Besides spices, the other main ingredients of Indian cooking and Indian meals are milk products like ghee (clarified butter, used as a cooking medium) and curd or yogurt. Lentils or dals are also common across the country and regional preferences and availability determine the actual use in a particular area. Vegetables naturally differ across regions and with seasons. The style of cooking vegetables is dependent upon the main dish or cereal with which they are served. Whereas the Sarson ka saag (made with mustard leaves) is a perfect complement for the Makke ki Roti (maize bread) eaten in Punjab, the Sambhar (lentil) and rice of Tamil Nadu taste best eaten with deep-fried vegetables.
Although a number of religions exist in India, the two cultures that have influenced Indian cooking and food habits are the Hindu and the Muslim traditions. Each new wave of settlers brought with them their own culinary practices. However, over time they adopted a lot of specialties and cooking methods from the Indian cuisine and blended the two to perfection. The Portuguese, the Persians and the British made important contributions to the Indian culinary scene. Tea or chai the favorite drink of most Indians was introduced to India by the British.
The Hindu vegetarian tradition is widespread in India, although many Hindus eat meat now. The Muslim tradition is most evident in the cooking of meats. Mughlai food, kebabs, rich Kormas (curries) and nargisi koftas (meat-balls), the biryani (a layered rice and meat preparation), rogan josh, and preparations from the clay oven or tandoor like tandoori rotis, Chicken Tikka, Tandoori Chicken, Naan, Chicken Tikka Masala, Pickles, Sweets, are all important contributions made by the Muslim settlers in India.
A typical North-Indian meal would consist of chapattis or rotis (unleavened bread baked on a griddle) or parathas (unleavened bread fried on a griddle), rice and an assortment of accessories like dals, fried vegetables, curries, curd, chutney, and pickles. For dessert one could choose from the wide array of sweetmeats from Bengal like rasagulla, sandesh, rasamalai and gulab-jamuns. North Indian desserts are very similar in taste as they are derived from a milk pudding or rice base and are usually soaked in syrup. Kheer a form of rice pudding, shahi tukra or bread pudding and kulfi, a nutty ice cream are other common northern desserts.
South Indian food is largely non-greasy, roasted and steamed. Rice is the staple diet and forms the basis of every meal. It is usually served with Sambhar, rasam (a thin soup), dry and curried vegetables and a curd preparation called pachadi. Coconut is an important ingredient in all South Indian food. The South Indian dosa (rice pancakes), idli (steamed rice cakes) and vada, which is made of fermented rice and dal, are now popular throughout the country. The popular dishes from Kerala are appams (a rice pancake) and thick stews. Desserts from the south include the Mysore pak and the creamy payasum.
A meal is rounded off with the after-dinner paan or betel leaf, which holds an assortment of digestive spices like aniseed, cloves, and cardamom.
During the year there are also a number of food festivals in India, which showcase various foods of India. As a food aficionado, these food festivals of India will give you a great insight into the cuisines of India. So while on your India Vacation, try your hand at preparing some of these mouth-watering recipes and take back the flavor at the end of your trip to India.
How to make? Make incisions with a sharp knife on the chicken breast, legs and thighs. Apply a mixture one-teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder, one tablespoon lemon juice and salt over the chicken and set aside for half an hour. For the marinade, tie up yogurt in a piece of muslin and hang over a bowl for fifteen to twenty minutes. Remove the thick yogurt into another bowl. Add the remaining Kashmiri red chili powder, salt, ginger paste, and garlic paste, remaining lemon juice, garam Masala powder and mustard oil. Rub this mixture over the chicken and marinate for three to four hours in a refrigerator. Skew the chicken onto a skewer and cook in a moderately hot tandoor (clay oven) or in a preheated oven at 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6 for ten to twelve minutes, or until almost done. Baste chicken with a little butter and cook for another four minutes. Remove and set aside. Sprinkle chat Masala powder and serve with onion rings and lemon wedges.
Chicken Tikka Masala locally called butter chicken: Butter chicken or murgh makhani is an Indian dish from the Punjab region popular in countries all over the world that have a tradition of Indian restaurants:
How to make? Make incisions with a sharp knife on breast and leg pieces of the chicken. Apply a mixture of red chili powder, lemon juice and salt to the chicken and set aside for half an hour. Hang yogurt in a muslin cloth for fifteen to twenty minutes to remove extra water. Add red chili powder, salt, ginger-garlic paste, lemon juice, garam Masala powder and mustard oil. Apply this marinade to the chicken pieces and refrigerate for three to four hours. Put the chicken onto a skewer and cook in a moderately hot tandoor or a preheated oven (200°C) for ten to twelve minutes or until almost done. Baste it with butter and cook for another two minutes. Remove and set aside. Heat butter in a pan. Add green cardamoms, cloves, peppercorns and cinnamon. Sauté for two minutes, add ginger-garlic paste and chopped green chilies. Cook for two minutes. Add tomato puree, red chili powder, garam Masala powder, salt and one cup of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for ten minutes. Add sugar or honey and powdered kasoori methi. Add cooked tandoori chicken pieces. Simmer for five minutes and then add fresh cream. Serve hot with Naan or Parantha.
Naan: A popular leavened Indian bread.
How to make? Sieve flour with baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add sugar, egg, milk, yogurt and water. Knead well into medium soft dough. Apply a little oil and keep it under wet cloth for one hour. Make eight equal sized balls. Apply a little oil and put onion seeds on top. Press sides first and then center of the dough ball. Give a round flat shape. Pick in hand and pat to give it a round shape of about six inches diameter. Stretch it from one side to give a triangular shape. Put it on a cloth pad and put it on a preheated tandoor wall or cook in a preheated oven at 200ºC. Remove using skewers when it is crisp and lightly browned on both sides. Serve hot topped with butter.
If you do not consume eggs, proceed with this recipe without egg. The loss of taste and texture would hardly be noticeable
Dosa: A crisp Indian pancake made using rice and spilt skinless gram lentil. Best accompanied with sambar and chutney.
How to make? Wash and soak the rice
for at least four hours. Wash and soak the gram lentil also for at least four hours. Drain and mix. Grind to a fine batter adding water as required. Transfer the batter in a deep vessel, cover with a tight fitting lid and keep it in a dark and warm place overnight to ferment. Just before making the dosas, add salt to taste and mix lightly. Heat a flat frying pan. Drizzle a little oil and wipe with a wet cloth so that the pan is at the right temperature. Drop a ladle full of batter on the pan and spread it in a circular motion as thin as possible. Drizzle a little oil all around and let the dosa cook on medium heat. When ready the edges will begin to separate from the pan. Gently roll into a cylinder and serve hot with Masala, chutney and Sambhar
Daal or Lentil Soup: A typical Punjabi specialty of whole black gram.
How to make? Soak black gram in three to four cups of water for six to eight hours. Drain. Place in a thick-bottomed vessel, add salt and four cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover and cook on low heat till dal is almost done and half of the liquid has evaporated. Add ginger-garlic paste, stir and mash the dal lightly using a spoon. Add tomato puree, red chili powder and one tablespoon of white butter and continue to cook for another six to eight minutes. Add fresh cream and cook further for ten minutes. Serve hot topped with a tablespoon of white butter and garnished with ginger strips.
Daal Makhani or Black Daal: A spicy and heavy dal preparation made with a combination of red kidney beans and black grams.
How to make? Wash and soak red kidney beans and black grams overnight in three cups of water. Drain. Pressure cook red kidney beans and black grams in three cups of water with salt and half the red chili powder. You can add half the ginger too. Open the lid and see if the red kidney beans and black grams are totally soft. If not cook on low heat till the it becomes totally soft. Heat butter and oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds. When they begin to change color, add ginger, garlic and onion and sauté till golden. Add slit green chilies, tomatoes and sauté on high heat. Add the remaining red chili powder and sauté till the tomatoes are reduced to a pulp. Add the cooked red kidney beans and black grams along with the cooking liquor. Add some water if the mixture is too thick. Add garam Masala powder and adjust salt. Simmer on low heat till the concoction is totally soft and well blended. Serve hot.
Korma: Rich creamy preparation garnish with cashew, almonds & pistachio
How to make: Clean, wash and cut chicken into twelve to fifteen pieces. Peel, wash and finely chop onion. Remove stems, wash and roughly chop green chilies. Peel, wash ginger, garlic and grind to a fine paste along with chopped green chilies. Soak almonds and pistachios in one-cup warm water for ten minutes, drain and peel. Reserve three to four almonds for garnish and grind the remaining to a fine paste. Slice the reserved almonds and pistachio nuts. Whisk yogurt with half-cup water till smooth. Heat oil in a deep pan, add sliced onions and sauté till it turns light golden brown. Add the ginger, garlic, green chili paste and stir-fry for two minutes. Stir in the almond paste, grated khoya (Thickened Ricotta Cheese) and one cup of warm water. Reduce heat and cook for ten to fifteen minutes, stirring frequently. Add chicken pieces and whisked yogurt. Cook covered on medium heat for eight to ten minutes, stirring occasionally. Add white pepper powder and salt. Stir well and simmer for three to four minutes more or until the chicken is completely cooked. Add fresh cream, green cardamom powder and lightly crushed rose petals. Stir well and simmer for two minutes. Garnish with cashew, almond and pistachio slices and serve hot.
Lassi: A refreshing yogurt based drink
How to make: Blend together yogurt and sugar for two minutes in a mixer/blender. Add ice cubes and blend for a minute more. If the mixture is too thick add a little milk and adjust consistency and blend once more. Pour into serving glasses from a height so as to form foam. Top with thick curd cream and serve chilled.
Biryani (Hyderabad Biryani): How to make? Make deep incisions on the chicken flesh - deep enough for spices to get absorbed but making them too deep could render the pieces smaller. Mix turmeric, chili powder, salt, garlic paste, yogurt, and half-lemon's juice. Thoroughly apply t
his paste onto the meat flesh and let marinate for an hour.
Heat about 100 ml of oil. Roast cumin, cloves, cinnamon, de-pod cardamom, bay leaves, ½ spoon cumin, 1 spoon coriander powder, and finally add onions (2). Wait a couple of minutes to add mint leaves. When onions turn slight brown, add marinated chicken and cook for about 20-30 min. It should NOT be fully cooked at this stage; add garam Masala and coconut powder and turn off flame when about ¾ cooked. Gravy should not be much, chicken pieces should look roasted.
Meanwhile, while the chicken is still cooking, prepare the biryani rice. Slightly rinse 3 cups of basmati, and add water little less than the volume of the rice itself so that its only half cooked preferably in an electric cooker. Amount of water actually depends on kind of rice at hand and your experience helps to judge it. Also add 1-2 teaspoons of salt to it. Take a few semi-cooked grains of rice and color them with diluted saffron for garnishing.
You will need a utensil of about 12" (300 mm) base. Place about half of semi-cooked rice in it. Next, layer half of chicken on it again topped by a layer of rice (half of the remaining). One more layer of remaining chicken, finally with layer of rest of the rice on top ends the rice-chicken layering stage.
Heat oil and deep-fry half the sliced onions to golden brown. Similarly fry cashew. Garnish the top layer with these two along with 100 ml ghee, coconut milk, saffron rice grains and coriander. Lid the vessel and try making it airtight (but no pressure should build up). Put on high flame for 5 min before reducing it to low flame. The flame should NOT be at the vessel's center, but on one side of it. Wait for 2-3 min and turn the vessel to heat other next part on its circumference. This way, keep rotating the vessel every 2-3 min for about 20 min. Every time you turn it, carefully disturb the contents by a shake/jerk so as to avoid settling of ghee at the bottom. Put off the flame and wait for about 10 min before opening. Before serving, mix the medley from the bottom. Serve with boiled egg halves. Enjoy. Rightly and carefully made, its an epicure's paradise.
Seekh Kebab: Grilled two-flavored chicken with aubergine.
How to make? Light the coals in the barbecue. Marinate the chicken cubes with salt and mixed herbs for fifteen minutes. Halve the tomatoes and further cut each half into three pieces vertically. Take half the chicken cubes in one bowl, add garlic and mix. Take the remaining chicken cubes in another bowl; add crushed dry red chilies and crushed roasted dry red chilies and mix. Take a skewer and string the kebab thus: a brinjal cube, chicken cube from the first bowl, green chili piece, tomato piece, chicken cube from the second bowl, green chili piece, tomato piece and finally a brinjal cube. Similarly make more kebabs using the chicken cubes from both the bowls. Place the skewers on the barbeque grill and cook, basting with oil from time to time and turning the skewers so that the kebabs get cooked all round. Serve hot.
Vindaloo:
How to make? Grind cinnamon, cumin seeds, turmeric powder, garlic, ginger and whole red chilies to a fine paste. Heat four tablespoons of oil in a pressure cooker and fry potatoes till light brown. Drain and keep aside. Fry onions in the same oil till lightly browned. Add mutton pieces along with cloves, black peppercorns, green cardamoms, green chilies, sugar and salt. Mix and add two cups of water. Pressure cook till five to six whistles. Open the lid of the pressure cooker when the pressure reduces, add fried potatoes and ground Masala. Simmer till meat and potatoes are cooked. Add vinegar and simmer for another five minutes. Serve with bread or rice.
ry vacation, India is the answer for you. With hundreds of different cuisines, it is certain that your vacation in India will take you through a journey of gastronomical delight.
