North Kerala is without a doubt, one of the most beautiful regions on the Malabar Coast. Also known as Calicut, the city of Kozhikode is the largest in the erstwhile Malabar district and was also the erstwhile headquarters of the area during the British Raj. It was a major trading point for Indian spices once and the capital of an independent kingdom that was ruled by the Samoothiris. The port at Kozhikode also acted as the gateway for the Chinese, the Arabs, the Portuguese, the Dutch and the British.
Therefore, it is not a surprise that the city is a culmination of different cultures that have all left their mark. This can particularly be seen in the culinary scene of Kozhikode that leaves you awestruck and almost always wanting for more. A recent visit to this coastal city to explore what it had on offer led to this food trail that is sure to tickle your taste buds and fill you with anticipation…
We began with Topform Restaurant which was established in 1975 for lunch. We couldn’t have begun our meal without starting with a sulaimani. So, we did just that and it was absolutely heavenly. A hot tea on a hot afternoon, somehow seemed refreshing. We also ordered a tenderloin and chicken option of the biryani there and both were just as we’d been told — a gourmand’s delight! We wanted to make our dinner a grand one and what better place for it than the now super-popular iconic Paragon Restaurant. This legendary place started off in Kozhikode and now has outlets across the Gulf and in Bengaluru too.
With the menu already imprinted in our minds, we expected a replica there, but to our surprise, the dishes were very different. Not disappointed one bit, we opted for parottas and the Aleppey Chicken Curry. This creamy curry went perfectly with the parotta and lined our palates for the next treat — the Squid Varattiyathu, which was also a hit! By this time, we didn’t have much space left in our tummies, so we ordered our second cup of sulaimani for the day, which was the perfect end to our meal.
Day 2 started with a breakfast at Mayflower Restaurant, where we opened our culinary innings with a cup of tea (yes, this was now a habit!) along with an idiyappam and tenderloin curry combo. The spicy gravy of the tenderloin curry was complemented perfectly by the soft idiyappams and three of those and we were pretty much done till lunch.
Speaking of lunch, we headed to The Shap Restaurant, which looked like a small shack (or a shop to be more precise) and gave us a very homely feeling. They served us kanji vellam (hot rice water) and before tasting it we thought we were being served toddy, not that this was any less refreshing. What we ordered was a typical Kerala delicacy called Chattichoru. Served in an earthen plate and a banana leaf, it included rice, avial, fish fry, sambar, beetroot pachadi, pickle, coconut chammanthi and papadam. Simple yet tasty, that’s what we’ll call it.
Following this, we rested for some time and prepared for the next food onslaught that evening, because we were all set to explore a place we had quite a bit about. We are talking about Adaminde Chayakkada. Small and quaint, we could only wonder how it would feel having a sip of tea on a rainy day at this much-loved haunt. As the name suggested, we first ordered a cup of tea and some pathiris. It shouldn’t be a surprise anymore.
The tea was fantabulous and we ordered another one. It was on point with the flavour and sweetness. Malabar sure knows how to make a great cuppa. We then tried the Paal Kappa with a tenderloin roast — the boiled tapioca with sweetened coconut milk paired with the spicy curry was out of this world. Following this, we headed to the Kozhikode beach and spent the rest of the evening there, Ustad Hotel style.
For the evening and our last meal in Calicut, we chose Rahmat Hotel, which is known for its biryanis (not surprising anymore, to be honest) and without giving it much thought we ordered the tenderloin biryani. It should suffice to say that the impression that biryani left on us will remain imprinted on our taste buds for a long time.