Ullasavadi Toddy Shop in Vaikom

Have you ever wondered where to get authentic traditional food varieties from Kerala? If you are a person who is looking to have a taste of different recipes from Kerala, you cannot afford to miss out on the village toddy shops. In recent times they have been gaining widespread popularity in serving numerous varieties of traditional Kerala dishes. We all would have been told the fact that ‘Alcohol consumption is injurious to health’. But apart from indigenous toddy extracted from the coconut trees, these shops would have amazing varieties of tasty non-vegetarian recipes along with some of the most popular breakfast dishes like Appam, Tapioca, Puttu and so on. Ullasavadi Toddy Shop in Vaikom is yet another toddy shop serving lip-smacking traditional Kerala dishes.

The toddy shop is located in a place called Vaikom, I have made a journey of 40 km from Cochin to reach the food spot. We would have to cover a fair distance from the main road to get to the location. The village area where this restaurant function was so luxurious with greenery. Lush green grass seen in the paddy fields around the shop presents us with a fascinating view.

Although the food spot is by the side of a road, we would have to walk across a wooden log bridge laid over a small canal by the roadside to get to the toddy shop. As I was striding down the bridge to get to the other side, managed to have a peek at the name board of the shop, giving away the detailed list of food items available through the shop.

Our vlog at Ullasavadi Toddy Shop in Vaikom

The front yard had a few coconut trees and flowering plants. Green-coloured garden nets were in place to provide us with shade from the scorching sun. The main building is seen in front and several small dining arrangements have been in place for the customers to have their privacy. Since it was a hot summer day, I preferred to have the food in the open dining area. The small building for dining hasn’t had a fan and that has also made me choose the open area.

When I got to the kitchen, the guy who is in charge of the cooking, Sanal was busy with the preparation of the Crab roast. There were many recipes ready to be served to the customers. Some of them were Fish curry, Beef fry, Appam, Parotta, Kappa (Tapioca) and so on. Since backwater crab costs more, they have gone for the ones which are caught from the sea. I have witnessed the preparation of delicious crab roast recipes and it can be had with dishes like Appam, Parotta and Tapioca.

Among the list of all these items, I have ordered Appam, Tapioca, Crab roast, Beef fry, Fish curry (tuna) and Natholi fry (Anchovy). Soft and puffy Appam was good to have with Duck Mappas gravy which had a slightly high taste of coriander powder. Even though I was having my food in an open area beneath the trees, I was amazed to experience the lack of breeze across the paddy fields nearby.

The beef fry came with coconut slices and it was cooked really well. The beef pieces were so soft and I felt it to be more delicious than the duck recipe. Sliced onion rings were kept on top of each of these recipes. It can be had along with these recipes and it enhances the flavour. Before having the tapioca dish, I tried my favourite Crab roast recipe and it was spectacular. Even though Crab meat was so tedious to be collected from its hard outer covering, it has always been my preference.

Tapioca was taken with spicy fish curry and crispy fried Natholi (Anchovy). The fish curry was reddish in colour with the use of Kashmiri chilli powder and it was delicious to be had with tapioca. The sour flavour with the use of Malabar Tamarind was another attractive feature of this dish. If you happen to be on your way through this place, Ullasavadi Toddy Shop in Vaikom would be a nice choice to have for lip-smacking traditional Kerala recipes.