Kidilum NYC: 7 must-order dishes at this Kerala restaurant
Kidilum NYC serves Kerala food without toning it down for New York. The Flatiron restaurant is led by Malayali chef Vinu Ravindran, who told Onmanorama he “never wanted to dilute the intensity of our food simply to suit New York palates.” The name means “fabulous” in Malayalam, and the menu backs it up. Here are the seven dishes I’d order at Kidilum NYC, in the order I’d eat them.
Before anything arrives, every table gets a podi idli on the house. It’s not on the menu, so don’t go looking for it.
Peppery beef on a crisp rice cake. Pathiri is a rice-based staple from Kerala’s Malabar coast. Order this first; it sets the tone for the meal.
Prawns steamed in banana leaf with a sweet-sour onion tomato marmalade. Pollichathu is the Kerala method of cooking inside a banana leaf, which keeps everything moist. Unwrap it at the table.
Prawns in coconut, ginger and black pepper. It’s gentle at first, then the pepper kicks in. Keep rice nearby.
A crisp tapioca cutlet on a beetroot reduction. Tapioca is a Kerala staple, and pachadi is a traditional side usually made with yogurt or coconut. This is the dish nobody at the table sees coming.
Aged kaima rice, goat and raisins. Thalassery is a town in northern Kerala, and its biryani uses short-grain kaima rice instead of basmati. It’s Kerala’s answer to biryani, and it holds its own.
Black halwa with vanilla ice cream and praline. Calicut, now Kozhikode, is famous across India for its halwa. It’s dense, warm and cold at once, and the crunch makes it.
Coconut nectar under toasted coconut cream. Ilaneer is tender coconut, and payasam is Kerala’s classic sweet pudding. It’s cool and light, and it’s gone in four spoonfuls.
Visit Kidilum NYC
- 📍31 West 21st Street, New York, NY 10010
- Reservations: Available on Resy.
Why Kidilum NYC matters
Most South Indian restaurants in New York lean on dosas and a familiar menu. Kidilum NYC goes deep on one region, Kerala, and names its dishes after places like Thalassery and Calicut. That’s the same shift happening across South Asian culture right now: regional over generic. If you like Kerala food, also read our guide to Dravida’s 7 best dishes.
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