RCI - Cuisine of Kerala Round-up

The much-awaited round-up of RCI - Cuisine of Kerala is here. With 91 wonderful entries, it was raining coconuts! Thankyou to each and everyone of you who participated, I was happy to open my email every day and see an entry waiting for me to read. It was a pleasure to see some "first-time-event-participants", some regulars competing for the most number of entries and to gently nudge some dormant bloggers to participate. It also led some new bloggers to discover my blog and me to theirs. Thankyou LakshmiK for giving me the opportunity to host this event, I had great fun hosting it! Those who missed the bus may link their recipes to this post or leave a link in the comments section. My apologies for any missing links, mis-spelt names, mislaid entries or mismatched pictures.

Menu Today and Sia of Monsoon Spice have shared some pretty pictures of Kerala; go over to their space to read more on their experiences in this vibrant state. And then begins the parade of recipes, categorised for easy reference.

Beautiful Kerala - Pic courtesy Menu Today

Unthu vandi - Pic courtesy Sia of Monsoon Spice

Uppu manga - Pic courtesy Sia of Monsoon Spice

Herbal Rememdies :

Chukku Kaapi - Shn of Mishmash

To break-the-fast :

Appam - Asha of Foodie's Hope

Aapams & Vegetable Stew - Namratha of Finger Licking Food

Whole Wheat Appams and Stew - Meera of Enjoy Indian Food

Appams - Srivalli of Cooking 4 all seasons

Idiappam - Easy Crafts of Simple Indian Food

Erachi Puttu - Seena of Simple and Delicious

Chemba Kuzha Putta with Kadala Curry - Lavanya of Home Cook's Recipes

Puttu - Kadala Curry - Asha of Foodie's Hope

Upmaavu - Giniann of Salt and Pepper

On the side :

Chutney :

Chuttaracha Chammanthi - Nags of For the cook in me

Ulli Chutney - Jyothsna of Currybazaar

Pearl onion-red chilli chutney - Jayasree of Experiments in Kailas Kitchen

Coconut Chammanthi Podi - Jayasree of Experiments in Kailas Kitchen

Roasted coconut chutney - Asha of Foodie's Hope

Pickle :

Gooseberry Pickle - Jayasree of Experiments in Kailas Kitchen

Injipuli - Maya Shanbhag of All about Konkan

Crunchies :

Ashgourd peel fries - Seena of Simple and Delicious

Tea-time favourites :

Savoury crunchies and munchies:

Tapioca chips: Happy Cook of My Kitchen treasures

Sweet goodies :

Kumbil Appam - Bharathy of Spicy Chilly

Achappam - Sandhya of Sandhya's Kitchen

Steamed Plantain - Shankari of Stream of Conciousness


Pazhampori - Seena of Simple and Delicious


The big meal :

The vegetarian corner :

Avial - Padma of Padma's kitchen

Avial : Siri of Siri's Corner

Avial - Laavanya of Cookery Corner

Kaalan - Raji of Rak's Kitchen

Kalan - Pravs of Simply Spicy

Kadala Curry - JaiBee of Jugalbandi

Erissery - Menu Today

Nendrapazham Pulissery - Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen

Banana Pulissery - Bharathy of Spicy Chilly

Pineapple Pulissery - TBC of The Budding Cook

Pineapple Pulissery - Deepa of Recipes n More

Thiruvathira Puzhukku - Chithra of Kudampuli

Thiruvathira Puzhukku - JaiBee of Jugalbandi


Kappa Puzhukku - Bharathy of Spicy Chilly


Kappa Curry - Roopa of My Kitchen Treats

Manga Pachadi - Seena of Simple and Delicious

Ulli Theeyal - Nanditha of Satvika

Theeyal - Prema of My Cookbook

Vegetable Kurma - Bhags of Crazy Curry

Vellarikka Parippu curry - Nags of For the cook in me

Idichakka Thoran - Asha of Foodie's Hope

Asparagus Thoran - Shamin of My Comfort Food Network

Cabbage Thoran - Jyothsna of Currybazaar

Papaya Thoran - Bharathy of Spicy Chilly

Beetroot Thoran - Jyothsna of Currybazaar

Pindi Thoran - Nags of For the cook in me

Beans Thoran - Rajitha of Hunger Pangs

Kootucurry - Asha of Foodie's Hope

Vegetable Stew - Raaga of The Singing Chef

Vegetable stew - Sra of When my soup came alive

Vegetable Stew - Nandita of Saffron trail

Mixed Vegetable Stew - Grihini of Grihini

Olan - Kamini of Bubbling Cauldron

Olan - Deepa of Recipes n More

Koorka in Dal - Injipennu of Ginger and Mango

Koorka Mezhukkupuratti - Jayasree of My experiments with food

Vegetable Moilee - Vaishali from Holy Cow!

Non-Vegetarian fare :

Duck Roast - Lissie of Salt and Spice

Parotta and Egg Masala - Superchef of Mirch Masala

Kerala Parotta and Chicken Roast - Remya of Spices 'n Flavours

Kozhi Pidi - Shynee of Indian Potpourri

Kozhi Mappas - Asha of Foodie's Hope

Kappa with fish curry - Mallu recipes of Spice and Rice

Simple Kerala Meal with Fish Curry - Nags of For the cook in me

Moluttathu with kappa - Reshma of Green Chutney

Kerala Fish Curry - SC of So what's new today?

Fish Vevichathu - Rachel of Tangerine's Kitchen

Fish Gravy - Kerala Style - Rina of Rina's Kitchen

Fish Molee - Kitchen Fairy of Secret of Taste

Fish Molee - Maya Shanbhag of All about Konkan


Spicy Fish Curry in Coconut Milk - Vrinda of Spice Coast Kitchen

Kozhuva Meen Tilapichathu - Devi of Tamil Spice

Fish Fry - Sumitha of Kitchen Wonders

Fish Fry - Kavita of Kichdi

Fish Varathathu - Bharathy of Spicy Chilly

Pan Fried Fish with Roasted Onion marinade - Mandira of Ahaar

Chemeen Biryani - RP of My Workshop

Njandu varatharachathu - Shn of Mishmash

Turkey Wings Curry - Kerala Style - Rina of Rina's Kitchen

Panni Ularthiyathu - Sig of Live to Eat


Oh-so-sweet desserts :

Coconut barfi - Susan of The Well-seasoned cook

Parippu Pradhaman - Shn of Mishmash

Godambu Payasam - Mallugirl of Malabar Spices

Idichu Pizhinja Payasam - Mythreyee of Paajaka

Pal Payasam - Anjali of Anna Parabrahma

Announcing RCI - Cuisine of Kerala

Welcome to God's Own Country! Join in to embark on a culinary journey through the beautiful state of Kerala, tucked away in the south-western corner of India. As the journey takes you through the Western Ghats, dense forests, exotic wildlife and calm backwaters, sprawling tea estates, spice and rubber plantations, lush paddy fields and clean beaches, sit back and take in the sights and sounds of this charming land.

Regional Cuisines of India(RCI), the brainchild of LakshmiK, will be hosted by yours truly in January 2008. The cusine of Kerala has its own distinctive flavour. Coconut forms a dominant part of the cuisine as Kerala, literally translated means Land of "Kera" or Coconuts. Rice is the staple food and a wide array of breakfast preparations are rice-based. A typical meal consists of rice, a kootan or gravy and an upperi or dry side dish along with crunchy pappadams and pickles. Tamarind, coconut, coconut milk or curd form the base for a kootan/gravy while upperi/dry sidedish is either a thoran, ie. a medley of vegetables and grated coconut or mezhukuparatti, ie. stir fried vegetables coated in oil. A typical sadhya/festive feast consists of a number of sumptuous dishes served on a banana leaf. For non- vegetarians, seafood or some form of meat is a part of every meal. Different regions and communities influence the method of preparation and flavour of the cuisine.

What are you waiting for? Put on those aprons and cook up a storm! If you are not very familiar with Kerala cuisine, you can google it or go to this one-stop portal "Essence of Kerala Cuisine". You can also find authentic recipes here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and many more in the food blog community. To participate :

1. Write a post on your blog featuring Cuisine of Kerala from now until the 25th of Jan 2008, including a link to this post.

2. Mail me the permalink/URL to your post, along with a picture of the dish at vjyothsna1@yahoo.com . I shall respond to your email when I receive it. If you do not receive a response from me in three days, please remind me.

3. Non- bloggers may mail me with the recipe and a picture of the dish.

4. Please feel free to use the above logo.

5. Round-up will be done by the 31st of Jan here at Currybazaar!

Wishing all of you a Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year!!