Inspired by Arabic traditions, this cherished sweet is made from rice or flour, and is garnished with dry fruits.

Prepared with milk, rice, ghee (clarified butter) and sugar or jaggery, payasam is a sweet and creamy pudding. It is conventionally garnished with nuts, coconut and raisins. Rice is often replaced by vermicelli.

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; the process 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.