and soft is how best a Malabar parotta can be described. It is usually eaten with both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes, and is a variant of the North Indian “lachha paratha”, or the Malaysian “roti cannai”. This unleavened flatbread is usually drenched in yummy curries like chicken Chettinad and other meaty stews to cut the spice of the dish, while adding an element of crispiness to it. In Kochi, you will find plenty of stalls selling parotta with egg curry – the dish has become popular among locals and tourists alike as a quick street snack. To prepare it, maida (flour) is kneaded with oil, ghee (clarified butter) and water, and even egg. The dough is then beaten into thin layers which are then coiled and rolled flat and lightly fried. It is said that the flatbread was brought from Malaysia by Indian Muslims, and subsequently spread to other neighbouring states over time.

One of the most popular dishes of Kerala, Malabar prawn curry is prepared with prawns cooked in tamarind, coconut and jaggery. In the process, first prawns are cooked with turmeric powder in a clay pot, followed by the addition of a blend of spices, salt and water. Later, pieces of drumstick are added and cooked. After coconut paste, tomatoes, green chilli are added, the contents are boiled. To this, a mixture of curry leaves, chilli, fenugreek leaves and shallots fried in oil, is added.

Puttu is extremely popular as a breakfast dish throughout Kerala. It is served with kadala curry, which is made of black chickpeas, garlic, mustard seeds, red chilli, onions, whole coriander, and turmeric, curries leaves, garam masala, salt, and of course, grated coconut. It is a traditional delicacy.

Popularly called Malabar biryani, it is an aromatic layered rice dish that is made with chicken, fried onions, dry fruits, nuts and ghee (clarified butter). The ingredients are mixed together and then sealed and slowly cooked in steam, which is called the dum method. There is a plethora of recipes for this decadent dish, with each state and region having their own versions. The Malabar style uses ghee and spices like cloves, cardamon, cinnamon and nutmeg liberally to give the dish a nice fragrance. Moreover, unlike traditional biryani, this particular style uses a short and thin type of rice called khaima or jeerakasala.

It is a Kerala-Jewish dish that comprises a flat full fish, marinated with onions and green spices. A host of other spices are added to make this finger-licking dish.

It is considered to be the signature dish of Kerala, in which fresh prawns are fried crisp in coconut oil, with the aroma of mustard seeds, curry leaves, turmeric and chillies.

One of the most popular dishes in the city, stew, can either be made of chicken or mutton.

Popular seafood delicacies include Cochin fish curry and fish mollie, which are cooked with locally produced spices.

Made from fermented rice batter and coconut milk, appam has a savoury taste and looks similar to a pancake. It is mostly eaten for breakfast or dinner.