Guide to shopping in Kerala: Spices to Souvenirs and many other things to buy in Kerala

Kerala is known as God’s Own Country, but it is also Shopping destination no 1  for thousands of years for people

looking to buy spices, today the list has only expanded to spoil you for choice of  things and souvenirs  to buy in

Kerala

  We humans evolved from hunters and gatherers to our present form, though I sincerely wonder if the current state

of humans can be termed             evolution. But let us leave that to anthropologist, zoologists and behavior

psychologists to debate. (OK, this post’s quota for big words is over, back to the     desi self).  The hunting part is

down to bargain hunting online and offline, and the gathering has evolved to a more refined skill called shopping.

    So where ever we go we want to bring a piece of the visited place to our little kingdom of dreams aka living room.

So how could I resist not to shop       in Kerala, where the world has come to shop for thousands of years.  The

fragrant spices of Kerala were responsible for launch of a thousand ships    from the Mediterranean cost, with the

sailors like Vasco de Gama following the scent to the Malabar Coast of India. Indeed it would not be exaggeration  

to say that the new world aka Americas and Australia was discovered by western colonial powers because they

wanted to find where the spices grew as    the route from middle east was controlled by Arabs, who were not willing

to give away their monopoly on the lucrative business.

    So Kerala has been the shopping mall of the world for thousands of years and it continues to entice the visitors

with the various charms in its                   bazaars from fort Cochin to tea plantations in Munnar and spice gardens in

Thekkady and Wayanad.

Anyways long story short here is a list of things you must buy in Kerala, and continue the tradition of Shopping in

Kerala

For your convenience I have divided the list in Food, decorative Handicrafts, Utility Items etc.

1. Spices: Not very ground breaking but can you really leave Kerala without buying the best spices in the

world? Take your fill of black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, turmeric etc,and  buy as much as you want,

fill your bags, even if you have to throw some of your clothes away. For you will not get better spices anywhere

else in world at such economical prices. As spices don’t go bad if kept in a dry airtight jar, you can buy without

fear of getting them spoilt.   Traveler Tip to buy spices in Kerala: Best place  Kumily  near  Thekkady, second

best place Fort Cochin for the touristy types.

Spices are a must buy in Kerala

2. Cashews: OK so the Portuguese came to buy spices to Kerala, but simultaneously they also were bringing

stuff from South America to India, and Cashew (Anacardium occidentale) is one such plant that came with them

from Brazil.  While in Goa, the Cashew Feni made from Cashew apple is a popular drink, in Kerala it is still not

that commercialized and all the focus is on the nuts.  Traveler Tip to buy Cashews: Unless you are a slave to

vanity, you can buy the split nuts that break during processing, less. I am pretty sure you  will  not  swallow  the

whole nut  and bite it. Right? So if you are getting a broken nut at lesser prices why would you not consider that

as an option? Oh yes because you like to hold the cashew nut in your hand,  examine its perfect beauty,the

cashew curves that remind you of comma and semi-colon hmm. Your choice.

Broken Cashew Nuts taste exactly same as full nuts

3. Tea: Ah so you are also one of those  who will not touch a cup of tea unless it is grown in Darjeeling? Well

darlings (do I sound like a Page 3 socialite? Good, I wanted to   ) Darjeeling and Assam sure are the more well-known and wonderful tea, but all that tea that you find on our  tea stalls selling hot tea in India

originate in the Western Ghats. This Nilgiri tea is gulped by the masses, as it is strong, full-bodied, and gives a

chocolate color to the milk that we desis love to dunk our glucose biscuits into.  So leave your tea snobbery for

some time and buy some authentic Nilgiri Tea grown in the hills of Munnar, Thekkady and Wayanad. 

4. Coffee:  OK so you are not a tea drinker? Fikar not, God’s Own Country also grows some of the finest

coffee in the world and your Kerala trip is not complete unless you have tried the special Kerala Kapi, in the little

steel tumbler. Traveler Tip for buying Coffee: My suggestion is to go for some unbranded local coffee, because

that is what the locals drink, and try to buy it as close to the source that is the plantation as possible.

5. Banana Chips: Banana must be the second most popular plant in Kerala and you will see more types on

bananas in Kerala than anywhere else in world.  Banana chips are the mother of all chips in the world, and all

other chips are copy cats and one day they may have to pay royalty on the original idea if the inventor of Banana

chips files a patent.

Banana Chips: A must buy in Kerala

  But don’t worry she is long gone and we have no idea who her descendants are or if they are reading this post.

You will find all kinds of Banana chips in Kerala, sweet, salted, spicy, crunchy, munchies etc.  They are locally

called nenthra-kaaya oopperi or upperi and you get chips made from raw bananas as well as from ripe

bananas.Banana chips are a wonderful snack to take on a hike or to serve to your guests with drinks.  Just

remember to pack them in firm container because you don’t want to buy Banana chips and eat banana powder

when you reach home.   OK enough of food products, I will not mind if you raid your kitchen for some snacks as

long as they are made of banana. You see only a few Banana chips in the picture above because I ate most of

them before I clicked this picture.

6. Handicrafts: Highly skilled Kerala artisans make showpiece and utility items from metals, coconut, wood,

etc.  A lot of these are not found anywhere else and truly represent the cultural richness and diversity of Kerala.

Kerala Souvenirs on display at Kumarakom Lake Resort

7. Coconut or Coir Products: Can you actually come out of Kerala without buying a coir product? I mean the

state is named after Coconut, ( Keralam) Kera= Coconut and Alam: Home so Kerala is home to Coconut palms.

No matter where you go you are within touching distance of a Coconut tree. Everything you will eat will have

coconut in one form or other. The roof of rural houses are made from Coconut leaves, but the roofs are too bulky

to carry so you better stick to handicrafts made from Coconut like show pieces for your living room and carpets

made from coir the fiber made from coconut husk.  Check these super cool souvenirs made from coconut husk.

A Bird nest made from coir

A cute pony made from coir

8.  The Kasavu Mundu, Sarees and dress: Are the pure handmade cotton clothes with golden borders

traditionally worn my Malayalee men and women. Now since gold is very expensive other shiny threads in

golden, green color are used.  The Men will wear the mundu in all traditional functions and festivals. The women

wear the saree in day-to-day life, but the traditional clothes are now more popular during temple visits, weddings

and festivals.  If you are not comfortable wearing the saree you can always buy Skirt and top made from the

same material. These skirt and tops stitched like a traditional Ghagra Choli are very popular among girls as they

are easier to carry around. Check this dress that I bought for my daughter from Fort Cochin. Price starts from

around 350 Rs and can go up to few thousand rupees depending on the material, craftsmanship, which car you

drive and what is your bargaining skill.   

An ethnic cotton dress for girls in Kerala

9. Kathakali Mask: Kerala is home to Kathakali and you will get Kathakali souvenirs, everywhere, from fridge

magnets, to Kathakali Masks, to hanging showpiece etc. Take your picks but don’t leave without buying some

Kathakali themed souvenirs from Kerala. I bought some hanging show pieces, as well as fridge magnets for our

home.

Kathakali Souvenirs

10. Sea Shell Show pieces: Right from Cowrie shells, that were once used as Cash (incidentally Cash is a

word with its origin in ancient Malayalam and or Tamil – Kaash), to Conch,to  oyster  shells  you  are spoiled for

choice to buy sea shell themed show pieces and souvenirs to buy in Kerala.

Sea  Shell souvenirs made from Cowrie the original money

11. Wooden Idols: You can buy wooden idols of various gods from Hinduism, Gautama Buddha, and Jesus

Christ in the bazaars of Kerala. Just make sure whatever you are buying is brand new or is a replica of antique.

Please note you are not allowed to buy and take our genuine antiques out of India.  Besides gods and

goddesses, figurines of Elephants,tigers and Kathakali dancers are  very popular items  to  purchase.

A Jesus Idol made by famous sculptor Mr. Chacko: Here his son is seen in the picture

12. Nettur Casket: Wooden Chests: Some of the finest wooden chests in world are made in Kerala and they

have multiple uses, from storage to now as a coffee table to a decorative item in your showcase depending on

the size. They were used earlier as jewelry boxes.

13. Chundan Vallam and Uru Models: They are different kind of boats.The ChundamVallam is the snake boat

well know for the races,and Urus   are the more utilitarian boats used for boat cargo and human and are worthy

of high seas.  The real ones can cost up to a million USD,but  the  models  should be much less  than the million

dollars. ( No detailed comparative  study  has been conducted in price comparisons between the price of Real

Boats and model boats, so this information is not based real comparative data or any other kind of  economic

model  but only on common sense, which is very uncommon now a days). Besides spice

boats Houseboat models are also available in market

Snake     Boat  model filled with spices

14. Nettipattom: Is the decorative ornament for elephants used during temple processions, in true royal style.  

You don’t need  a  pet  elephant  to  buy  Nettipattom,  the  real  ones  earlier  were made of Gold,today

imitations  areavailable  to be used as showpiece for your home or car in sizes varying from few inches to life-

size that you can use in your living room.Check

thispictureofahotellobbyusingNettipattomsfordecoratingthelobbyalongwithNilavilakku the next item in our list. Can

you also notice the wooden chest or Nettur in the picture?

Nilavilakku,  Nettipattom and  Nettur Casket in Lobby of ITC Raviz Kadavu

15. Nilavilakku: Is an oil lamp for ceremonial purposes in temples, homes and at the reception of every hotel

we stayed. They come in all sizes from little one that you can pick in your hands to really big ones that can be

used as a weapon to protect yourself in case of an attack by aliens, for the more traditional uses it can be filled

with oil and used every evening in your courtyard like all Kerala homes.

16. Masala Grinder: If you are buying whole spices for authentic taste, then you will need a masala grinder

or Mortar and Pestle. They come in various shapes and materials. You can get the masala grinder made of

stones like marble, metals like iron  etc. but my personal preference is to buy wood mortar and pestle as they are

the least noisy and look good if you want to use them as show pieces in your living room.  The other reason why

you should prefer wooden masala grinder is that if your wife gets  mad at you and uses the grinder as weapon,

the wooden one is likely to cause least damage. Trust me I am your well-wisher, not that my dear wife has ever

used one on me.

Mortar and Pestle or Masala Grinder  made from wood

17. Aranmula Kannadi is a metal Mirror from Kerala : This one you will not find easily, at least the genuine

ones are not easy to find. Well I could not find any so there is no picture of this mirror made by only one family

with a secret alloy in this post.  It has a shiny surface to see which is not made of silver polish like in normal

mirrors. The composition is known only to the family and they guard it carefully. They are supposed to bring good

fortune to the owner.

18. Kerala T-shirts: Here is another given, just like any other popular tourist destination, Kerala has its own

share of T-shirts, the most popular slogan is, you guessed it “God’s Own Country” Any doubts that Kerala is

God’s Own Country were laid to rest after I bought some Kerala T-Shirts from a shop owned by a Kashmiri

Shopkeeper in Jew Town of Fort Kochi.

Kerala Theme T Shirts with elephants and coconut palms

Kerala Blog Express bloggers in their Kerala T Shirts in front of  Anantha Padmanabha Swamy Temple 

Thiruvananthapuram

19. Umbrella: You should not take this one lightly and if you are not carrying one this should be the first item

you should buy in Kerala as in the hot tropical sun or the incessant rains you will need one. No

wonder Alleppey is called the Umbrella capital of India, with Umbrellas available in every shape, size and

design.OK may be not every shape, as last checked they were all circular, and stuck on a stick serving the

purpose of protecting you from rain and shine.

Colorful Umbrellas for sale in Kerala

20. Aromatic Oils and Essence:  All those spices  in  Kerala  are  used to make some of the most aromatic

oils and perfumes that you can get. The best part about these oils is that they are not just for  cosmetic purpose

most  of  them  are  useful  in treatment of some ailment ranging from Asthma, to chronic dermatitis, joint and

back pain, migraine etc.

Perfumes and aromatic oils for sale in Kerala

What else do you need you get a beautiful perfume to wear which also works on  helping you get over that

headache. Don’t forget to wear it when your in-laws are visiting you 

21. Jewelry:  For thousands of years, the only thing Kerala wanted in return of the spices was Gold and silver,

so every year a fresh crop of  spices would be exported in exchange of  Gold, Silver and other precious stones.

This Gold that entered Kerala never left except when the colonial powers plundered the wealth. Still in every

home and temple of Kerala there is enough gold to pay a King’s ransom.

Ola Wysocka Travel blogger from Poland indulges in some retail therapy in Fort Cochin Kerala

Kerala is great to shop both artificial and real gold jewelry

Whether you are looking for pure gold ornaments, or trinkets sold in street Kerala is the place to loosen your

purse strings and shop till you drop for both real gold as well as trinkets on the streets to give as gifts back home.

If you are interested in buying gold remember that Gold in India is 22 Karat unlike US where 14-18 Karat is the

norm for jewelry.  Always insist on proper receipt and buy from reputed jewelers when buying gold ornaments.

For trinkets you can just roam around the streets and look for something that catches your eyes.

This post is part of my series on Kerala Blog Express that I attended as a part of 27 travel writers from around the

world on invitation from Kerala Tourism.  

PS: Some of the pics in this post are from my trusted old 5 MP mobile phone, for rest Nikon D7000 was

used. 

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