Malabar is ‘Mecca of flavours’: Why Kozhikode could be India’s next global food destination

When people who deeply love food and their homeland come together, memories of flavours naturally take centre stage. That was the spirit of The Taste of Malabar session, where the conversation began with Malabar’s famed hospitality and the importance of taking its food culture to the world. It eventually turned towards an exciting possibility: developing Kozhikode into a global food hub.

The discussion featured celebrity chef Abida Rasheed, Suresh Govind, CEO of Paragon Group of Restaurants and culinary curator, and MasterChef India judge and celebrity chef Sanjay Thumma. Ashish Nair, Corporate Head and Vice President of RP Group, moderated the session.

Speaking about the evolution of Malabar cuisine, Abida Rasheed said that food-loving people of Malabar took dishes from other parts of the world and adapted them by adding ingredients they loved. She pointed to ‘mutta mala’, which she said was borrowed from a Portuguese dish, and ‘chattipathiri’, which she said was adapted from a dish from Goa.

She also stressed the need to brand Malabar cuisine globally, just as Chinese and Italian cuisines have established themselves internationally.

Suresh Govind said the true heart of Malabar’s food culture lies in the hospitality of its people. He noted that while maintaining the authenticity and quality of the region’s dishes is important, there is also a need to improve the way tourists are treated and raise the standards of service.

Sanjay Thumma said that the region’s diverse flavours are partly the result of people from different parts of the world coming to the region in search of spices.

Calling Malabar the “Mecca of flavours”, he said chefs from around the world should come here to understand where these flavours originated.