Lemon Rice
This Lemon Rice recipe comes from Chef Velu at Kalari Kovilakom and The Palace for Ayurveda. It’s a fantastic side dish for vegetables, dal or seafood.
Pumpkin Pigeon Pea Erissery
This vibrant Pumpkin Pigeon Pea Erissery is a treat when travelling through Kerala. Each year at the fall harvest festival of Onum it’s easy to find. It’s an essential part of the banquet feast or sadya for that festival. And, a whole lot of feasting goes on during that 10 days each year. We are …
Moong Dal Curry
Without the use of oil, this Moong Dal Curry is nicely spiced. It hits a home run for flavour and ease of cooking too. Overall, it will leave you feeling light, satiated and refreshed – just like the ideal Ayurveda meal should. We loved watching the chefs at Kalari Kovilakom prepare meals for the patients …
Spinach and Moong Dal Soup
This recipe for Spinach and Moong Dal Soup is a great example of the food at Kalari Kovilakom. It’s light, simple, easily digestible and loaded with nutrition. Soups like this are a cornerstone in the Ayurvedic way of eating. They make us slow down and pay attention to what we are doing. When we are …
Ayurvedic Tomato Soup
What makes this Ayurvedic Tomato Soup Ayurvedic? Well, how you prepare it is the key. Many of us sauté aromatics (celery, onion, carrots, garlic) in oil to bring out maximal flavour in soups and sauces. Ayurvedic cooking is much lighter. Ayurveda is an ancient form of medicine based on the five elements and three body …
Introduction to Ayurveda
It’s important to have an introduction to Ayurveda when travelling in South India because it’s a term you’ll encounter frequently. We’ve experienced both authentic and less than authentic versions in our travels. After our own experiences, we feel a proper introduction to Ayurveda will help you find the real deal and avoid anything less than …
Chef Velayudhan’s Team at Kalari Kovilakom
Seeing Chef Velayudhan’s team at Kalari Kovilakom Vengunad (KKV) in action was a chance for us to learn how to put Ayurveda food principles into practice. KKV is known as A Palace for Ayurveda. The CGH Earth Experience group of hotels lease the palace from the family who are descendants of the Vengunad Chieftains who …
Green Chilli Fritters
Whether you are a visitor travelling across South India or a local bustling through a frenetic day in the life of Mother India, street food is often the easiest fuel supply to keep the human engine running. We spied these Green Chilli Fritters at a stall across from a monument we were visiting in Kochi. …
Papadam (Papads)
Thin, crisp, round flatbread, papadam (papads) are typically made from seasoned dough of black gram (urad dal) flour. They’re either fried or cooked with dry heat (usually flipping over an open flame). For many years, when we’ve wanted to make papadam at home, we simply picked up a package at our local Indian grocer, brought …
Chilli Salted Cassava Fries
When you go out for a walk at night on the streets of Kochi, as you near the Old Fort harbour front, you’ll find a wonderful assortment of street food vendors. Known as wallahs or workers in India, they usually do one thing and they do it very well. This is definitely the case for …