Kerala Toddy = Kallu = Palm Wine

Kerala Toddy = Kallu = Palm Wine

dominic savio fernandez

Kallu tastes exactly the way "neer more" (dilute buttermilk) would taste if it gets a little too sour. Kallu in my opinion tastes very good with a bland sour taste and smells the same way the over sour butter milk would smell,

not too pungent though.

The problem with kallu is that it has a very short shelf life, stocks arrive in the morning and must be sold by evening otherwise they get spoilt. So the toddy shop guys take limited stocks per day based on sales average and when sales suddenly go high and the stocks deplete they dilute the kallu and add chemicals (tablets) to compensate for the diluted liquor which gives undesirable effects. So it is always advisable to take an expert hand along who can taste the stuff to determine whether the stuff is good or not before the rookies try drinking it. Fortunately for us we had a worker from the estates who came along with us to do the testing

and he gave us the green signal.

The toddy shop served kappa curry (kappa is a root like potato), beef intestines (tasted great! I know some are puking now) and also boiled eggs. These side dishes went so well along with the kallu.