What’s on a Kerala wedding menu? London-based food vlogger finds out

Indian weddings are certainly a grand affair. Family, friends and relatives engage in elaborate rituals like haldi, mehendi, and sangeet, with minute attention given to the décor, venue, and designer outfits. But what truly steals the show is the extravagant menu, ranging from everything: lip-smacking appetisers, delicious main course and of course, sugary desserts. Recently, a UK-based food vlogger, Julius Fiedler, dropped a video on Instagram where he was seen attending a South Indian wedding. He was especially taken aback by the exquisite spread, featuring more than 40 dishes, all prepared traditionally.

In the clip, Julius Fiedler revealed that the wedding happened in Kochi, where approximately 1500 guests were invited. The vegetarian menu had multiple classic recipes. Julius wasted no time joining the kitchen team and watching the cooking in detail.

Vegetarian menu of Kerala wedding

The video then showed the cooks chopping pumpkins, unripe bananas and yams before adding the vegetables to a big pan. Next, they were flavoured with spices and covered with banana leaves for steaming. After that, the vegetables were mixed with grated coconuts and South India’s staple curry leaves.



In the following step, the cooks toasted some lentils and coconut until they turned golden brown. They were also sprinkled with a generous amount of spices — an ingredient generously used in South Indian cuisine. After that, the vegetables were added to the blend and mixed thoroughly, creating the iconic kottu curry.

Traditional pickle and payasam-making process

In a separate pan, mustard seeds, dried red chillies, curry leaves, and raw mango were added along with some more chilli powder, before the concoction formed into a thick and yummy pickle. Finally, for the dessert, the cooks split fresh coconuts in half, shredded them at a rapid speed and squeezed them to extract rich coconut milk.

After that, winter melons were cut and shredded, boiled, and squeezed before pouring them into a giant pot of melted jaggery and fresh coconut milk. This created the delectable traditional sweet dish, aka payasam. The video concluded with the guests being served the mouth-watering dishes on banana leaves, with Julius Fiedler joining them to enjoy the culinary spread.

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More about Julius Fiedler

Julius Fiedler, better known as Hermann, found his passion for cooking while baking a loaf of bread as his first cooking venture. Despite the bread turning out not as expected, the humbling experience of baking his own loaf filled him with a curiosity for all types of food. During the final year of film school, Julius arrived in the UK to study and film the craft of artisanal cheddar-making. Soon, he started exploring dishes across the world, from the bustling streets of Mumbai to the heart of Tuscany and the prehispanic cuisine of Mexico.