Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
0:30 Edele Hotel
6:06 Lottery Buying At Big Bazaar
7:52 Aalikante Pista Kada
9:37 Big Bazaar Wholesale Spice Market
19:31 TMJ Tea Shop
25:20 Lucky Star Bakery
26:24 Royal Hotel
27:48 Cool Cafe
30:00 Zain's Hotel
37:28 Arya Bhavan
42:15 Ganesh Fruits &Juices
In today’s episode we are taking you on an immersive and mouth watering food tour across the historic city of Kozhikode along with our gracious host Mazan, who is an architect by profession and a food and cultural enthusiast by heart. Under his fantastic guidance, let’s unravel a slice of the city's unique and rich food heritage through some oldest and most popular eateries and the bustling spice market.
We started the tour from Edele hotel which was established in 1930 and is still going strong all because of its freshly made, delectable and pocket friendly menu. At any given time this eatery is bustling with happy faces. Here we tried some lightly flavoured semolina upma, hot and spicy chicken roast, kozhi parts salna or chicken giblets curry, soft and fluffy pazham pori or banana fritters, ulli vada or onion fritters and the mandatory adicha chaya or frothy tea. Mazan taught us what goes best with what as a result of which the experience of trying these age old classics turned out to be amazing.
After this spicy meal we headed to Big Bazaar to have some cool beverages but stopped midway to speak to a lottery seller and also ended up buying one. Next we arrived at Alikkante Pista Kada, a small stall selling refreshments. On Mazan's recommendation we tried a ripe Papaya juice which was refreshing, thick and luscious. A small sized sweet called dweep halwa or muthai too caught our attention and we loved it. This place caters to the basic needs of the traders and shoppers visiting Big bazaar.
Soon after we made it to the chaotic Wholesale Spice Market at Big Bazaar Road which is the heart of Kohzhikode’s food scenario. We watched men lift massive bags from the back of piled high trucks and visited different shops to learn more about the cuisine essentials from Mazan. The sight was pretty fascinating and overwhelming.
Next we arrived at TMJ tea stall, a very busy tea shop in the neighbourhood of Velliyal. Both young and old crowd had gathered here to take a break from their routine work and bond with each other over various topics. Here we tried a bunch of sweet and savoury snacks with podi chaya or unfiltered tea. There was neyyapam, thari unda, kaaja, paal cake, ada etc. This place is so popular that they also supply to smaller establishments nearby.
The following morning we first visited the famous Lucky Star Bakery to try some of their classic bakery items whose glory dates back to 1948. We bought some coconut and masala cookies and went to another iconic place, the Royal Hotel, to pair it with tea. They too are renowned for snacks and meals and it being lunch time the place was jam packed with happy customers from all age groups.
Our next stop was Cool Cafe at New Bus stand which we were visiting for trying a favourite sweet beverage called Aval milk. It is a thick shake made of frozen milk, ripe plantain and a whole bunch of treats. This one was truly addictive because of the texture and perfectly luscious taste.
From there we reached Zain’s Hotel, one of the city's best places for traditional Mapilla cuisine. The old house turned eatery has a fascinating ambience and an equally stellar homestyle menu. We tried an array of dishes like pazham nirachathu, ela ada, egg puff, turkey pathiri, idi mutta etc. Indeed the food had a homely touch to it and hence the experience was memorable.
The penultimate stop was Arya Bhavan close to Radha Cinema Hall on SM Street. It is one of the oldest veg hotels in Kozhikode cityin the heart of the city. This spacious restaurant has an old world charm. Their menu is very elaborate and rates are affordable. We loved the ghee roast dosa, putta and kadala curry.
The final stop was the colourful Ganesh Juices and Shakes. Juices and milkshakes have become a craze in Kozhikode and at this place you will find a mind boggling menu. We settled for their best selling Sharja drink which was luscious creamy chilled beverage made of frozen milk, ripe plantain and Boost. The addition of this famous health drink added a touch of nostalgia as it is was popular health drink from the 90s.
About the host:
anubhavsapra.com/
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Design and filmed by Rahul Singh
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Text by Swetaleena Nayak