Indian cuisine

 

Indian Cuisine

The cuisine of India is one of the world's most diverse cuisines, characterized by its sophisticated and subtle use of the many spices, vegetables, grains and fruits grown across India. The cuisine of each geographical region includes a wide assortment of dishes and cooking techniques reflecting the varied demographics of the ethnically diverse Indian subcontinent. India's religious beliefs and culture have played an influential role in the evolution of its cuisine. Vegetarianism is widely practiced in many Hindu, Buddhist and Jain communities.

India’s unique blend of cuisines evolved through large-scale cultural interactions with neighboring Persia, ancient Greece, Mongols and West Asia. New World foods such as chili peppers, tomatoes, potatoes and squash, introduced by Arab and Portuguese traders during the sixteenth century, and European cooking styles introduced during the colonial period added to the diversity of Indian cuisine.

Indian Cuisine

Indian cuisine is meant to be eaten socially, in groups, until everyone is fully satisfied. You will be served all your courses at once on a plate of food called a thali. A thali is a large tray that is used to serve all the foods at once. Some foods are mild, sweet and some are spicy and hot. Most dinners are served later at night since many Indians eat several smaller meals during the day. The food ranges from very simple vegetarian fare to exotic dishes layered with texture and flavor. Great care is taken in the planning and preparation of meals no matter how simple or complex.

History of Indian Cuisine

Indian cuisine dates back over 5000 years. Each region has its own traditions, religions and culture that influence its food. Hindus tend to be vegetarian and Muslims tend to have meat dishes, although pork is forbidden. Indian food has been influenced by Mongolian, Persian and Chinese cuisine, among others. The common thread throughout the centuries remains the distinct mixing of spices that invariably give Indian cuisine its flavor and aroma.

A Guide To Indian Cuisine

Indian cuisine is meant to be eaten socially, in groups, until everyone is fully satisfied. You will be served all your courses at once on a plate of food called a thali. A thali is a large tray that is used to serve all the foods at once. Some foods are mild, sweet and some are spicy and hot. Most dinners are served later at night since many Indians eat several smaller meals during the day. The food ranges from very simple vegetarian fare to exotic dishes layered with texture and flavor. Great care is taken in the planning and preparation of meals no matter how simple or complex.

History of Indian Cuisine

Indian cuisine dates back over 5000 years. Each region has its own traditions, religions and culture that influence its food. Hindus tend to be vegetarian and Muslims tend to have meat dishes, although pork is forbidden. Indian food has been influenced by Mongolian, Persian and Chinese cuisine, among others. The common thread throughout the centuries remains the distinct mixing of spices that invariably give Indian cuisine its flavor and aroma.

Elements

The staples of Indian cuisine are rice, atta (whole wheat flour), and a variety of pulses, the most important of which are masoor (most often red lentil), chana (bengal gram), toor (pigeon pea or yellow gram), urad (black gram) and mung (green gram). Pulses may be used whole, dehusked, for example dhuli moong or dhuli urad, or split. Pulses are used extensively in the form of dal (split). Some of the pulses like chana and "Mung" are also processed into flour (besan).

Most Indian curries are fried in vegetable oil. In North and West India, groundnut oil has traditionally been most popular for frying, while in Eastern India, mustard oil is more commonly used. In South India, coconut oil and sesame (gingelly) oil are common. In recent decades, sunflower oil and soybean oil have gained popularity all over India. Hydrogenated vegetable oil, known as Vanaspati ghee, is also a popular cooking medium that replaces Desi ghee (clarified butter).

The most important and most frequently used spices in Indian cuisine are chilli pepper, black mustard seed (rai), cumin (jeera), turmeric (haldi, manjal), fenugreek (methi), asafoetida (hing, perungayam), ginger (adrak, inji), and garlic (lassan, poondu). Popular spice mixes are garam masala which is usually a powder of five or more dried spices, commonly comprised of cardamom, cinnamon and clove. Every region has its own blend of Garam Masala. Goda Masala is a popular spice mix in Maharashtra. Some leaves like tejpat (cassia leaf), coriander leaf, fenugreek leaf and mint leaf are commonly used. The use of curry leaves is typical of all South Indian cuisine. In sweet dishes, cardamom, nutmeg, saffron, and rose petal essence are used.

The term "curry" is usually understood to mean "gravy" in India, rather than "spices."

Geographical Varities

Northern Region

North Indian cuisine is distinguished by the proportionally high use of dairy products; milk, paneer, ghee (clarified butter), and yoghurt (yogurt, yoghourt) are all common ingredients. Gravies are typically dairy-based. Other common ingredients include chilies, saffron, and nuts.

North Indian cooking features the use of the "tawa" (griddle) for baking flat breads like roti and paratha, and "tandoor" (a large and cylindrical coal-fired oven) for baking breads such as naan, and kulcha; main courses like tandoori chicken are also cooked in the "tandoor," a cylindrical shaped clay oven. Other breads like puri and bhatoora, which are deep fried in oil, are also common. Goat and lamb meats are favored ingredients of many northern Indian recipes.

The samosa is a popular North Indian snack, and now commonly found in other parts of India, Central Asia, North America, Africa and the Middle East. A common variety is filled with boiled, fried, or mashed potato. Other fillings include minced meat, cheese (paneer), mushroom (khumbi), and chick pea.

The staple food of most of North India is a variety of lentils, vegetables, and roti (wheat based bread). The varieties used and the method of preparation can vary from place to place. Popular snacks, side-dishes and drinks include mirchi bada, buknu, bhujiya, chaat, kachori, imarti, several types of pickles (known as achar), murabba, sharbat, aam panna and aam papad. Popular sweets are known as mithai (meetha means sweet in Hindi), such as gulab jamun, jalebi, peda, petha, rewdi, gajak, bal mithai, singori, kulfi, falooda, khaja, ras malai, gulkand, and several varieties of laddu, barfi and halwa.

Some common North Indian foods such as the various kebabs and most of the meat dishes originated with Muslims’ incursions into the country. Pakistani cuisine and north Indian cuisine are very similar, reflecting their shared historic and cultural heritage.

Eastern Region

East Indian cuisine is famous for its desserts, especially sweets such as rasagolla, chumchum, sandesh, rasabali, chhena poda, chhena gaja, and kheeri. Many of the sweet dishes now popular in Northern India initially originated in the Bengal and Orissa regions. Apart from sweets, East India cuisine offers delights made of posta (poppy seeds).

Traditional Bengali cuisine is not too spicy, and not too faint. General ingredients used in Bengali curries are mustard seeds, cumin seeds, black cumin, green chillies and cumin paste. Mustard paste, curd, nuts, poppy seed paste and cashew paste are preferably cooked in mustard oil. Curries are classified into bata (paste), bhaja (fries), chochchoree (less spicy vaporized curries) and jhol (thin spicy curries). These are eaten with plain boiled rice or ghonto (spiced rice). A traditional Bengali breakfast includes pantabhat (biotically degenerated boiled rice), doi-chirey, and doodh-muree with fruits. Bangladesh's cuisine is very similar to that of West Bengal, corresponding to the link between Pakistani and northern Indian cuisine. Fish is commonly consumed in the eastern part of India, most especially in Bengal.

Rice is the staple grain in Eastern India, just as it is in South India. A regular meal consists of many side dishes made of vegetables. The popular vegetable dishes of Orissa are Dalma and Santula. The most popular vegetable dish of Bengal is Sukto. Deep-fried, shallow-fried and mashed vegetables are also very popular. Fish is frequently featured in a regular meal.

Southern Region

South Indian cuisine is distinguished by a greater emphasis on rice as the staple grain, the ubiquity of sambar (also called saaru, a vegetable stew based on a broth made with tamarind and toovar dal) and rasam (also called rasa, a soup prepared with tamarind juice or tomato, pepper and other spices), a variety of pickles, and the liberal use of coconut and particularly coconut oil and curry leaves. The dosa, poori, idli, vada, bonda and bajji are typical South Indian favorites and are generally consumed as breakfast. Hyderabadi biryani, a popular type of biryani, reflects the diversity of south Indian cuisine. 

Andhra, Chettinad, Tamil, Hyderabadi, Mangalorean, and Kerala cuisines each have distinct tastes and methods of cooking. Each of the South Indian states has a different way of preparing sambar; a connoisseur of South Indian food can easily tell the difference between sambar from Kerala, sambar from Tamil cuisine, Sambar from Karnataka and pappu chaaru in Andhra cuisine. Some popular dishes include the biryani, ghee, rice with meat curry, seafood (prawns, mussels, mackerel) and paper thin pathiris from Malabar area.

Tamil cuisine generally classifies food into six tastes: sweet (milk, butter, sweet cream, wheat, ghee (clarified butter), rice, honey); sour (limes and lemons, citrus fruits, yogurt, mango, tamarind); salty (salt or pickles); bitter (bitter gourd, greens of many kinds, turmeric, fenugreek); pungent (chili peppers, ginger, black pepper, clove, mustard) and astringent (beans, lentils, turmeric, vegetables like cauliflower and cabbage, cilantro). Traditional Tamil cuisine recommends that all of these six tastes be included in each main meal to provide complete nutrition, minimize cravings and balance the appetite and digestion. A typical meal, served on a banana leaf, includes steamed rice along with a variety of vegetable dishes like sambar, dry curry, rasam and kootu. Meals are often accompanied by crisp appalams. After a final round of rice and curds or buttermilk, or both, a meal is concluded with a small banana and a few betel leaves and nuts.

Western Region

Western India has three major food groups: Gujarati, Maharashtrian and Goan. There are two main types of Maharashtrian cuisine, defined by geographical circumstances. The coastal regions, geographically similar to Goa, consume more rice, coconut, and fish. In the hilly regions of the Western Ghats and Deccan plateau, groundnut is used in place of coconut and the staples are jowar (sorghum) and bajra (millet) as staples. Saraswat cuisine forms an important part of coastal Konkani Indian cuisine.

Gujarati cuisine is predominantly vegetarian. Many Gujarati dishes have a hint of sweetness due to use of sugar or brown sugar. The typical Gujarati meal consists of Rotli (a flat bread made from wheat flour), daal or kadhi, rice, and sabzi/shaak (a dish made up of different combinations of vegetables and spices, which may be stir fried, spicy or sweet). Staples include homemade pickles, Khichdi (rice and lentil or rice and mung bean daal), and chhaas (buttermilk). Main dishes are based on steamed vegetables and daals that are added to a vaghaar, which is a mixture of spices sterilized in hot oil that varies depending on the main ingredient. Salt, sugar, lemon, lime, and tomato are used frequently to prevent dehydration in an area where temperatures reach 50C (120F) in the shade.

The cuisine of Goa is influenced by its Hindu origins, Portuguese colonialism, and modern techniques. The staple food of Goans is rice and fish and the cuisine is mostly seafood-based. Kingfish (Vison or Visvan) is the most common delicacy; others include pomfret, shark, tuna and mackerel. Popular shellfish include crabs, prawns, tiger prawns, lobster, squid and mussels. Goan Hindu cuisine is less spicy, uses little or no onion or garlic, and incorporates a variety of vegetables, lentils, pumpkins, gourds, bamboo shoots, and roots. Goan Christian cuisine includes beef dishes and the well-known Vindaloo, first introduced by the Portuguese as "vinha d'alhos."

North Eastern Region

The food of the North East is very different from that of other parts of India. North Eastern cuisine is strongly influenced by neighboring Burma and the People's Republic of China, and makes less use of well-known Indian spices. Yak is a popular meat in this region of India.

Beverages

Tea is a staple beverage throughout India; the finest varieties are grown in Darjeeling and Assam. It is generally prepared as masala chai, by boiling the tea leaves in a mixture of water, spices such as cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, and ginger, and large quantities of milk to create a thick, sweet, milky concoction. Different varieties and flavors of tea are prepared all over the country. Another popular beverage, coffee, is largely served in South India. One of the finest varieties of Coffea arabica is grown around Mysore, Karnataka, and is marketed under the trade name "Mysore Nuggets." Indian filter coffee, or kaapi, is especially popular in South India. Other beverages include nimbu pani (lemonade), lassi (made by blending yogurt with water, salt, pepper, ice and spices until frothy), chaach, badam doodh (milk with nuts and cardamom), sharbat (juice prepared from fruits or flower petals) and coconut water.

India also has many indigenous alcoholic beverages, including Palm wine, Fenny, Bhang and Indian beer. The practice of drinking a beverage with a meal, or wine and food matching, is not traditional or common in India. People prefer to consume drinking water with their food, and it is customary to offer drinking water to guests before serving hot or cold drinks.

Regional Cuisine

Food choice varies north, south, east and west. Indians from the north eat flat breads like chapati and naan, while Southern Indians prefer to eat rice and coconut. The versatile coconut not only provides milk, it thickens stews, makes a chewy snack and is used in many sweet southern dishes as an ingredient or as a garnish. Western India is more cosmopolitan, but is known for its traditional spicy curries. Mumbai, formerly Bombay, at the heart of the region, is flooded with city dwellers, students and workers. They all have their traditional cuisines, but seafood and curries, hot and spicy sausages and snacks with chai tea are popular traditional fare. East Indian food relies heavily on rice, milk and vegetables, prepared simply with yogurt, seeds and spices steamed and curried. East Indians love their sweets and use milk and other dairy products abundantly in them.

Desserts

Sweet rice pudding, similar to rice pudding in America, is called kheer. It consists of basmati rice, milk, raisins, sugar, cardamom seed and almonds. Kulfi, is an Indian ice cream made by boiling reduced milk, which is then chilled and then flavored with mango juice, rose water and sweetened with sugar. Gajar Halwa, a carrot dessert, coconut soufflé, mango mousse and Gasgase Payasam are also popular desserts. Eastern India is well known for its sweets.

Drinks

Chai is a tea commonly consumed upon rising each morning. It is made by adding milk, sugar and black cardamom pods to steeped teabags. Sweet Lassi is a yogurt shake that can also be flavored with mango, a popular fruit, much like a smoothie. Ginger and lemon tea are also popular and can be used for medicinal purposes, such as indigestion. Carrot Gheer is served by adding carrot to cold milk. Alcohol is rarely consumed as it is forbidden in many Indian cultures. Tea is more popular than coffee, coconut milk, mango, guava and sugarcane juices are popular and sold in roadside stands and kiosks. If you want something salty, Jal Jeera, water and cumin, might be to your liking.

Popular Dishes

Indian cuisine makes best use of what is available, which is why each region has its own popular dishes. Dal, a lentil dish, is popular in the North. Meen Moli, a white fish curry, is loved in the South. Western Indians can’t get along without Vindaloo, a pork dish. East Indians love their sweets—one of the most popular being Chhenagaja—chhena, flour and sugar syrup. Halwa, a popular breakfast dish, consists of wheat, butter, sugar and almonds or pistachios. Indian snacks include samosas, a spicy turnover stuffed with potatoes and peas and a puffy rice, yogurt, tamarind and potato blend snack called bhel puri. Kabobs, meatballs, tandoori (clay-baked) chicken, rasam soup, and rice cakes, called idli, are popular dishes.

Indian Food Grosseris

Atta flour – (also know as a chapatti flour) - whole wheat flour widely used for making unleavened flat breads. 

 

Banana leaves – is widely used for wrapping ingredients (particularly fish) before cooking. They should be soaked briefly in hot water to make them pliable. If banana  leaves are unavailable use alumininium foil.

 

Basmati rice – the finest Indian long-grained rise grown in the foothills of the Himalayas. It is known as the prince of the rice because of its fine flavor and aroma. It should be rinsed and soaked for 10 minutes before using.

 

Besan – also known as gram flour, this is made from chickpeas. It is used to flavor and thicken curries and for making Pakoras and bhajias, pancakes and teamed patties.

 

Biriyani - a rice and vegetable, meat or seafood oven - cooked dish.

 

Biriyani masala -This is a special sweet spice mix for biriyani dishes. Grind together the cardamom seeds from 8 pods, 25 g (1 oz) cinnamon stick, 6 cloves and 1 tsp fennel seeds.

 

Bhoondi - tiny balls of fried besan or gram flour.

 

Chana dal – with their sweet and nutty flavor, chana dal is the most popular dal in India. They're made from splitting a small relative of the chickpea in half. They're a dull yellow and are renown for causing flatulence, which Indians try to counter by adding asafoetida to the dish. Chana dal is delicious, nutritious and easily digested, but, aside from its usage both in dal dishes and savories, the legumes are also roasted and powdered into chickpea flour (besan or besin) another widely used ingredient in nearly every regional cuisine. Chana dal is used in variety of vegetable dishes. It can be cooked until soft for the dish called simply dal, or as in southern India, it can be used as a spice.

 

Chapati - the bread  usually made on a circular cast iron griddle known as a tawa, which is slightly concave to give its distinctive shape. It is cooked without fat, over very high heat.

 

Chawal - rice

 

Chick peas - also called gram or, in America, garbanzo beans. As chickpeas often demand hours of cooking before they become tender. Buy igourmet 17.5-oz. Chick Peas (Garbanzo Beans) 

 

Coconut – (Nariel) is essential to many dishes. It is obtained from the white flesh of the nut and is both rich and smooth-testing. widely used in southern Indian cuisine, is used both savory and sweet dishes.  Buy a fresh coconut to extract the milk or use desiccated coconut to thicken sauces or garnish finished dishes.

 

Coconut oil - Coconut oil is very heat stable so it makes an excellent cooking and frying oil. It has a smoke point of about 360°F (180°C). Coconut oil has a high amount of saturated fatty acids it also has a relatively high melting point. Above 76°F (24°C) coconut oil is a colorless liquid. Below this temperature it solidifies into a pure white solid. It is used in Indian cooking, especially in Goa.

http://www.coconutoil.com/research.htm

 

Cocum - grows on trees along the Western coast of India. Has a deep purple flesh surrounding a large seed. It imparts a pale -purplish color to food as well as a sour taste. It is used by Sindhis in their gram flour curry, and by Hindu Goans in their fish curries. It is also made into sherbets (refreshing drink concentrates made from fruits) on the West coast of India. Cocum has anti-allergic action, and cocum infusion water drink for three days first thing in the mornings is said to cure urticaria or hives. >>

 

Colam rice - short-grain polished rice widely used in Western India. Most common varieties of shor and long-grain polished rice may be used for Dosas and Uttapams.

 

Corn meal - flour made from pure maize (corn) which has been ground fine.

 

Dals (pulses)- dried split peas, usually bought skinned. There about sixty  varieties of pulses available in India. THese are dreid seeds of plants such as beans and peas and those most popularly sued include chick peas (kabuli channa), split black chick peas (bengal gram or channa), black gram (urid daal), red lentils (arhar) and yellow lentils (moong). Pulses should be rinsed in several changes of water. Pre-soaking usually cuts their cooking time by half and salt tends to harden pulses it should not be added until the end of the cooking. As they take a long time to cook, a pressure cooker is a great aid to cooking most pulses. The more unusual pulses are sold in health food or Asian food stores.

 

Dosa or dosha - is a flat bread made with flours, rice, wheat or legumes, cooked like a pancake. It may be filled with a spicy mixture.

 

Food colorings - turmeric an saffron will color food yellow, but you can also buy coloring that has no taste.

 

Garam masala - a blend of ground spices used in many savory dishes. 

 

Ghee - clarified butter made by melting butter and separating the fat from the solids. It can be made at home. From the best flavor ghee is made from unsalted butter. Cheaper blends of butter are most suitable to make ghee. Once prepared it will keep for up to three or four months in a cool place.

 Remove from the heat, spoon off any foam, and allow to cool. Drain the clear oil from the top into a container, straining if preferred. Discard or add the residue to curries for flavoring.

The advantage of using it is that it can be heated to a very high temperature without burning (so is useful for browning onions in order to give a sauce a good rich color, and for sizzling spices before the main ingredients are added to the pan. It doesn't need to be refrigerated.

 

Gram flour - made from chickpeas and also known as besan.

 

Halva - a sweet dish

 

Idli - is a bread from the South, almost like a cake, round and thick, made with fermented rice from the Kerala and legume flour (urad), shaped and then steamed (the legumes have a leavening effect).

 

Jaggery - raw sugar, eaten as it is and used to flavor various dishes, even vegetable curries.

 

Kalonji - (also known as manigella) small black tear-shaped onions seeds, used to add piquancy to vegetable curries and Indian breads.

 

Kewra water - also sold in the stronger form of essence, kewra water is used for flavoring and has a delicate fragrance.

 

Khoa - full fat milk powder

 

Lassi  - a yogurt drink

 

Masala – spices

Masoor dal - skinned split red lentils (they actually orange in color)

 

Mint - widely used herb often paired with lamb. Indian mint has a stronger flavor and more pungent aroma than Western varieties.

 

Moong dal - skinned split mung beans.

 

Murghi - chicken

 

Mustard oil - a yellow oil made from mustard seeds that is pungent when raw and sweet when heated. Much used in Kashmir and Bengal.

 

Naan - a kind of bread popular in North India. It is made with leavened dough (chopped onion or cilantro can also be added to it), and is often made from buttermilk or yogurt. The dough is stretched by tossing the piece of dough quickly from one palm to the other to form a thin oval flatbread, slightly thicker around the edges than in the center. Traditionally is baked on the walls of a tandoor oven, brushed with a thin coating of oil or ghee and served hot.  It can also be stuffed with cheese, vegetable curry or meat. In this case, the filling is placed on part of the dough which is then folded over on itself before being rolled flat with a rolling pin.

 

Panch phoran - mix of five spices - cumin seeds, onion seeds, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and anise.

 

Papaya - a fruit with good digestive properties

 

Paratha  - a bread; richer version of chapati, crispy and cooked in ghee on a griddle. They are very thin and are stacked up like crêpes.

 

Poori - is a bread fried in hot oil, completed submerged so that it puffs up. Pooris are common to the Bengal and Gujrat regions of India.

 

Poppodums and pappads - the pre-made and precooked flat breads (made from legume flour (urad) and rice flour) that need only be immersed in hot oil to puff up instantly; they are turned with a skimmer so that they stiffen up slightly and then are drained and served while still crisp. Some are plain, others are spiced with mixtures of spices. They can also be prepared under the broiler, thus eliminating the chore of frying.

 

Raita - a cooling side dish made with yogurt

 

Rattam-jog - this is the dried bark of a reed like plant grown in India, used mainly to color food. When cooked with meat or vegetables a small piece imparts a deep red color to the dish.

 

Rose water - available from chemists this is used like kewra water for flavoring many Indian dishes. The essence form is more expensive.

 

Roti - The name is related to the French word "rôtie," meaning toasted bread. It is made from whole wheat (aata), millet (bajra) or sorghum (jowar)

 

Rumali - Toasted bread, or handkerchief bread, which is also found in other eastern countries, is made up of numerous layers of dough like a folded handkerchief.

 

Sambar powder - a southern Indian spice mix for vegetable curries.

 

Silver leaf (varq) - editable silver leaf is used as a garnish over sweets. Silver foil is very thin. it is very fragile and often breaks up during use. It has no aroma or taste. 

 

Tamarind - the most popular souring agent in Southern India. The pods are collected, de-seeded and dried. Before cooking the acid flesh is soaked in water, and the juice is squeezed out. It is this tamarind water that is used in the curry. In some Goan recipes, the tamarind flesh is ground with spices. Nowadays tamarind concentrate can be bought in any grocer's shop.

 

Tava - a flat cast iron pan used for making bread.

 

Thali - a large tray, often of wrought metal.

 

Toor dal - a glassy dark yellow split pea, similar to chana dal.

 

Toran - style of cooking where the dish remains dry.

 

Uppama - a flat bread whose dough is made from semolina instead of flour. It can be quite rich and may include onions, chilies, ginger, mustard seed, nuts, various vegetables etc.

 

Urid dal - polished split black lentils, often used as a spice in southern India. It takes quite a long time to cook.

 

Varak - silver leaf used as a decoration for both sweet and savory dishes.

 

Vindaloo - a highly spiced and hot curry, traditionally from Goa.

 

Wheat flour (Gehun ka Atta) - flour made from whole wheat (usually a variety low in gluten), very finely ground for making bread. A fairly close substitute is whole wheat pastry flour. Regular whole wheat flour gives heavier results and is stiffer and more difficult to work with than chapati flour. If regular whole wheat flour must be used, sift is several times through a very fine sieve (to get a fine flour and to remove bran) and substitute refine flour for half the whole wheat flour in a recipe.