Kerala Breakfast Recipes: 8 Authentic Dishes
Kerala breakfasts are unlike anything else in Indian cuisine — light, coconut-forward,
and often steamed rather than fried. From the lacy, fermented appam to the crumbly
layers of puttu, each dish reflects the lush, coastal landscape of God's Own Country.
Here are 8 authentic Kerala breakfast recipes you can make at home.
Appam are thin, lacy rice pancakes with crisp edges and a soft, slightly spongy centre —
fermented overnight and cooked in a special appam pan (appachatti). They are traditionally
served with a mild, coconut-milk vegetable stew.
Appam Ingredients
- 2 cups raw rice, soaked overnight
- ½ cup cooked rice
- 1 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 tsp sugar, salt to taste
Stew Ingredients
- 1 cup mixed vegetables (potato, carrot, peas, beans)
- 1 cup thin coconut milk + ½ cup thick coconut milk
- 1 onion, 2 green chillies, curry leaves, cinnamon stick
- Salt and 1 tsp coconut oil
Method — Appam
- Grind soaked rice with cooked rice, yeast, sugar and water to a smooth batter.
- Ferment overnight in a warm place. Add salt before cooking.
- Heat appachatti, pour a ladle of batter and swirl to coat sides. Cover and cook 2 minutes.
Method — Stew
- Sauté onion, green chillies and whole spices in coconut oil until soft.
- Add vegetables and thin coconut milk. Cook until vegetables are tender.
- Add thick coconut milk, heat gently (do not boil). Finish with curry leaves.
Puttu is cylindrical steamed rice cake layered with grated coconut — light, slightly crumbly
and completely addictive. Kadala is a robust black chickpea curry that pairs with it perfectly.
Puttu Ingredients
- 1 cup rice flour (puttu podi)
- ½ cup grated fresh coconut
- Water and salt to bind
Kadala Curry Ingredients
- 1 cup black chickpeas, soaked and pressure cooked
- 1 onion, 2 tomatoes, 4 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp Kerala garam masala, 1 tsp chilli powder, ½ tsp turmeric
- ½ cup coconut milk, curry leaves, coconut oil
Method — Puttu
- Mix rice flour, salt and just enough water to make a crumbly (not sticky) dough.
- Layer puttu maker with coconut and rice flour alternately. Steam 5–7 minutes.
- Push out the cylinder onto a plate.
Method — Kadala Curry
- Sauté onion, garlic in coconut oil. Add tomatoes and spices. Cook to a paste.
- Add cooked chickpeas and ½ cup water. Simmer 10 minutes.
- Stir in coconut milk, heat gently. Finish with curry leaves and coconut oil.
Idiyappam are delicate steamed rice noodle nests — pressed through an idiyappam press,
light as air, and eaten with coconut milk and sugar, egg curry, or kadala curry.
Ingredients
- 1 cup rice flour, roasted lightly
- 1 cup boiling water
- Salt to taste, 1 tsp coconut oil
Method
- Mix hot water, oil and salt into the rice flour. Knead while warm to a smooth dough.
- Fill the idiyappam press and press noodles onto greased idli plates in circular nests.
- Steam 7–8 minutes. Serve with coconut milk sweetened with jaggery.
Ripe Kerala nendran bananas coated in a turmeric-tinted batter and deep-fried until
golden — crisp outside, jammy inside. A beloved Kerala snack and tea-time staple.
Ingredients
- 2 ripe nendran bananas, sliced lengthwise
- Batter: ½ cup maida, 2 tbsp rice flour, pinch of turmeric, salt, water
- Oil for deep frying
Method
- Make a smooth, thick batter with maida, rice flour, turmeric, salt and water.
- Dip banana slices in batter and deep fry on medium heat until golden (3–4 minutes).
- Drain on paper. Serve immediately with chai.
Hard boiled eggs simmered in a bold, caramelised onion and tomato masala —
dark, intense and absolutely irresistible with appam or parotta.
Ingredients
- 4 hard boiled eggs
- 3 large onions, thinly sliced
- 2 tomatoes, chopped
- 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder, ½ tsp black pepper, ½ tsp garam masala
- Curry leaves, coconut oil, salt
Method
- Slow-cook onions in coconut oil on medium heat for 20–25 minutes until deep brown.
- Add tomatoes and spices. Cook until oil separates.
- Score the boiled eggs and add to the masala. Toss gently to coat. Simmer 5 minutes.
A sweeter variation of puttu made with ripe banana mashed into the rice flour dough —
naturally sweet, no sugar needed. Children love this for breakfast.
Ingredients
- 1 cup rice flour
- 1 ripe banana, mashed
- ½ cup grated coconut
- Pinch of cardamom powder and salt
Method
- Mix rice flour, mashed banana, cardamom and salt. Add minimal water — banana provides moisture.
- Layer in puttu maker with coconut. Steam 7 minutes.
Kerala's version of upma uses broken wheat (gothambu rava) instead of semolina
— nutty, heartier and more nutritious, tempered with coconut oil and curry leaves.
Ingredients
- 1 cup broken wheat (gothambu rava), dry-roasted
- 2 cups water
- 1 onion, green chillies, ginger
- Mustard seeds, curry leaves, coconut oil, salt
- 2 tbsp grated coconut to finish
Method
- Splutter mustard in coconut oil, sauté onion, chilli, ginger until soft.
- Add water and salt, bring to boil. Add roasted wheat slowly, stirring continuously.
- Cover and cook on low 8–10 minutes. Fluff with fork, top with grated coconut.
Whole moong (green gram) cooked with coconut, shallots and green chilli into a
light, soupy curry — a nutritious, protein-rich Kerala breakfast curry served with puttu or rice.
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole moong, soaked overnight and pressure cooked
- ½ cup grated coconut
- 4–5 shallots, 2 green chillies, ½ tsp turmeric
- Curry leaves, coconut oil, mustard seeds
Method
- Grind coconut with shallots and chillies to a coarse paste.
- Add to cooked moong with turmeric. Simmer 5 minutes.
- Temper with mustard seeds and curry leaves in coconut oil. Pour over curry.
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