Best Kerala restaurants in Dubai

For an Indian, Dubai feels like a home away from home, especially if you are from Kerala. A day spent wandering through Dubai will reveal that a sizable portion of Kerala's expatriate population resides there. You will find people from Kerala at many commercial establishments blending seamlessly with the locals and other expatriates from around the world. So, if you are from Kerala and visiting the emirate or staying in Dubai for work, you will find many people speaking the local dialect, Malayalam, find articles that are traditional to Kerala, and even can relish sumptuous Kerala dishes at many restaurants. For all who want to check out the best of Kerala cuisine in Dubai, bookmark this list of hotels and check out a few when you visit Dubai.

De Fish

This is the place to go if you're in the mood for some delicious fish curries, grilled fish, and other seafood dishes. You can sample a variety of fish at De Fish, grilled or fried to perfection, or marinated in thick, rich curries flavoured with coconut and tamarind. If you've worked up an appetite, try their signature meal, the Samudra Sadya, which is a wholesome platter of delicious seafood served on a banana leaf. Address: 31 8C Street, Al Karama 90943 Dubai, UAE Calicut Paragon

One of the most well-known Kerala restaurants in Dubai is Calicut Paragon. With humble roots in India, the restaurant expanded to Dubai and today is one of the top-ranking restaurants in UAE. This award-winning eatery takes you on a flavourful culinary tour of authentic Kerala cuisine and has numerous locations throughout Dubai. Customers particularly enjoy the mouth-watering dosas, appams, clay pot dishes, and biriyani on their extensive and reasonably priced menu. It is a non-vegetarian lover's paradise, but the restaurant also offers an incredible selection of vegetarian dishes.

Address: Al Ghani Building, Amman Street, Al Nahda, Dubai, UAE. The restaurant also has a branch at Al Karama. Salkara Restaurant

Bringing you the flavours of sumptuous Malabar cuisine, Salkara Restaurant is another fantastic place to visit Kerala food culture. A sister restaurant of Calicut Paragon, you get to relish hearty meals consisting of dishes such as appam and stews, chicken roasts, and Hot mutton pepper fry marinated in a blend of Malabar spices and grilled to perfection.

Address: Food Court, Lulu Hypermarket, Qusais, Dubai, UAE. They also have a branch at Dubai Media City. Aaaraamam

Aaraamam Restaurant, another restaurant with a strong fan base in Dubai serves traditional Travancore-styled cuisine from Kerala. Located near Dubai Frame, it is one of the most frequented Kerala restaurants in Dubai for locals and tourists alike. As they are popular for their lavish "sadya" feast at reasonable prices, the restaurant gets crowded quickly during the Kerala festivals. The highlight of their menu that regular customers vouch for are spicy beef fry with steamed rice, and meat or fish curries with porotha. Additionally, they offer Kerala comfort foods like pothichoru, Kanji(rice porridge), chamandi (traditional coconut chutney), and pazhampori (fried plantains).

Address: Belhasa Building, Street 9 A, Al Karama, Dubai, UAE. They also have a branch at Oud Metha. Naalukettu

Savour a delicious meal while taking in the rustic ambiance of a vintage Kerala mansion. This Kerala restaurant enchants you with its exquisite wooden interiors, hanging temple lamps, and friendly servers dressed up in the traditional attire of Kerala. A highly celebrated restaurant nestled in the lobby level of Dubai Grand Hotel Fortune in Deira, Dubai, it tantalizes your tastebuds with a menu offering an amalgam of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes cooked to perfection.

Address: Dubai Grand Hotel, Al Qusais, Deira, Dubai, UAE Dhe Puttu

For many Keralites, "Puttu" is more than just a breakfast item - it's an emotion! Many people from Kerala can remember the early rainy mornings in Kerala when the whiff of freshly steamed puttu (steamed rice cakes with shredded coconut) and coconut-infused curries fills the air and makes you feel like you had the perfect start to the day. When you want to eat this filling Kerala breakfast dish, go to Dhe Puttu, which specialises in serving this staple dish in a variety of combinations. It is one of the most popular Dubai Kerala restaurants to enjoy a hot and wholesome breakfast. Some of the lip-smacking dishes to try here are Chicken Kappa Kothu Puttu and Mutton Biriyani Puttu . If you have an appetite, then go for their unlimited buffet breakfasts which happen on selected days of the week, and start just for AED 15!

Address: Shamma Building, Shop No.1, Behind Park Regis Hotel, Al Karama, Dubai, UAE MotaFish Restaurant

Visit Motafish to sample the coastal cuisine from the backwaters of Kerala combined with global flavours. Motafish, a haven for lovers of seafood was launched in Dubai in 2002 and has since enchanted diners with a variety of seafood delicacies like prawns fry, Kuttnad Crab Roast, and Kappa and fish curries, among other dishes. Their signature dishes, the Motafish seafood bucket, and Shappu dishes, are to die for!

Address: 321 Damascus Street, Al Qusais, Dubai, UAE. They also have a branch at Umm Sequim Street. Frequently Asked Questions • What is Kerala cuisine?

Kerala is a coastal state of India and its cuisine is highly influenced by a variety of spices, seafood, and local vegetation that make every dish a delight for the senses. Kerala food is a potpourri of flavour and extensively uses fresh, traditional ingredients like coconut, rice and lentils, seafood, curry leaves, and tamarind. Be it a vegetarian or non-vegetarian dish, they have the perfect blend of tangy and spicy flavours that will make your taste buds dance!

• What can you typically find in a Kerala menu?

Kerala meals are simple staple meals typically made with rice, coconut, and spices. Idli, dosa, string hoppers, or puttu (steamed rice cakes) are usually served for breakfast. Lunch and dinner consist of steamed rice, spicy biriyanis, or flaky porota(flatbreads) with spicy, coconut curries. Tapioca (Kappa) is also used extensively in the cuisine.

• What dishes from Kerala are flavourful and worth trying?

The list is exhaustive, but grilled delicacies and seafood curries are worth checking out if you enjoy spicy food. Dishes like puttu, kappa with fish, stew-appam, and payampuris evoke nostalgia for visitors from Kerala in Dubai.

• What is a Kerala Sadya?

Sadya is the grand feast that takes place during Kerala festivals. It consists of over 20 dishes of different flavours served on a banana leaf. Every element entices different taste buds in your mouth. A sadya begins with salty papadams and tangy-spicy-sweet umami flavours of different pickles, progresses to a main course of enriched curry-laden steamed rice and vegetable side dishes, and concludes with the sweet flavours of paysams.

•Which area has more concentration of Kerala restaurants in Dubai?

The Al Karama and Al Qusais areas of Dubai have several restaurants catering Kerala cuisine.

•Are there any fine dining venues to visit for an exquisite dining experience with Kerala flavours?

The Nellara Restaurant on Damascus Street is an opulent restaurant to check out for an exquisite Kerala cuisine dinner. Suresh Pillai, a well-known Indian chef from Kerala, will open his signature restaurant – ‘Chef Pillai’ in Dubai soon.

Conclusion

If you are a Keralite travelling to Dubai, the food is something you would not get homesick about as you get the authentic native village-like flavour and aromas when you have the Kerala cuisine here. Kerala's signature dishes, spicy curries, seafood delights, milk desserts, and, of course, the grand feast of sadya during festivals, will leave any Kerala visitor with fond memories. Other visitors view it as a delightful culinary experience to take pleasure in while in Dubai. When visiting Dubai, everyone should try Kerala cuisine, whether they are Indian or not, and the restaurants mentioned above have some of the best menus to offer you that hearty meal.