taste of malabar

Want to know “The Real Taste of Malabar”? Then the answer is KL 58! 


Well this debate on “the taste of malabar” started some time ago. There’s a group that stands for Calicut which today shows up the most when asked for the taste of malabar but there has been a group that has got a “real cult” following for their opinion that it’s all KL 58- Thalassery!


Thalassery…


it’s more than just a place, It’s a feeling. The same applies for its cuisine as well! The culture and cuisine goes hand in hand here. It used to be a maritime trading post and so it’s often said that its cuisine is a fusion of Indian, French and Arabic influences. The region is also the pioneers of the baker industry.

 

The first bakery was founded in Thalassery, Kerala, in 1880, and Western cakes were first introduced there in 1883. The food of Thalassery is a subset of Malabar cuisine, which originates in Kerala’s north rather than its southern equivalent, which is known as Syrian-Christian cuisine.

 

Now there’ always been a huge debate on the ” The Taste of Malabar” idea. A lot of articles and by the way things have been portrayed in a way of they consider Calicut as the real one but the “real ones” know why KL58 is in the game…


If one just takes an evening stroll through the town they’ll know what it’s all about. By five the “snackspots” starts off and real soon the snacks gets into the the glass boxes and in time the customers just flow in to these corners. The next question that pops up especially if it’s a tourist is where should they start from?


Should they start with the mussels sautéed with ginger garlic and spices called “kallumakaya” or from “unnakkai”, the spindle shaped sweet treat made with plaintains? But there’s nothing to worry about, the people know how to guide one through this crisis.

 

“If someone comes in we ask them whether they like spicy or sweet, only then we give them to try out one and usually by the end of it one would have definitely had a bit of everything regardless of whether it’s spicy or sweet and they come back the next day”, said Mustafa, who works at the local tea stall opposite Thalassery High Court.

 

 

The holy month of Ramadan sees Malabar dishes in abundance. However, the regional food varies depending on where you are. The cultural contrasts between coastal and hilly regions have been less noticeable in recent times as a consequence of improved communication, which has led to the fusion of the Muslim community’s culinary traditions.
For instance, take Muttamala, a sweet delicacy made using egg yolks. Everyone thinks it’s found in the Malabar region but it’s actually a variant of the Portuguese “fios de ovos”—a snack also known as angel hair—with leftover egg yolks, strands of which they sweetened.”

 

 

Last not least comes the crown jewel dish of Thalaserry – it’s famous biryani! This one really would make it up to our point of why this debate regarding the “the taste of malabar” just comes this side. It substitutes kaima, a local, fragrant kind of rice, for basmati.

 

The Mughals introduced biryani to India during their rule, but this particular variety is native to the Malabar Coast. It represents the blending of Malabari and Mughal culture and cuisine. 

 

It’s in fact a reminder of foreign influences in the Malabar region and is thought to have originated as a result of the influence of the Muslim monarchs of Mysore and Arkot.

 

“A question that often people get if they said they visited Thalassery – “Thalassery Biryani kazhichite”? – “didn’t you have Thalassery Biryani?”. So that is where our Biryani stands and you can have it from anywhere but if you want to feel the authentic one then tries out old Bombay Hotel or Paris Hotel.

 

I had gone asking for their “spices” long back and they replied it by saying it’s all products from certain shops in the old Thalassery market itself that they are using but one must know to select the right ingredients from these shops and that’s the “secret”. The taste hasn’t changed a bit even today and I guess it won’t ever.” said Gayathry, a biryani enthusiast.

 

Gayathry is currently residing at Hong Kong and is pursuing her studies in engineering at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

 

Even though she’s spent much of her childhood in Hong Kong itself, still the one thing she can’t part ways with is the THALASSERY BIRYANI!

 

You can take the girl out of Thalassery but not the Thalassery out of the girl. Now she’s among the ones who believes it’s KL 58 that would go for the title of ” the taste of malabar”. She says the same applies for all as for if once a person went through the streets, tried its cuisine and took a walk through the Thalassery Kadalpalam, they might get the hang of it as well…


The debate would go on which one might be slightly better than the other but the concept and layers of the term “taste of malabar” is something more. It shows us how diverse our cultures are, how beautiful it is and yet how similar we are, how connected we are…


What do you think or would you like to experience the “taste of malabar” now?! then don’t wait for it just click here or here

 

 

 

Interested to read more? Well then this is where you should be.

 

 

 

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