One of the best things I did in India was take a cooking class led by Kumari at her home in Kerala. Kumari is a local woman who makes amazing food based on traditional recipes, using local ingredients including her own coconuts, milk from her cows, and heaps of fresh herbs from her garden.
Over the course of two hours, we watched and took notes while Kumari cooked around 15 dishes for us to eat for dinner. She explained traditional methods of cooking, including thorans, curry, dal and chutney. Cardamom, mustard seeds, curry leaves, garlic and onion featured heavily.
After the food was ready, we ate the meal served on banana leaves in Kumari's backyard, who would check on us regularly to make sure we had enough food (which was definitely not a problem, we needed more stomach space!). A generous and vivacious host, we returned the next morning to have brunch with even more local foods including pancakes and banana curry, and to hear more of Kumari's stories.
If you are ever in Kerala, in the south near Varkala, I recommend tracking Kumari down. She doesn't advertise and has even refused to be included in Lonely Planet. But most people near South Cliff would know of her, so you can always ask your accommodation provider to call and book for you.
I heard about Kumari from the place I stayed called Soul & Surf - a yoga and surfing resort run by two Brits that was a truly wonderful and relaxing place to start our trip. With a healthy cafe on site that provides breakfast, daily morning trips to the beach to surf and yoga sessions at sunset on the rooftop, it is a pretty idyllic place and has a lovely community feel. Lots of the other guests had been previous years and had returned for more, which is always a good sign!
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