Eating in Varkala

The local diet in Kerala is very consistent; some form of rice and vegetable curry, three times a day. This food is easily available everywhere and can be incredibly cheap, therefore Keralan dishes are the mainstay of our diet, but for variety and to accommodate our tastes we add in some Western ingredients and practices.

Indian breakfast consists of rice pancakes, either flat ones called dosas, or thick, smaller ones called iddlies, served with coconut chutney and curried vegetables called sambar. We prefer a western style breakfast so at home we have fruit with museli cereal and yogurt, served up with filter coffee. Real fresh fruit and vegetables are a great pleasure of living in the tropics, but visitors to India are warned never to eat uncooked vegetables and eat only fruit that can be peeled. Fruit and vegetable stands are everywhere and as long as we are in a house we can properly clean what we buy so every day we have oranges and bananas with breakfast, at least one pineapple and just now watermelons and mangoes are coming into season. As well we have a plate of carrots, cucumbers and tomato sometime during the day. Having ripened on a tree a day or two before, the fruit is alive with tastes we never experience in Canada, but they have to be eaten in one or two days as they do go off so fast in the tropical heat.

Grocery shopping involves many stops: We buy basics, including milk, yogurt, butter, eggs and bananas at the corner shop (he also sells single cigarettes, but I have not indulged). The two regular grocery stores in town carry huge assortments of biscuits, rice, packaged spices and cleaning products, but very few canned goods and they don’t even have a freezer. Special and western style foods such as our preferred Kellogg’s Wheat Flakes, cheese, real pasta and frozen sausages are found only at one grocery store, which is just on the other side of Varkala town. Once in a while I brave the smell and noise of the fish market to buy fresh tuna or prawns.

Lunch at home can be eggs or cheese on toast, with fresh cut vegetables and pineapple for desert. If we are in town, we will stop in for what is called “meals” in Kerala, or a thali in many other parts of India. The local restaurants get high marks for volume of food and price, but rate poorly for variety, atmosphere or presentation and cleanliness. A typical “meals” starts with the waiter bringing each person a metal tray with a couple of tiny bowls of dry curry and some others with coconut, mango and lime chutney, or pickle, and a papadam. Our first time we thought that this was the complete meal, but in fact it’s only the garnish. Another waiter comes over with a bucket of rice and uses a soup bowl to dish out a huge mound on each tray. The third and fourth waiters circulate with 3 or 4 pots of very runny curry; there is always one with lentils and one sambar, which is an extremely spicy mixed vegetable, and often a milky yoghurt sauce. These waiters will continue to refill one’s tray, and I am now able to polish off at least two helpings. Restaurants in places that are used to tourists will bring a spoon, but in more out of the way places we are expected to eat with the right hand, just like everyone else. Another peculiarity is that many restaurants will serve only “meals” at lunch. On our first visit to a local restaurant in Varkala we went in and sat down at one of the many empty tables. After a few minutes the waiter came over with his pad ready to take our order. We asked for menus. He looked surprised but after a few attempts we finally communicated and he brought us 2 tattered sheets in dirty plastic sleeves. We looked over the long assortment of Indian dishes described, made our selections and called the waiter over. After some animated discussion we finally figured out that the menu was only for the evening and at lunch, “meals” is the only choice.

For supper we have to decide whether we want to eat in our out, western or Indian. If we stay in we can order a Kumari dinner, or if we prefer to cook western, we have found that we can get the right ingredients to make two dishes: a sauce made form fresh tomatoes and Italian pasta, or seafood paella. When we go out we can get a quick Masala Dosa at the Janardanapuram restaurant or head to one of the cliff top restaurants, which serve reasonably good seafood and have charming ambiance, but after a while they all sort of taste the same, so we hardly go there now. We tried a delightful place called “Home” which was in a normal house and run by a Nepali / British couple who prepared delicious dishes that were a fusion of eastern and western cooking styles. Unfortunately they split up so their “home” is no more.

Overall, we have enjoyed plentiful fresh food while in Varkala. Ann and I have slimmed down a bit, yet the kids seem to continue growing like weeds. We have been glad to be able to prepare some of our own meals, particularly breakfast and veggie plates, but have appreciated being able to eat out, or order in for such reasonable costs. As well our palates are more accustomed to the hot Indian food, so I am confident we will fare well during the 3 weeks we are traveling across India.