Indian Recipes

Indian food is varied and distinct to the state and culture. It is amazing to notice how people accustom to the environment and climate conditions and adopt foods either by the local produce or suiting the climate. The quantity of tamarind used in the South per day could amount to the month’s utilization in the North. Spices, condiments and vegetables vary per state. With transport facilities and a seamless geography, people are nowadays transforming their cuisines into much variety. A Gujarati is equally found of rajma-chawal as a Punjabi adopts a oondhiyu.

Lodhi is celebrated in the North and Pongal at the same time in the South. Lodhi sweets are special with sesame and jaggery balls whereas in the South the Pongal rice is unique with jaggery dal-rice and salted dry fruit topped kichdi. Baisakhi is harvest time in Punjab as Kerala celebrates its plump produce with the best vegetables and a lavish sadhya ( feast)

Hotels are adopting a multi cuisine as most customers like to taste variety and newer items. The dosa or a muli parantha still holds good competition to the burger and the noodle. The rice variety is interesting. Besi bele baath, vaangi baath, phodni rice, lemon rice, masala rice, basmati pulav, vegetable biryani are some of the platters in rice preparations. The rice variety too comes with a lot of brands and the length of the grain is different too. Cooking of rice may sound routine but flavouring it, is surely an exponents job.

Indian snacks and soups are an exhaustive list. A simple tomato saar can be an accompaniment to the thali and the shorbha has all the nutrients for a healthy intake. Spinach and vegetable soups are garnished with freshly crushed peeper, jeera and salt and served hot. Snacks refer to dhoklas, handvi, muthias, pan cakes in salted and deep fried varieties. Nothing is refreshing than a hot cup of masala tea with fried bhajiyas.

Cooking in different mediums of oil is specific to each state in India. The Bengalis prefer mustard oil, the South Indians use coconut oil and other parts use groundnut oil. Sweets are traditional and related to religious festivals or specific to a function. It is traditional in the North to distribute mothi chur ladoos at the time of a marriage in the family. A sheera is a favourite evening snack among the Maharashtrians. The Punjabis are famous for their rabdi-jalebi and whole wheat halwa. Payas of Bengal has sisterly connections with the Payasam of Tamil Nadu and the kheer of the Uttar Pradesh residents.

With a urban and cosmopolitan society, individuals are getting on to more experimenting within their households. Culinary instincts conjure up easily with a wide range of cook books and friends circles.