In fact, if you prepare material on the topic of Indian cuisine, you will get an impressive multi-volume publication. The local cuisine is so diverse and diverse that you can hardly taste at least a tenth of the national dishes in one visit to India. Each state has a huge selection of dishes that can only be tasted here. Only at first glance it may seem that Indian dishes taste the same-just spicy, but believe me, in the national cuisine there are many treats without spices, delicious desserts and drinks.
General information about Indian cuisine
The country has preserved certain national features and traditions of Indian cuisine – here they give priority to vegetables, a huge variety of spices, and at the same time you will not find beef on the menu. A vegetarian will surely feel like a gastronomic paradise when he finds himself in India. Local residents do not eat meat or even fish.
Interesting fact! About 40% of residents eat only food of plant origin.
In the past, various recipes were introduced to Indian cuisine by Mongols and Muslims. In addition, the peculiarities of national dishes of Indian cuisine were influenced by the religious views of residents – more than 80% of the local population profess Hinduism, which excludes any violence. The essence of religion is that any living being is spiritual, containing a divine particle. That is why most people in India are vegetarians, but at the same time Indian national dishes have a rich, bright taste, sharp, buttery.
The basis of the diet – rice, beans, vegetables
Since we are talking about vegetarianism within a particular state, a huge variety of treats from cereals, vegetables, and legumes has appeared in the local cuisine. The most famous is sabji-a vegetable stew with lentils, seasoned with various spices. It is eaten with rice, bread cakes.
Useful to know! In India, it is customary to use long-grain basmati rice. As for legumes, there are more than a hundred varieties of peas in the country alone, and chickpeas, lentils, mash, and dal are also popular.
A separate volume in the encyclopedia of traditional Indian cuisine will have to be devoted to seasonings and spices. The most popular is curry, by the way, this is not only a spice, but also the name of an Indian dish of bright orange color. It is this seasoning that gives the treat a thick aroma and unique taste.
There are a lot of seasonings mixed in the curry, it will be very difficult to list them all, probably, the Indians themselves will not be able to accurately name the recipe. It is known for certain that the composition contains: cayenne, red and black pepper, cardamom, ginger, coriander, paprika, cloves, cumin, nutmeg. Despite the fact that the composition of curry can vary, it always contains turmeric. It is noteworthy that Indian families have a personal recipe for cooking curry, it is carefully passed down from generation to generation.
Tortillas instead of bread
Baking bread in the form in which it is baked in Europe is not accepted in India. Serve tortillas or thin pita bread. A traditional Indian dish called chapati accompanies every meal from the first course to dessert.
The recipe for cooking is quite simple, every housewife can repeat it-mix coarse flour, salt, water, fry tortillas without oil (if you cook in nature, use an open fire). The finished tortilla resembles a ball, because it swells, vegetables and legumes are added inside, and they are eaten simply with sauce.
Another common type of baking in India is samosas-fried triangular patties with various fillings. Most often they are prepared for the festive table. In real national samos, the dough is tender, crunchy, melts, and the filling must be evenly warmed up.
Interesting fact! If there are no bubbles on the dough, the pies are prepared according to the original recipe and in compliance with the technology. To do this, you do not need to overheat the oil very much.
A common dessert is sweet yogurt
In India, many dishes are made from milk. Yogurt is no exception, it is added to fruits and berries.
Useful to know! It is customary to season first courses with natural yogurt before serving.
In addition, yogurt is the basis of a cooling drink and at the same time a dessert-lassi. It is added water, ice, whipped to a thick foam. The result is a drink that is perfectly refreshing in hot weather. Also add fruit, ice cream or cream to the drink.
Some useful recommendations:
- almost all food in India is very spicy, so if you do not like peppery dishes, tell the waiters-know spice, spices will still be added to the treat, but much less;
- restaurants and markets do not always adhere to hygiene rules, so it is strongly recommended not to try raw fruits and vegetables before buying.;
- in India, there is an acute shortage of clean, potable water, it is strictly forbidden to drink tap water, you need to buy bottled water;
- it is also better to avoid using ice, as it is made from tap water.
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Traditional Indian dishes
As noted earlier, the national Indian cuisine is very diverse, and it is almost impossible to cover all the dishes worthy of tourists ‘ attention. We decided to simplify the task and prepared an overview of the best 15 national dishes of Indian cuisine.
Curry
There is documentary evidence that curry-an Indian dish was first prepared several thousand years ago. This is the name of not only a popular seasoning, but also a national dish. Prepare it from legumes, vegetables, sometimes add meat and, of course, a whole bouquet of spices. The finished treat can contain up to two dozen seasonings. The finished dish is served with rice.
Useful to know! The curry is served with betel leaves, which are eaten at the end of the meal. The leaves are wrapped with crushed betel nut and a set of spices. It is generally believed that such a set of products improves digestion.
There is no single recipe for making curry. The technology differs depending on the region of India, as well as the culinary preferences of an individual family. It is noteworthy that curry is an Indian dish, but it has become known in many countries of the world. Today there is a Thai and Japanese curry, it is also prepared in Britain. In India, the dish can be spicy or sweet and sour.
Dal’s soup
A typical example of combining vegetables, legumes (peas), rice, curry in one Indian dish is dal. Soup is a must-have for an Indian lunch, consisting of legumes or peas, eaten with rice, bread flatbread.
Indian soup is called not just a national dish, but a folk one, because it is always prepared without exaggeration in every family. Serve the first course, both hot and cold. Locals claim that there are so many methods of making soup that it is easy to prepare it all year round, without repeating yourself.
Main ingredients: onion, garlic, tomatoes, a set of spices, yogurt. The dish is cooked, baked, stewed and even fried. Depending on the set of products, the method of preparation, the treat is served for breakfast, lunch or dessert.
Malay Kofta
Another famous national Indian dish is fried small balls of potatoes and paneer cheese. They also add herbs, spices, and nuts.
The name means meatballs (kofta) in sauce cream (malay).
Useful to know! Paneer is a soft, fresh cheese common in Indian cuisine. The finished product does not melt, has a low acidity. The base of the cheese is cottage cheese made from milk, lemon juice and food acid.
Locals call the dish capricious, because it requires careful treatment. If you cook it without proper delicacy, malai kofta will turn out to be tasteless. By the way, even in India, it is not always prepared well. As a result, tourists do not pay much attention to the food. If a true master takes up cooking, you will be captivated by the delicate taste of vegetable balls in the sauce.
Palak Paneer
The list of the most famous dishes of Indian cuisine includes spinach and cheese soup, spices and vegetables are also added. Actually, in translation, palak means spinach, and paneer is a kind of soft cheese similar to Adyghe. The Indian dish is tender, with a pleasant creamy taste. Served with rice, bread cakes.
A tip! Beginners who are just getting acquainted with Indian culture and national cuisine are recommended to order palak paneer with a minimum set of spices to experience the real, creamy taste of the dish.
Biryani
To make it clearer, the finished national dish can be called Indian pilaf. The name comes from a Persian word that means fried. It is prepared using this technology – basmati rice is fried with the addition of ghee oil, vegetables, and seasonings. It is noteworthy that each region has its own composition of spices, cooking algorithm, most often saffron, cumin, cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, cloves are used.
Interesting fact! Biryani can not be called a truly Indian dish, since its recipe was brought to the country by Turkish merchants.
Pacora
The name of the Indian street food combines vegetables, cheese and meat fried in batter. Slavic cuisine has an analog, but the only difference is that in India pea flour is used instead of wheat flour – chickpeas (hummus beans) are ground. As a result, the crust turns out to be tender, crispy, and the dish gets additional nutritional value, because there is a lot of protein in beans.
The most common pakora is made from vegetables, using a different base-pumpkin, sweet potato, eggplant, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, potatoes. The finished dish is served with a seasoning of apples or tomatoes.
A tip! If you want to cook pakora yourself, the main thing is to choose the right temperature and maintain it correctly.
Thali (tali)
In translation, the name of the Indian dish tali means a tray with treats. In fact, this is true – small plates with various dishes are placed on a large dish. Initially, it was served on a banana leaf, by the way, in some regions it is still served like this – in the old-fashioned way.
A mandatory component of thali is rice, stewed vegetables, papad (lentil flour tortilla), chapati (bread tortillas), chutney sauces, pickles are also served. Traditionally, 6 meals are served at home, and a maximum of 25 meals are served in the cafe or restaurant. The set of treats varies depending on the region.
Chapati
Perhaps the most famous bread tortilla in India is chapati. The dish is prepared very quickly, because it requires a minimum of products – whole grain flour. The Indian dish uses a special flour – atta. Tortillas are baked in a dry frying pan, without adding oil. Thus, tortillas are great for those who do not want to gain extra calories.
A tip! Chapatis should only be eaten hot. Many tourists do not know this and use it in restaurants – they serve yesterday’s dish. Tortillas are recommended to be ordered as needed, so that a freshly baked dish is served at the table.
Naans
One of the most popular dishes in India is naana tortillas. In the usual yeast dough add yogurt, vegetable oil. Tortillas, baked in an Indian tandoori oven.
In India, there is a large selection of tortillas, experienced tourists recommend trying naan butter (with butter), naan chiiz (with cheese), naan garlik (with garlic).
Naan can be tasted in any Indian cafe, restaurant, flatbreads are served as a separate dish or stuffed with meat, potatoes or cheese.
Tandoori chickens
Being in India and not tasting tandoori chicken is the same as not visiting this exotic country. So, tandoor is a traditional Indian oven-roaster. Previously, the chicken is marinated in yogurt and, of course, spices (the traditional set is cayenne pepper and other hot types of peppers). After the bird is baked on high heat.
Useful to know! In India, you can buy special spice kits for marinating chicken and cooking tandoori chicken. In the original version, aimed at local residents, the dish turns out to be too spicy, and for tourists, the amount of ground pepper is reduced. Chicken is served with rice and naan tortillas.
Alu Gobi
The composition of the Indian national dish is clear from the name-alu-potato, and gobi-cauliflower. Additionally add tomatoes, carrots, onions, spices. They are served with rice, traditional tortillas, and Indian masala tea.
Why did the dish become national and popular? Products for its preparation can be purchased at any market, regardless of the season.
Navratan Korma
The dish is a vegetable mixture made in a sauce of cream and nuts. The national dish traditionally has 9 ingredients, since the name means nine jewels, and korma means stewed. A treat is served with rice and unleavened tortillas.
A tip! For the sauce, instead of cream, you can use coconut milk or natural yogurt.
Jalebi
Indian national cuisine offers a large selection of sweets and desserts. Jalebi is a pretzel of rich orange color, it is known in every corner of India. The treat is prepared from a batter, it is poured into boiling oil, and then soaked in sugar syrup. The national treat is crunchy, juicy, but it turns out to be fat, sweet, and therefore very high in calories.
The traditions and customs of Indian cuisine vary, first of all, depending on the region. But in general, we can note several features-spicy, spicy, vegetarian.
Indian cuisine is one of the most colorful in the world and if you want to get acquainted with the culture of the country, be sure to pay attention to the gastronomic aspects.
