As we cruised the waters of the Vembanad lake, I went to investigate my most favourite place. The kitchen.
That’s where all the action is, after all.
Joji, one of the 3 staff members on the boat, was busy frying something that looked fishy. And he confirmed my suspicions by identifying it as seer (or king) fish. The rest of our lunch was already done.

An array of delicious fare including chicken fry, dal, tomato/onion relish and karela fry (bitter gourd)
Needless to say, she hasn’t succeeded on that front, but I’m already swayed by the goodness of this pure oil. I haven’t really done much research on it myself (sis has done enough for the whole family), but some factors indicate that it’s better than refined oil and also good for health. And that people in countries populated by coconut trees and who consume copious amounts of coconut oil are healthier. Interesting that though I don’t have statistics.
You see, in God’s own country, you can’t really go more than a few meters without encountering a coconut in one form or another. It’s in your food, your oil, your soap, and of course, in every frame. Imagine what your friends would say if you went back from Kerala without those sinful banana chips fried in coconut oil.There must be more coconut trees in Kerala than in the rest of the world combined. Though I was told that there are absolutely no coconut related deaths in Kerala – a local told me this confidently. And yes, I have my doubts about this one.
Coming back to our houseboat, we’re on a cruise – possibly the most relaxing time we’ve had in Kerala so far. The Kerala Blog Express team has been split up into several groups. I am with two lovely women – Roxanne (aka The Tiny Taster from Mumbai) and Stefania (Dutch, but now residing in Malaga, Spain), who writes about life from an expat’s perspective. Roxanne loves food as her blog name suggests and takes pictures of everything before we partake of the delicacies. We’re all happy to finally get an opportunity to let our hair down and just relax – this time was much needed since we’ve been on the move since we arrived in Trivandrum.
The houseboat lunch has to be the most delicious so far in this trip. It could also be because it’s the closest to home cooked food, which I usually prefer when I travel. Most of my sojourns include homestays (something I’ve missed on this trip) because that’s where I get to taste the best local food.
– A long beans sabji (vegetable fry)
– A cabbage fry (with my favourite ingredient, coconut)
– Sambar
– Seer fish fry
– Red rice
The stir fries are simple, and usually cut into small bits. Like the cabbage. And garnished with black mustard seeds and coconut. This style of preparation is called a “thoran“.
And since this post is about cooking up a delicious meal, here’s the recipe a cabbage thoran you can try at home. It seems really simple!
Before this particular culinary treat, we were actually treated to our first traditional meal on another houseboat cruise, organised by Hotel Raviz, Kollam. They had put out an elaborate meal as we cruised the backwaters and and these were some of the delicacies I remember:
– Fried prawn (really succulent and the best I’ve had so far on the trip)
– Thalassery mutton biryani
– Roast chicken (not sure which style, but was quite good)
– Meen moilee (coconut preparation – loved it!)
– Loads of pickles/raitas and sides like beetroot pachadi, crisp fried bitter gourd, pineapple raita and other chutneys that I didn’t take note of
– Appams with vegetable stew
There were also a few traditional vegetarian dishes, which I didn’t pay much attention to since there was prawn and fish 🙂
Anyway, I must admit that I haven’t gone as far as my sister though. She even cooks her pasta in coconut oil. And claims it’s really delicious. That’s not something I’m not ready to try yet.
END NOTE:
This is part of a 15 day trip across Kerala with 25 other bloggers, travellers, writers and photographers and a promotion by Kerala Tourism. Follow the gang via the hashtag #keralablogexpress on Twitter/Instagram/Facebook. You can also follow us through the website, Kerala Blog Express.
The houseboats were provided by: Lakeslagoons.com. Clean, well appointed and attentive staff in case you’re looking for a company to rent houseboats while in Kerala.
Follow me on Twitter: @anitabora; Facebook: Anita Recommends and Instagram: anitabora
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