What to eat in Kerala, and how to order it

Kerala's food is built on three things: coconut, curry leaves and fish. Rice is the base, tapioca is the backup, and the sea and backwaters supply most of the protein. The result is lighter and more sour than the rich gravies of the north, with tamarind, kokum and raw mango doing much of the work.

Breakfast: the best meal

Start with appam and stew — a lacy fermented rice pancake with a mild coconut milk curry. Or puttu and kadala: steamed rice flour cylinders with a black chickpea curry. Idli and dosa are everywhere and usually good. If you see a shop making pathiri or porotta by hand, stop.

Lunch: the sadya

A sadya is a vegetarian feast served on a banana leaf, traditionally at festivals and weddings. Rice is served with sambar, rasam, avial, thoran, olan, pickle, papad and a sweet payasam. You eat with your right hand, mixing rice with a little of each dish. Restaurants in Thrissur and Kochi serve simplified versions; a wedding invitation is better.

Fish, and how to order it

Karimeen (pearl spot) is the backwater fish, often marinated in spices and grilled in a banana leaf: karimeen pollichathu. Prawns are excellent, as are seer fish steaks and sardines. Fish curry with coconut and tamarind is the everyday dish. Ask what came in that morning rather than ordering from a laminated menu.

• Meen pollichathu — fish wrapped and grilled in banana leaf.
• Fish moilee — mild coconut milk curry, good for children.
• Karimeen fry — crisp, spiced whole fish.
• Chemmeen curry — prawn curry, usually sour and hot.

Toddy shops and tea shops

A toddy shop (shaap) is a basic bar serving fermented palm sap with intensely flavoured fish and meat dishes. They are social, cheap and often excellent, but not all are welcoming to outsiders. Go with a local, ask before taking photos and treat it as someone's local, because it is. Tea shops are easier: strong tea, banana fritters, parippu vada and conversation.

Sweet things

Payasam is the ceremonial dessert: rice or vermicelli in sweetened milk, often with cardamom and cashew. Kozhikode halwa is dense, glossy and worth seeking out. Banana chips fried in coconut oil are the state's default snack. Filter coffee is rare; tea is the order.

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