Ingredients · Malabar food glossary
Coconut Oil
Also known as: Velichenna
The defining cooking fat of Kerala, and the reason Malabar snacks taste distinctly of the coast.
Coconut oil is the primary cooking fat of Kerala, used for frying, tempering and finishing across both everyday and festive cooking. It is what gives Malabar snacks their characteristic aroma — Kozhi Ada is pan-finished in it, banana chips are fried in it, and even Kozhikodan halwa uses coconut oil rather than the ghee used in its Tamil Nadu counterpart.
Locally it is often called velichenna ("white oil"). Its distinct flavour is integral, not incidental, to the regional cuisine.