South INDIAN COOKING - How to Make IDIYAPPAM & DOSAS | Thekkady, Kerala, India

And the last thing we have to do is cover it. Good morning everyone, this is David Hoffman from David's Been Here in Dhekri, Kerala, India. Right now we're in the Tiger Reserve. We're about to go inside to see the lake. And after this we're going to go have some delicious breakfast and then I'm going to bathe an elephant. Alright, let's go inside. When you come into Dhekri, you have to go into the Tiger Reserve. It costs 500 rupees per foreigner and 20 rupees for the bus ride. The bus ride takes around 20 minutes to get all the way inside. And there are a lot of different activities you can do here. You can go on a boat ride, you can go trekking, and you can go to the lake. What we're doing this morning is going straight to the lake because we don't really have time to go trekking or go on a boat ride. But we're going to see the lake, we're going to see how the reserve looks, obviously. And if you want to come see tigers, you can do that as well. The only problem is you should come here multiple days to go see a tiger because it's not so easy. Obviously, wildlife is really, really difficult. And tigers are even harder than if you're going somewhere in Africa where there's a lot of big five. Here, they told me they see one a year if they see that. It depends. It depends on how many times. You have to get really lucky. By the way, my guide Evan, he's super famous here. Evan, you're getting recognized non-stop, dude. Because I do Malayalam videos, they easily recognize me. And that's good, actually. We get help everywhere. And they're very friendly, too. David, see, you can see, we are in the Tegri Lake, and you can see there are wild gore. Indian gore. It's like buffalo, but it's not buffalo. But people call it as wild buffalos. Anyway, if you're going for boating, we'll see, we'll spot elephants, wild Indian gores. We'll also spot antelopes, if we're lucky, tigers. David, if you're interested to go for nature walks, you can go here. It's 1400 rupees whether you're a foreigner or an Indian. The same price. Two and a half hours of walk. You can see many animals, but I doubt about tigers. David, I think you're very hungry. Let's go for breakfast. After that, we'll go for some other activities. Now, we are not going for boating now because we do not have that much time. But what are we eating for breakfast? String hoppers. String hoppers? Have you ever tried that before? I think one time. It's Indian noodles. How many tigers are there in this reserve? There are a total of 35 as per the last census. In all, 32 square kilometers. Wow. Just 35. So, I mean, it's really rare to see them. Best time probably morning and afternoon. But how do you go to see them? On a jeep? Safari or what? You have jeep safari, you have jungle walk. You can stay overnight in the jungle. Oh, you can? Jungle camps are there. Oh, wow. Night trekking is there. If you are really lucky, you will spot a tiger. But anyway, tigers will spot you. They'll spot you for sure. You're the prey. Back to the hotel? Back to the hotel. Wood Note Hotel. The best hotel in Tagil. Here we go. Wood Note Hotel. We're going to the Drizzle restaurant to see how they make the string hoppers. And besides string hoppers, there's also a curry or what is it? Yeah, chicken stew. Chicken stew? Yeah, let's go directly to the restaurant. Are you hungry? Yeah. I would like some spices this morning. We'll grab some pepper. Some bird eye pepper. Alright, we're entering the kitchen now. Gotta put on my little hair piece. My hair isn't anybody's food. This is pakwan. Pakwan is made with peanut. So it's very similar to puri. Very fluffy, crispy. But at the same time, we are going to use this for... I've never seen this before. First time. Chicken stew is a modified version of English stew that we are making here. Kerala. When it comes to Kerala, we have to have some fusion with Kerala. Oh my god, look at that. Nice and creamy. Coconut chutney. You have the little chili right here. Just gonna break off a piece. And the best thing about this is that the dosa absorbs the chutney. Dosa. These dosas, again, are a little different. They're not so crispy like the tamarind do. More fluffy. The chef is now making string hoppers, which are Indian noodles. And the way it works is very easy, right? So he puts the dough into this presser. And then he comes over here. And on a steamer, he throws coconut. And then presses the noodles out. He does it one layer. Covers it another layer. And then he covers it completely. And then he waits 5 minutes until you see the steam coming out. Once the steam's done, they're ready. He pulls them out. Now it's my turn to make string hoppers. So I'm gonna put a little bit of coconut oil, right? A little bit on each. Alright, a little bit. Then, you get the coconut. Here we have it. The string hoppers. Ooh, look good. Alright, right there. Wow, look at this. Oh my god, look at the coconut. And the coconut milk right there. Yeah. Incredible. And here we have the chicken. Chicken stew. It looks so buttery. Whoa, look at this. Wow. Big chunks of chicken. Super creamy. Coconut milk throughout. Whoa, this looks incredible. And here we have string hoppers. As you can see, lots of noodles. Basically, with coconut throughout. Coconut shades. And then we have the coconut milk right here. It's like a dream. They took out the inside, the meat, right? And it turned into like a milk, right? David. String hoppers is best with the chicken. For me. Okay. But traditionally, you can eat this one with coconut milk. So pour a bit of coconut milk. String hoppers is best with chicken, beef, mutton stew. Okay. That's my best. Okay. But traditionally, we can eat it with coconut milk. This is coconut milk. It's creamy. And you add a bit of sugar. Sugar. Just sweeten it. Sweeten it. I feel like the coconut's already sweet, but... But it's extra sweet. Extra sweet. We are Indians. We love sweet, extreme. Spicy, extreme. Oh my god. Sour, extreme. Just mix it. Mix it. Just mix it like that? Yeah. All of it. Perfect. Okay. Sugar is for the entirety. That's a lot of sugar. Yeah. A whole pack of sugar in one little go. Okay. And then? Then take how much you need to eat. And straight away to your mouth. That's so sweet. Love noodles. Super thin noodles. Very soft. The coconut milk really does bind it all together. Then you have this burst of sugar. Lots of extremes here, but really good. A little more, right? This one doesn't have any milk or sugar. And then, I go over here and I grab some of the chicken. Put it right on top? Yeah. Like that. I would actually put a little more of this delicious creamy coconut. So you gotta add a little more, right? Yeah. And then mix it? Yes. Wow. The stew. The smell, the aroma is like hitting my nose. And then I break off a little bit of chunks of chicken, right? Yeah. So I'm supposed to like tear it apart. Boiled chicken. This is a very unique dish. Sweet, this cardamom, this cinnamon, curry leaf and chicken. All that with coconut milk. Super creamy. Extremely creamy. Oh, but it's a great combination with these noodles. Guys, I'm in love with this. I have to get a little more. Same thing. This time, it's gonna get purely the coconut sauce. Like, just like, that stew. Wow. Look at that. So, I've had Stringhopper before once in Sri Lanka. It's a little different though. Here, they mix it with ajnan veg right there. I'm pretty sure it was just straight veg. This is like a sweet, coconut, creamy pasta. Do you know the name of this one in Kerala? I think you told me apam. Yeah, there are different types of apam here. And this is idi apam. Idi means punch. Punch apam? Yeah. Hey man, it's packed with a punch. What a phenomenal dish, man. And I haven't tried it yet. I mean, I'm surprised. Is this like a rare thing? Like, it's not like common everywhere? Probably just have to go to a restaurant that specializes in it or has it on the menu, right? Yes. Because this is actually a la carte. Right now, it's like breakfast, they have buffet. But I ordered this a la carte. I am a die-hard coconut fan. From Miami, I eat coconut every day. Drink it, eat the flesh, even coconuts. David, I love this so much because it's soft. It's easygoing. For breakfast, especially. When it is with stew, there's no other alternative better than this. So add plenty of stew, that gravy. Let's break a piece of chicken. Small piece. Mix it properly. All of them. Let it go. Then add the chicken piece and the noodles together. Creamy. Sweet. And the taste that we are getting here is from star anise as well as coconut milk. That coconut milk gives that sweetness, star anise flavor, and also cinnamon. I have to say, this is my favorite, favorite thing to have for breakfast now. Wow, this is better than dosa. Straight up. This is way better. I don't even need the chicken. I mean, the chicken is good, but just getting the coconut taste, the sweetness. I mean, the noodles absorb it so well. Look at this. This is like a good ball. Wow. Hey, my favorite. So tasty. Coconut milk. Breakfast was phenomenal, but now we're off to bathe with the elephants. I'm actually going to bathe an elephant. The elephant is going to bathe me. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you're about to see it right now. I'm super excited. Guys. Tascar Trail. It's an elephant safari center. Here we can see elephant, the elephant bath and all. And we can take pictures with the elephant. And here that is. Wow. And here we are. We just entered, and there's an elephant right there. Beautiful. Here at Tascar Trails, they have different activities you can do. The one I'm doing is the one that I'm bathing the elephant. So all I'm doing is bathing it, and then it's also going to put its trunk on top of my head and soak me. It better. Morning. This is a ride. Normal ride. 15 to 20 minute ride in the plantation. This is 500 rupees per person. This one is bath, shower. 1200 rupees per person. There are coffee beans. Some of them are ripe. Yeah. Wow, coffee beans, huh? So do they produce coffee here? Like actual coffee that I can drink? Yes. You get good coffee, good tea. We'll see cardamom plants as well. And even cardamom seeds. Yeah, cardamom plants. I mean, this place just grows everything. They're not so good, but still, we have seeds here. Small ones. Mostly people do not know that cardamom seeds are coming from the bottom of the tree. And that was cardamom, and these are pepper. They're green pepper. After process, black pepper. So, pepper vines. Wow. You want to eat? You want to try one? Yeah, I'll try one. Why not? Oh, man. That's like real strong. Really? Mark was eating like... Rolling? No, don't try for that. I mean, it's like pure pepper. Crazy. You can crush pepper, green pepper, and put over the chicken or fish and grill it. Tasty. Hey, buddy. My turn to bathe the elephant. What a beautiful creature. Gorgeous. Just like that? Wow. Skin's tough. So beautiful. So, the best thing to do is, you know, obviously follow this guy's instructions. He'll tell you where to go and where not to go. You know, this is a big beast. You don't want to get him mad. Look at this. Wow. Look at this. Wow. He's so relaxed. They love being bathed, by the way. They love it. They'll be here all day doing this. How long does it take them to wash him? An hour, at least? Everyday. Normal, two. Two hours? Two, two, two. So, you can see. Touching his trunk. He's like shaking my hand. Wow. So big. She wants more? Is that what she wants? Does she want water? Right here? Sometimes. Sometimes? No, she doesn't want water right now. Oh, wow. You can feel the air coming out. Wow. You can feel her breath. Oh. Look at that. Beautiful animal. You okay? Yeah. Next up, I'm going to wash the tail. The tail's so... Oh, man. I've never seen a tail this close. Look at that. That has like, tough hair. What is this? It's like huge whiskers, actually. Feel like that? It's okay? And always keep wetting, right? Amazing. So, I can't go into the belly area because it might tickle her. She can get startled. She can move. So, they say the best thing to do is always go in the backside. And you can see, like, you know, different pieces of dirt. There's some animals, like little, I don't know, like little ticks and stuff. I don't know if they're ticks, but it's like little things that are just scraping off. They're on her. Gotta remove them. So, what's her name again? Usharani. Thank you for this experience. All right. So, we just got the elephant out so we can clean the face, right? Gotta be careful here. The trunk. It's so massive. Look at this. Wow. Look at this. It's like... Oh, it's gonna get so good. And right here, she has a few spots. Little white area. Some black spots. Look at that. I mean, the foot is huge. And that's it, guys. We explored Thekkady. We saw Thekkady Lake. You can go on a boat ride out there. You can go hiking. Really beautiful spot. Tiger Reserve. After that, we went back to the hotel and we tried string hoppers. One of my favorite Indian breakfasts of all time. It's basically like pasta, right? And you mix it with the chicken stew. Super creamy. So delicious. And after that, we came here to Tusker Trail and I bathed an elephant. I mean, it's really a unique experience. You guys have to do it when you come here to Thekkady. And if you love this video, please give me a thumbs up. Leave a comment down below. Subscribe to my channel for more awesome travel content. I'll see you in the next Travel Food Adventure in Thekkady. Whoa!