Biriyani was not made in a day

Contemporary food practices and food culture are nothing but embodied history. The food of a place and the norms around it are not mere constructions of cookery, but the cultural memory of its people. It carries and reflects the influence of history on the evolution of contemporary culture. So is the story of Malabar food. It has evolved through the historic cosmopolitan exposure that the coasts of Malabar had. So much do we hear about the glory of Calicut Biriyani, Naichorou (Ghee Rice), Pathiri and so on (in combination known as the Mappila food of Calicut). The social adoption and acceptance of the mappila food is very much rooted in the history of this place.  

It’s well known that the Malabar food is influenced by Arab trade and the connections of Malabar with the Middle East. However, the evolution of the Mappila food as we experience it today, is not limited to the imposition of an external cultural entity. It has more to do with the food habitus of a community which looks outward resolutely towards the Indian Ocean for more connections and opportunities. The community being talked about here is the Mappila (Muslim) community of Calicut.  

Every food story in Calicut is a celebration of the heyday of Arab trade which started in the early centuries, rose to great prominence by the beginning of the fourteenth century and remained to be on highs up to the 1970s. The hospitality of Calicut evolves from the embodied food memory of festive feasts organized by the wealthy local traders to entertain Arab businessmen. Salkaram (A feast), which is a Malabar peculiarity are reminiscent of parties hosted in turns by bazaar traders (Market-referring to Valiangadi in Calicut) in their godowns for Arab merchants. This practice was very common till the seventies. 

People with business interest including Samoothiri-the King made sure that the traders from the Middle East felt at home in Calicut.  They were offered their food, religious necessities and even families. Many of them married from Calicut and the ‘Koya’ community is of this lineage.  Thus Calicut owned up the Arab food. So came Biriyani, Ghee Rice, Samosas (This Samosa is different from the Bengali Samosa)

Post 70s, Arab traders stopped coming to Calicut as the Middle East started becoming the resource hub of the global oil trade. But then Calicut started going to the gulf. Through the already  established trade connections , a lot of people from Malabar crossed the Indian Ocean in search of jobs. Food stuff and food memories still keep coming into Malabar through them.

A very good example to a recent entry into Arab food register of Calicut is the Kuzhi Mandhi.  (Mandhi is literally Biriyani in Arabic and Kuzhi refers to a pit in Malayalam). This dish should be noted as another mile stone in the history of Arab-Malabar connection. As Gulf countries are increasingly implementing nationalization policy (NITAQAT), many keralaites lost their jobs and had to come back to their natives. Next what we saw is, eateries both small and big mushrooming alongside the highways, selling Kuzhi Mandhi as their signature dish. Those people who lost their jobs turned their food memory into either an employment or a business. 

As long as we have people looking outward across the Indian Ocean for opportunities and as long they are let free to do that, the culinary culture will keep evolving and will keep growing richer.  

There are at least four, if not more, Arabian signature restaurants in Calicut which not just serve Arabian dishes, but serve the way it is to be served; the right ambience, the right utensils and even the right seating. The whole ambience is set to be Arabian here. 

Al Baik is a very established name in Calicut. The Light House, which has come up recently has a wonderful setting and has recreated a deserted feel. Cochin Majlis has brought in the Majlis concept, which offers wonderful meeting space. 

The following photographs were taken from Cochin Majlis. (These dishes are not Arabian).

To what appealed to my taste buds, a little advice from this foodie to Cochin Majlis would be to wok really harder on the taste, service, and housekeeping. The bathrooms were really in a bad shape. May be, the bearers need a bit more of motivation to climb those steps up and down through those four floors.

The Calicut Brand of Food

It’s said that the evolution of any great food is a give and take process amongst the cultures that the place has been exposed to. The Calicut brand of food vouches for this as every food served here would tell you the cosmopolitan history of Calicut- the Arab, the Portuguese, the Dutch and the British. Along with the export of the ‘spicy spices’, culinary likes and dislikes were also imported. The Biriyani, Appam, the range of diverse Kerala breakfasts, the Mappila snacks, the of-late shakes/sheiks are all products of this cultural give and take.  Not to mention, the cultural openness of Calicut is not just limited to its food, but also extends to its people.
Hari Menon titles his article in Outlook Traveler Oh ! Calicut which shares the same spirit  .

Though 'Calicut Food’ may not classify itself as an approved category within the culinary taxonomy, it is becoming a fast evolving brand. Interestingly, it’s not just about food. The Calicut Food brand has evolved to be much beyond food.  It’s about its people, the way they perceive food, their language, their stories, it's rebellious ‘new generation’ and much more.

Apparently, it’s about the wide range of Mappila and Thiyya food and food joints.However, it has much more to it.

In December 2006,when the whole of South East Asia was running away from the beaches, not to be hit by Tsunami, some hard core foodies of Calicut were found headed towards the beach to have their last ‘Beef Biriyani’ from Rahmath (A hotel in Calicut popular for its Beef Biriyani). They best describe the foodies of Calicut  and are the major contributors to the brand.

The Calicut brand is a also about the curious non-Calicut Keralites whom I over hear quite often, pointing at an old restaurant, referring to it as the original ‘Ustad Hotel’. (Ustad Hotel is a box office super hit Malayalam movie, revolving around a Malabar hotel and its food culture)

Wait a moment, it’s also about the local people who would step into one of those mushrooming coffee joints, and confidently order Lasagna.  Don’t be surprised if you are served hot Lasagna or a Bruschetta in Calicut, matching global standards. Not to mention the best in the world cakes, inheriting the baking history of North Malabar.

For Calicut, which never had a place in the tourism map, its food is bringing people in. The Calicut brand is equally being exported as well.

Here are some snaps taken from Cochin International Airport, where the brand does the trick for them.