Regions of India.

Welcome to Kerala

Kerala is popularly known as the Spice State of India and is home to the finest black pepper, also known as "black gold" or "the King of Spices". It is these very spices that sparked quests from traders all over the world, the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, fiercely protected trade routes and empires as well as the start of the spice trade.

It is a luscious green state, blessed with plentiful rain, with the Cardamom Hills in the Western Ghats to the East and golden, sandy beaches together with picturesque fishing villages and the seafaring town of Kochi (Cochin) to the West.

Here, black pepper plants clamber up mango trees with peppercorns huddling together in bright green clusters. Cinnamon and cloves reach out for the light, while cardamom, ginger and turmeric plants stay close to the ground.

The Keralites are fond of an extremely hot and sour cuisine with foods laced with coconut. Both the coast and inland waterways provide a variety of fresh and delicious seafood and fish - a passion that they share with Bengalis. When combined with the array of locally grown spices and other fresh ingredients, this seafood has shaped a savoury, exciting and adventurous cuisine.

Kerala is home to a major prawn farming industry, where prawns of all sizes, including "King Jumbo prawns" the size of small lobsters are caught every day. Fishing nets are valued so much here that they are even offered as a dowry! As well as fish, Keralites also have a passion for crisps, which can and are freshly made from almost everything that you could possibly think of, with the most popular flavours being banana, jackfruit and tapioca.

Coconuts, red and green chillies and black pepper are the key ingredients used in Keralan cuisine and hot and spicy fish dishes are popular here. Rice based-dishes form the staple part of Keralan cuisine and no meal is complete without Dahi Sadham - a rice and fresh yoghurt dish. Vegetables like squash and shallots are steamed or stir-fried with coarsely crushed black pepper, coconut milk and ginger with a hint of asafoetida and turmeric.