Kerala

Mixed vegetables in coconut, curd and coconut oil. A must on the Onam sadya leaf.

Lacy, bowl-shaped pancakes of fermented rice and coconut with a mild coconut-milk stew, a Kerala breakfast and a Christmas and Easter favourite.

Steamed cylinders of rice flour layered with grated coconut, served with a spicy black chickpea curry, one of Kerala’s best-loved breakfasts.

Fine strings of rice dough pressed through a mould and steamed into soft nests, eaten with coconut milk, stew or egg curry.

A flaky, layered flatbread of maida dough stretched paper-thin, coiled and pan-fried, sold in tea shops and hotels across Kerala.

A gentle sadya curry of ash gourd and red cowpeas simmered in coconut milk and finished with raw coconut oil and curry leaves.

Finely chopped cabbage stir-fried with a coarse paste of coconut, chilli and cumin, the everyday dry vegetable of Kerala homes.

Sweet pumpkin and red cowpeas cooked with ground coconut and topped with coconut roasted until brown, a favourite of the Onam sadya.

A thick, tangy curry of yam and raw banana cooked in sour curd and coconut, which keeps for days and improves with time.

A light buttermilk curry with coconut, cumin and green chilli, often with ripe mango or cucumber, poured over rice.

A sweet, sour and hot relish of ginger, tamarind, green chilli and jaggery, served in a small spoonful on the sadya leaf.

A thick curry of black chickpeas, yam and raw banana with ground and roasted coconut, one of the richer vegetable dishes of the Onam sadya.

Kerala’s classical dance-drama, in which actors in striking painted faces and huge skirts tell stories from the Ramayana and Mahabharata through hand gestures and expressions.

The graceful solo classical dance of Kerala, named after Mohini, the enchantress form of Vishnu, with gentle swaying movements and expressive storytelling.

One of the oldest living theatre traditions in India: Sanskrit plays performed in Kerala’s temple theatres with elaborate gesture, slow acting and drumming.

A ritual dance-drama of central Kerala that enacts the goddess Kali’s battle with the demon Darika, performed by the whole village in Bhagavati temples after the harvest.

A ritual worship form of north Kerala in which a performer in huge headgear and vivid face paint becomes a deity for the night and blesses the devotees.

Kerala’s traditional martial art, practised in a sunken training ground called a kalari, with body conditioning, kicks, leaps and weapons such as sticks, swords and the flexible urumi.

A lively group song-and-dance of the Mappila Muslims of Kerala, performed with clapping around the bride at weddings.

Kerala's harvest festival welcoming the beloved King Mahabali, with flower carpets, feasts and boat races.

Kerala's festival of the astronomical New Year, on the first day of Medam. The day begins with Vishukkani, an arrangement of golden konna flowers, rice, fruits, gold, a mirror and a lamp, seen first on waking.

The first day of Chingam starts the year of the Malayalam calendar (Kollavarsham). It comes in August–September, after the monsoon, and opens the month in which Onam falls. Kerala also marks it as Farmers' Day.

Kerala's harvest festival in Chingam, welcoming the legendary King Mahabali. Ten days of pookalam (flower carpets), the Onasadya feast on banana leaves, and snake-boat races.

Kerala's grandest temple festival at the Vadakkunnathan temple in Thrissur, with caparisoned elephants, the Kudamattam display of umbrellas, and the percussion ensemble Ilanjithara Melam.

The hill shrine of Lord Ayyappa. Pilgrims keep a 41-day vow (vratham) and climb with the irumudi on their heads; the main season is Mandala–Makaravilakku, November to January.

One of Kerala's most important temples, of Krishna as Guruvayurappan.

The temple of Vishnu reclining on the serpent Anantha, which gave Thiruvananthapuram its name; one of the 108 Divya Desams.

Traditionally regarded as one of the oldest mosques in India.

Traditionally believed to have been founded by St Thomas the Apostle.

The oldest active synagogue in the Commonwealth of Nations, built in 1568.

A maze of canals, rivers and lakes around Vembanad Lake, lined with coconut palms and paddy fields, best seen from a kettuvallam houseboat.

Old port quarters of Kochi where centuries of Arab, Chinese, Jewish, Portuguese, Dutch and British trade have left churches, a synagogue, a palace and the famous Chinese fishing nets.

A hill station in the Western Ghats covered with tea estates, close to Eravikulam National Park and Anamudi, the highest peak in South India.

A forest reserve around an artificial lake at Thekkady, known for elephants, boat safaris and community-based ecotourism.

One of the last large stretches of undisturbed tropical evergreen rainforest in the Western Ghats, saved from a hydroelectric project by a public campaign.

The great Vishnu temple of Thiruvananthapuram, where the deity reclines on the serpent Ananta; the city takes its name from him.

One of Kerala’s most visited temples, dedicated to Krishna as Guruvayurappan, and a favourite place for weddings and a child’s first rice-feeding.

A hilltop forest shrine of Lord Ayyappa in the Western Ghats, visited by millions of pilgrims each season after a period of austerity.

A crescent of beaches south of Thiruvananthapuram, marked by a red-and-white lighthouse on a rocky headland, known for Ayurveda centres.

Over 2,000 years of Sanskrit theatre in Kerala's temples.

Dance drama of Goddess Kali's battle with the demon Darika.