The Raviz Calicut/Kadavu – Local attractions - Currylines

This is a multi part account of my stay at The Raviz Calicut and The Raviz Resort and Spa Kadavu, in collaboration with Panache, the travel designers.

As I mentioned in The Raviz Calicut – Part 1, the hotel lies in the center of the city and hence is walking distance from restaurants, shopping etc.

However, if one wants to explore the surroundings or dig up some history,

the travel desk at the hotel is happy to arrange tailor made

sightseeing trips which I have spoken of in The Raviz Calicut/Kadavu-Calicut-Sightseeing.

In house cultural programs are also a part of the experience at the hotels

and on the occasion of Onam, The Raviz Calicut had a variety of traditional and festive

folk dancers performing in the lobby for the guests, which included the

Shinkari melam and Pulikali and Thiruvathirakali. I had the pleasure of

viewing the Thiruvathirakali, a ritual dance presented by women twirling and

whirling in a circular path while clapping and singing.

The true essence of a place can be savored through the guidance of its

residents, hence apart from my sightseeing itinerary that I have spoken of

in the earlier post, the excellent local knowledge of the extremely helpful

Raviz drivers, resulted in activities more interesting than the usual

touristy stuff and the stops at the toddy shop, banana chips shop and Calicut halwa shop along with some roadside retail therapy involving terracotta utensils and ‘mussel power’,

raised my excitement quotient up by several notches 😀

Going bananas over Chips –

Kerala is famous for its banana chips and for its hundreds of different

halwas, with the dense, rubbery, jelly like sweets being made

from several types of fruits or flours.

Since my husband loves banana chips, I wanted to buy some for him. My son

too is a Chip of the old bloke (ok you have to agree that was funny :-D) and

he had already demanded some for his hostel mates. According to my driver Shamsuddin, the best chips and halwa were to be found at the Sastha chips and halwa shop at

the famous Taali temple street and he bravely navigated the narrow lane and

miraculously managed to park right at the shop. This soot blackened tiny

little place is apparently very well known and people carry the chips and

halwas when they go abroad too.

It is quite fascinating to watch the ‘chipping’ process that takes place

right in front of your eyes.

The special variety called Nendra bananas are first peeled and then rapidly

sliced by the chipping machine. They are then soaked in clear water to remove the mucilage and this is followed by a dunking in turmeric water which gives its characteristic

yellow hue and then they are drained and deep fried in a coconut oil filled

enormous wok. This huge vessel is heated on a fire which is fuelled by coconut husk and shells. Even the coconut oil is pure and made in house.

When the chips are done, a huge perforated ladle is used to rapidly toss them and they clink like the gold coins that they resemble, as the excess oil drains back into the wok.

Despite the crowds that were thronging the entrance because of the Onam

rush, I managed to click some pictures and even a couple of videos and with

Shamsuddin’s help, I obtained my precious stash of chips and Nendra banana

halwa.

There are several more chips and halwa shops in the city and surrounding

areas, two of which are right at the entrance of The Raviz Kadavu, which is

very convenient for those who want to make a quick purchase without

depending on transport.

Pottering around –

Kerala is well known for its earthen cookware and it is easy to spot mounds

and mounds of pots and pans being sold along the roadsides.

I have always been enamored by these ‘mann chatties’ (terracotta utensils)

and though they are also available in Bangalore, I make it a point to

collect more of them whenever I get a chance, much to my husband’s

irritation 😀

Having gone on this trip alone, I had no one to frown upon me as I gleefully

bullied Shamsuddin into stopping at one of these spots and indulging in an

Appam chatti and a mini wok. And the nice man that he was, he even tapped

and knocked on the pans to check for quality, before I made my choice. These

items are sold at very low prices and both together cost me a mere Rs 120/- and as I returned to my hotel, I regretted not buying many more.

Have you seen my Mussels ? –

As I mentioned in the earlier post, stuffed, fried mussels are a popular

snack sold on the beaches and the one whom I bought mine from was an .

Interestingly, these Green lipped mussels, called Kadukka in Kerala, are

commonly sold in little roadside stalls at a ridiculously low price of Rs 160 a kg with the

shell and are also shelled and neatly packed before being sold.

We drove past several such stalls on our way back from the beach and I made

Shamsuddin stop yet again so I could get a better view.

Needless to say, I could only look at them yearningly but I did at least get

some pictures, to fantasize over.

WasSap dude ? –

Now coming to matters of real interest :-D, I had been constantly expressing

my great desire to view toddy tapping and sip on some of that fresh sweet sap of the coconut tree. Since there was not much chance of that happening close to the city, I

hoped that I would be lucky while going through the villages on my way to

Sargalaya, the arts and crafts center which was 40 km away.

My helpful driver Rinil made it his personal quest to get me what my heart

desired but unfortunately there was no such activity in that locality. His desperate enquiries along the village roads, finally led us to a Toddy Shaap (as it is called)

where freshly tapped toddy arrives every morning in huge plastic drums. This

eventually and rapidly ferments into alcohol and is then sold by the bottle

or glass to those who visit the Shaap to drink it with an accompaniment of

spicy and delicious traditional snacks and dishes like meat and fish fry or a tapioca meal.

Since I was there quite early in the morning, I was lucky that it had still

retained most of its virgin state and with great delight I paid the Rs 60

for the 500 ml that went into my emptied water bottle, with the

driver cautioning me not to tighten the lid because toddy ferments very

quickly and the gas that is formed can cause the bottle to explode. So I

balanced a half opened bottle that was bubbling like champagne all the way

back to the hotel and because I wanted to bring it back home to Bangalore to

use it to make appams because they taste better than those made with

commercial yeast.

Since I was leaving the next morning to Bangalore by car and seeing that the

bubbling had subsided, I thought it was safe to tighten the lid. Well by

God’s grace, it miraculously stayed safe in the car until I arrived home 10 hours later. Little did I realize that the gas had invisibly built up, for when I tried opening the lid, it exploded out like a gun shot, barely missing my face … my own car brewed champagne that popped its lid, aptly signalled the end of a great holiday 😀

Up next – The Raviz Calicut – Cuisine

Pl note – This trip was made in collaboration with Panache and The Raviz Calicut

and The Raviz Resort and Spa Kadavu.

The narration is based on my own personal experiences.

If you want to weave in the Raviz in between your Kerala experience or

design your own dream trip, Panache can be contacted at

info@panacheworld.com