Travancore & Kuttanad · Western Coastal Strip
Kerala handicrafts, including Aranmula mirrors, coconut-shell inlay and screw-pine mats
The state handicrafts emporium beside the secretariat, and the most reliable place to buy an Aranmula mirror with provenance rather than a polished-steel imitation.
Cast metal mirrors made to order
A handful of related households, working to a waiting list. A genuine piece is heavy, warm-toned and shows no double image; the price reflects weeks of polishing.
Coffee, masala dosa and mutton cutlet in a spiral building
A brick tower by Laurie Baker in which the seating runs up a continuous ramp, so the waiters climb one unbroken spiral. The worker-cooperative chain itself dates from the 1950s.
Coir matting, rugs and rope sold at the source
The Alappuzha belt is where the fibre is retted, spun and woven; buying here removes three intermediaries.
Palpayasam
Served warm through the day; the queue is shortest immediately after the morning pooja.
Aravana payasam and appam prasadam in sealed tins
Made at the shrine in industrial quantity through the season and carried home by nearly every pilgrim, which makes it the most widely distributed sweet in south India for two months of the year.
Duck roast, karimeen, kappa and fresh toddy
Licensed by number rather than named, and identifiable by a green board. Toddy drawn the same morning is sweet and mildly fizzy; by evening it is sour and much stronger.
Cashew, roasted, salted and graded
Kollam shells and grades the bulk of India's cashew, much of it from raw nuts imported from West and East Africa. The town sells grades and sizes most Indian shops never stock.
Famous shops, markets and workshops in Travancore & Kuttanad, and what each is known for. (8)