No 12801, Monday 09 Dec 2019, Incognito

Kerala Special.

ACROSS
8   Choirmaster released frisky hamster to find fibre (4) COIR ChOIRmaster
9   Council too formulated cooking medium (7,3) COCONUT OIL*
10 Bachelor’s grandmother’s fruit (6) BANANA {BA}{NANA}
11 Tolerates some entrails (8) STOMACHS [DD]
12 European steamer carries some paper for landed proprietors (8) ESQUIRES {E}{S{QUIRE}S}
14 Money we returned to get nut (6) CASHEW {CASH}{WE<=}
16 Call for a servant (4) PAGE [DD]
17 Primarily computer science is about latest trend in electronic components (5) CHIPS {Co...r}{HIP}{Sc...e}
18 Indian Foreign Office data (4) INFO {IN}{FO}
19 Invigorating spice? (6) PEPPER [DD]
21 Horses run around East Australia’s coast (8) SEASHORE {S{E}{A}SHORE*}
23 Job’s violent antic using a couple of eggs after 5 (8) VOCATION {V}{O}{CATI{O}N}
26 Massage boy gets queen some device to make her impregnable (6) RUBBER {RUB}{B}{ER}
27 Take crabs running around western lagoons (10) BACKWATERS {TAKE+CRABS}* over {W}
28 Mark’s insect (4) TICK [DD]

DOWN
1   Korean lac’s moulded into a reptile (5,5) CORAL SNAKE*

2   Cherish drink without a drop of rum? Certainly (8) TREASURE {T{Rum}EA}{SURE}
3   Rush back carrying a piece of ice around end of April and get a sweet (6) ECLAIR {R{Ice}A{a..iL}CE}<=
4   Wrongly cast for dramatic pieces (4) ACTS*
5   Bill’s checks in the US (8) INVOICES [DD]
6   Robs hard metals, I hear (6) STEALS (~steels)
7   Angle seen between first floor and final arch (4) FISH {Fl..r}{IS}{arcH} Angle or Angel? See comments
13 Slides on sauce aboard ship (5) SLIPS {S{LIP}S}
15 Cree eves dance around couple of furlongs to show liveliness (10) EFFERVESCE {CREE+EVES}* over {FF}
17 Main character in a carnival’s conclusion (8) CARDINAL {CARD}{IN}{A}{c...aL}
18 Lives at home and dresses (8) INHABITS {IN}{HABITS}
20 Practical jokes of Pran Krishan Sikand, initially (6) PRANKS {PRAN}{Kr...n}{Si...d}
22 Donkey carries tailless bird to the other side (6) ACROSS {A{CROw}SS}
24 Festival of orthodox Nairs and Menons in the beginning (4) ONAM Acrostic
25 Margosa found in Argentine embassy (4) NEEM [T]

Reference List
European = E, Steamer = Ship = SS, Indian = IN, Foreign Office = FO, East = E, Australia = A, Egg = O, Boy = B, Queen = ER, Western = W, Furlong = F, Home = IN