Kerala is also known as the 'Land of Spices', as major portion of its cuisine is hot and spicy. Coconut is an integral part of almost all dishes prepared in Kerala. Rice is the staple food for the people of Kerala. Sea food is also an important part of Kerala cuisine. Chutneys and pickles makes the Kerala food more tangy, lip-smacking and adds to its taste value. People of Kerala are highly concerned about the health aspect of their food. Thus, oil, sugar and artificial additives are used in minimum quantity.

Food is served on soft banana leaves and is eaten with hands. There is also a prescribed order of serving various dishes on the banana leaf. The people of Kerala enjoy both - simple dish known as 'Kanji' as well as an extravagant menu known as 'Sadya'. People usually sit in rows of mats at the time of the sadya (feast) as a tradition.

The food is flavoured with non-scalding spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, clove, garlic, cumin, coriander and turmeric. Spices are used to tone up the system the way wines aid the digestion in the Western cuisine. Kerala food is mildly flavoured, gently cooked and has a certain genteel delicacy on the stomach.

Appam - It is a kind of pancake made of rice flour fermented with a small amount of toddy (fermented sap of the coconut palm). Appam is circular in shape, edged with a crisp, lacy frill. It is eaten with chicken or vegetable stew. Kanji (rice gruel) and payaru (green gram), kappa (casava) and fish curry are traditional favourites of the Keralites.

A popular breakfast dish is puttu - rice flour dough layered with grated coconut and steamed in a hollow Bamboo cylinder. It is eaten sprinkled with sugar or with mashed bananas or with a spicy curry made of channa or chic peas.

Other South Indian dishes such as 'Dosa', 'Iddly', etc are also common in Kerala. Deserts like Payasam and Palppayasam are made with milk, sugar, ghee, rice and dry fruits.

The people of Kerala put to good use whatever the land offers and the result is a fantastic cuisine that is simple yet mouth-watering.