Indian Cuisine

Indian Cuisine

A spicy platter

Indian food is as diverse as its culture, its religions, geography, climatic conditions and traditions. All of these combine to influence the preparation of Indian food. Essentially spicy, the cuisine is, however, not always hot. It is the different combination of a handful of spices that produce the most delectable dishes. In India, preparation of food is an art, perfected over time and passed through generation by just word of mouth. Food is also an important part of Indian festivals and traditions; no celebration is complete without a feast. Special preparations are a must during festivals.

Dal (lentils), the all-time favorite across India, differs in cooking style from region to region. The dal makhni of the north is made with liberal amounts of butter and cream, while in Gujarat, the western part, it is a sweetish preparation. In the south, it is cooked along with countless vegetables. Various forms of milk products like, curd, cream and paneer (cottage cheese) is used in cooking in the north. In contrast, the south Indians use this sparingly. Instead, they use coconut in almost every dish. Here, it would be apt to mention that even the cooking medium differs as, the north Indians use mustard or vegetable oil, while the south Indians use groundnut or sesame oil. Keralites use coconut oil for almost all the dishes.

Speaking of the variety of Indian dishes, south Indian and north Indian dishes vary in style. South Indian dishes are inclined to be more hot and spicy. The south Indian specialties include Idli, Dosa, Sambar and rice accompanied with a variety of dishes. Coconut is a major ingredient of the south Indian dishes. Seafood is found in abundance and is cooked with a lot of spices.

In western India again there is a wide choice of seafood. Bombay duck (a kind of fish) and Indian salmon are very popular. The princely state of Rajasthan offers royal cuisine, which include meat delicacies that are very tempting. Their vegetarian food is cooked in pure ghee and is famous for its mouth-watering aroma. Goa is famous for its distinctive cuisine that boasts of delicacies like the tangy pork 'vindaloo', spicy 'sorpotael and the popular Goan rice with fish curry. Goan food is often accompanied by one of their innumerable local wines or the local liqueur called 'Feni'. Maharashtrian food a variety of crunchy crisp snacks. The popular ones include dishes like the 'vada pav', 'misal' and 'pav bhaji'.

Indian Bread - Chappati

The 'Roti' or 'Chappatis' or 'Parathas' (unleavened bread fried on a griddle) accompanied with a wide assortment of "curries", which include spicy vegetables and lentils is the typical north Indian food. Punjabi food is a lively mixture of varied spices, with a tempting aroma. Punjabi 'tandoori' cooking is popular throughout the world. Huge earthen ovens are half buried in the ground and heated with a coal fire lit below it. Marinated meat, chicken, fish, paneer, rotis and naans of many types are cooked in this novel oven. Another popular combination is the 'makki ki roti' and 'sarson ka sag'. The Mughlai cuisine is literally means 'fit for the royal'. It has rich sauces, butter-based curries, ginger flavored roast meats and an amazing variety of sweets. Kashmiri cuisine is essentially meat based. These are cooked in the most aromatic spices. Another feature of the food is the abundant variety of dry fruit like walnuts, dried dates and apricots that are used lavishly in puddings, curries and snacks.

Among the east Indian foods, the Bengali food is the most popular. It is most popular for its numerous variety of sweets, made from milk and curd. 'Rasogullas', gulab jamuns', 'malai sandwich', 'chena murkhi', 'anarkali' and 'rajbogh' are just a few of the endless delicacies served. The 'mishti dhoi', yogurt sweetened with jaggery, is made in every home. The eastern fascination for seafood is also very popular. A variety of styles are adopted to cook fish. They are at times marinated in spices, at other times cooked in curd.
Indian Monuments

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