Kozhikode is consistently named one of India's great food cities, in 2023 the first Indian city given UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy status. The local Mappila cuisine is its own thing: rice flour-based pathiri flatbreads, slow-cooked mutton stews, Malabar biryani with short-grained kaima rice, and an extraordinary range of seafood. Save room for a slab of Kozhikode halwa to take away.