Malabar · Western Coastal Strip
Malabar biryani, fish curry and mutton, in the same family for four generations
The reference point for the Kozhikode restaurant style, and the kitchen most often copied by the biryani chains that have taken the name out of the region.
Mappila home cooking — pathiri, chatti pathiri, mutta mala, unnakkaya
A small kitchen serving the household repertoire rather than the restaurant one, which is much harder to find than biryani.
Kozhikode halwa, sold by weight from stacked slabs in every colour
Ask for karutha halwa, the dark jaggery one; the coloured slabs are for visitors. The street runs off S.M. Street, which the city's own literature is largely about.
Biscuits, plum cake and a family claim to the first cake baked in Kerala
The 1883 cake is the family's own account and is repeated everywhere in the town; the bakery itself is documented and still trading.
Handloom furnishing cloth and mundu bought from the society that wove it
The cooperative model is how most of Kannur's handloom is still organised; buying here is the difference between the weaver's rate and the showroom's.
Watching a wooden ocean-going ship being built by hand
Not a shop. The yards are working sites, they will usually let a visitor stand and watch, and there is rarely more than one hull under construction at a time.
The knotted gold ring, made to order
A handful of families make it; the geographical indication protects the name, so ask who made the one you are shown.
Bamboo craft and products made by a village enterprise on the plateau
One of the few places on the plateau where money from a craft stays on it.
Famous shops, markets and workshops in Malabar, and what each is known for. (8)