Cuisine with a wellness soul

One state, many local cuisines

Even though a quick glance at the map indicates Kerala to be a rather thin strip, the state’s geographic and climatic diversity is immense. Niraamaya’s retreats in the state are located in three very different locations – from the beach to the hills of Thekkady and the backwaters. While the retreat at Kovalam is on the beach, the one at Kumarakom is on the backwaters while the Thekkady retreat is located amongst sylvan hills that are home to India’s richest collection of spices.

Traditionally, Kerala’s different regions such as Alleppey, Travancore and Malabar are known for their distinct cuisines, shaped over centuries by the physical space they occupy, the play of seasons, as well as cultural influences, both local and global. For example, in Travancore Fish Curry drumstick is often used, while in Malabar, the use of tamarind is common and in Alleppey, people use raw mango. “In Thekkady, we have a Malabar Fish Curry on the menu as most people travel to the retreat from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka,” explains the chef. “We use of lot of spices grown locally – black pepper and cardamom, for instance. At Thekkady, since it is a forest area, we do not get sea fish; instead, we use river fish, and there is more use of meat. At the Kovalam retreat, we use a lot of drumstick and raw banana. As it is next to the sea, we use immense amount of seafood too. In Kumarakom, more of raw mango and fish from the backwaters is used.”

Cooking side dishes, and even snacks, in banana leaf is a common practice in the state and the retreats offer different stuffing at each. “In Kovalam, we offer Fish Pollichathu in banana leaf, while in Kumarakom, chicken and in Thekkady, we do Beef wrapped in banana leaf.”

Another example chef gives is of a favourite Kerala staple – the jackfruit. “We use a local vegetable like jackfruit, very commonly used in Kerala and make a jackfruit cheesecake; the jackfruit flour is used make chapatti or phulka. It is gluten-free and dairy-free. When we look at what people were using 300 years ago, you will realise they were not using exotic vegetables. They made flour and curries from jackfruit.”

An innovation at the retreats is chef’s unique creation – the Kerala tapas. “It has 12 courses. It is part of natural basket, which we keep in thali katoris. This tapas has seafood and meat and vegetables, served with local bread.”
 

Challenges remain

To be local and translate it at an international level, is a challenge of course. It is very difficult to source vegetables and fruits if the retreat is out of the way, such as Thekkady, Kumarakom and Kovalam retreats, the chef points out. “In Kumarakom, it all comes from Kochi. In Thekkady, it all comes from Tamil Nadu. The biggest challenges for chefs around the world are to get the right kind of cheese. I know how to make cheese myself, so I make it at all out properties, such as mozzarella, cream cheese and mascarpone. We own cows. Ghee and virgin coconut oil are also made in-house.”

Of course, the entire menu focuses on wellness. “I have curated the menu for entire Niraamaya,” the chef says. “Even the minibar has healthy cookies and drinks.” When you are visiting the retreats, we recommend you take out time to learn more about local ingredients and how they are used to make the food not just tastier but also help in improve well-being.