Kerala is known as the "land of Spices". Kerala cuisine is known for its spicy yet subtly flavored food. Traditionally, in Kerala food is served on a banana leaf. . Almost every dish prepared in Kerala has coconut and spices to flavour it, giving it a sharp pungency that is heightened with the use of tamarind, while coconut gives it its richness, absorbing some of the spices. Tender coconut water is served as a refreshing nutritious thirst quencher. Fried, banana and jackfruit chips accompany a meal and are also eaten as snacks.

The cuisine of Kerala is a combination of meats, vegetable and seafood .Seafood is the main diet of Coastal Kerala, whereas vegetables form the major part the diet in the plains of Kerala. Meat is the main course among tribals and in northern Kerala.

A typical Kerala feast served on a banana leaf, is a sumptuous spread of rice and more than 14 vegetable dishes, and ends with a `payasam', a delicious sweet dessert cooked in milk.