Boli Think of bolis as Thiruvananthapuram-style pancakes, yellow in colour, feather light, with just the right amount of sweet and melt in your mouth.Brought to the city, supposedly, by the Tulu Brahmin settlers from Karnataka and popularised by Maratha Brahmin Dewans of erstwhile Travancore, the bolis are now a favourite tea-time snack and a beloved part of every sadya in this part of Kerala. It’s high perishable and best eaten fresh. Where to buy: Jai Sitha Devi (Boli swami) Valiyasala gramam; Maha Boli, Pazhavangadi; Sastha sweets, West Fort (for thenga boli) Chips Our favourite gifting item because it’s readily available, easy to carry around and most importantly, crunchy and delicious, an any time, anywhere snack. There are several varieties of chips — banana, jackfruit, bitter gourd, tapioca, breadfruit, beetroot and the like that come as plain, salty, spicy, sweet, peppery, seasoned with chilli flakes and curry leaves... That said, we are rather partial to chips made of either ripe and unripe bananas, sliced not too thick and not too thin, lightly salted and deep fried in coconut oil. Of course, when it’s jackfruit season, our loyalties shift to salted jackfruit chips. Where to buy: Maha Chips, Pazhavandagi; VC Chips and Kannan Chips, Kaithamukku, bakeries like Supreme Bakers, Bread Factory and Fort Bakers, roadside stalls near SMSM institute, Cotton Hill School and Sasthamangalam Munthirikothu Not everyone’s favourite bite thanks to its tough coating; to bite into it one needs teeth of steel! Nonetheless it’s a tea-time snack that many citizens, particularly the older generation, enjoy, along with a cuppa of filter coffee. Munthirikothu is essentially green gram dumplings, coated with rice batter and deep fried. The fresh ones are always soft and can easily break apart. The longer the munthirikothu is kept, the harder it gets to eat. Where to buy: Fort Bakery and roadside stalls in Kaithamukku, Sonu Bakery Murukku Another popular tea-time, crunchy snack, usually made of rice flour and pounded urad dal. It too comes in a number of varieties — kai murukkku, ari murukku, thenkuzhal, mullu murukku, omapodi, kadalamavu murukku, butter murukku, ragi murukku, kara sev, spicy ring murukku, thatta, pakkavada, sweet achappam... The differences depend on the ingredients, the seasoning used and the way that they are made. The plate-like kai murukku, for instance, gets its name because it’s made by hand, the batter twisted into perfect concentric circles. Where to buy: Vengannoor ‘murukku’ street, near Vedivechankovil; Sastha Sweets, West Fort; Sweet Mahal, Bakery Junction Travancore biriyani The Travancore style biriyani, especially the mutton version, is a treat with no equals. Locals believe that the biriyani was brought to the city by Paithani warriors who were once employed in the army of erstwhile Travancore. This variety is made of long-grained rice and the taste is somewhat similar to the Hyderabadi biriyani, only it’s not as dry and much less spicy. The best Travancore biriyanis, in our books, are the ones where each grain of rice is coated a light yellow from the saffron used and the ones that do not leave your hands greasy. Where to eat: Hotel Highland, Manjalikulam road; Azad restaurant, Overbridge; Tharavattil Plaza, Government Law College Junction

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