Flaky, fluffy, crispy and soft is how best a Malabar parotta can be described. It is usually eaten with both vegetarian and non-vegetarian side dishes, and is a variant of the North Indian “lachha paratha”, or the Malaysian “roti cannai”. This unleavened flatbread is usually drenched in yummy curries like chicken Chettinad and other meaty stews to cut the spice of the dish, while adding an element of crispiness to it.

In Munnar, you will find plenty of stalls selling parotta with egg curry – the dish has become popular among locals and tourists alike as a quick street snack.

A spicy fish curry made with coconut milk, Kerala-style fish is a delicious affair. The curry is made with mustard seeds, curry leaves, fenugreek seeds, onion and garlic paste, chilli, turmeric and coriander powder and tamarind.

A delight for meat lovers, this dish is commonly known as spicy chicken fry. The boneless chicken is fried with onion and garlic and mixed with chilli, vinegar and coriander. The dish is sometimes cooked in an array of sauces and served on a banana leaf either by itself or with a parotta (Indian flatbread).

A widely known local delicacy, ari pathiri with its plain and soft texture is a flatbread made of raw rice flour. The accompanying chicken curry is usually very spicy. There are variants of the pathiri called meen (stuffed with fish) and erachi (stuffed with meat). Ari pathiri is a preferred breakfast item that is consumed across the state with great gusto. 

Munnar is known for its sea food and hence, prawn curry should be on your must-try list. It is prepared with red and green chillies, jaggery, salt and pepper with a lot of coconut milk. The dish is spicy and tangy and will tantalize your taste buds for a long time. Prawns are the last addition to the mix and are garnished with curry leaves. It is the perfect dish had with a tall glass of toddy (palm wine).

Idiyappam is made of rice flour, shaped like long noodles and then steamed. Rice flour, grated coconut, salt and water are added to make this. The dish has a plain yet delicate texture with the strands being entwined together to make balls. Idiyappam is usually served with egg curry or egg roast, but all kinds of curries complement it well. Egg roast for this dish is prepared with hard-boiled eggs, onions, green chillies, tomatoes, red chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric, garam masala and a paste of ginger-garlic, along with curry leaves and mustard seeds. This dish is truly an amalgamation that one should not miss out on.

Puttu is extremely popular as a breakfast dish throughout Kerala. It is served with kadala curry, which is made of black chickpeas, garlic, mustard seeds, red chilli, onions, whole coriander, and turmeric, curries leaves, garam masala, salt, and of course, grated coconut. It is a traditional delicacy.

This dish has been prevailing on the food scene in Kerala for a long time. Pancakes made of fermented rice batter and coconut are cooked as appam. These have a soft and thick centre and a paper-thin crust, thus they must be eaten very delicately. The stew served with this will leave you wanting more. It has succulent chunks of chicken bathed in creamy coconut gravy, along with vegetables, green chillies, garlic, ginger and local spices.