Fort Kochi was a Dutch colony for more than a century. After two major wars, the second one lasting for more than two months, the Dutch conquered the fort from the Portuguese and from the seventh day of the year 1663, they were the rulers of Fort Kochi. It remained so until 1795, when the fort was surrendered to the British. With each wave of colonisation, the culinary landscape of this city was modified in varying degrees. The cuisine of the coloniser and the colonised intermingled, often creating culinary wonders which were an interesting synthesis of distinct cooking styles and elements. Compared to the European colonists who came before and after them, the Dutch influence on Kerala cuisine is not so conspicuous. While discovering the culinary treasures in the southern tip of India, they subtly modified the cuisine of the area and seasoned many dishes with an ounce of Dutchness. A remnant of these gastronomic interactions, a testament to the baking skills of the western European navigators, still exists in Fort Kochi thanks to a few old bakers who have gone the extra mile to safeguard the recipe of a sweet, buttery bread called breudher.
In the diverse culinary culture of this…
Read more