Flavours Of India

Every state or region of India has its own specialty of preparing large number of dishes. Whether you talk of Northern Punjabi food, or western Gujarati, Maharashtrian Food or Western Bengali or Assamese Food, Or the South Indian delicacies; you always have something new to discover. New taste, new recipes, new ways of cooking and new ingredients used. This versatility of Indian vegetarian or non-vegetarian food is slowly gaining global attention. Here are few regions food which are famous for their exotic recipes and style of cooking.

Bengali Food:

The Bengali food is known for their sweet dishes made from cottage cheese. Their famous dishes include fish items prepared in variety of recipes. Some famous Bengali food that are relished through out India are – Fish Curry, Aloo Posto, Luci Baji, sweets like Rasosollas, Sansdesh, Misti Dai, Chum Chum and others. Food buffs love gulping down the Bengali recipes prepared with complete Begali touch.

Punjabi Food:

Perhaps no other food from India is as famous as Punjabi delicacies. Punjabi Food has found its position in the menu of lots of renowned restaurants across the world. The Punjabi food is known for their richness and the use of butter and ghee. They mostly accompany gravy. They are simply healthy, delicious, and have some sort of fascination when they are put in front of you. The famous Punjabi food items are- shahi paneer, matar paneer, dal makhani, lassi, chicken tandoori, butter chicken, tikkas and kababs, and to name a few. Their bread of different styles like tandori, missi roti, naan, and butter roti too are famous throughout India and the world.

The Striking Goan Food:

If there is a place for which suits best for a relaxing mood, having the best wine on your table and some wonderful recipes, then it has to be Goa. The beach state of India is famous for their Portuguese legacy and the multiculture hub. The place attracts tourists not only for its famous beaches, night outs, and fine wine, but also for the food it serves having true touch of India and Portuguese blended together. You will find hundreds and thousand dishes of fishes, sea food, chicken, mutton and beef items in this heaven of tourists.

Gujarati Food:

The Gujarati are famous for some of their spicy delicacies like dohkla, papad and curd. The foods of Gujarat are prepared taking note of nourishment and balance of everything. Their famous sweet is basundi which is known for its mouth water taste. Their staple diet consists of rice, dal, chapatti, kachumbar (mixed vegetable salad), different types of vegetable dishes and others.

This is not the end. There are still more types of Indian food which you can have in the menu of Indian dishes. They very famous of them are – South India food, Maharashtrian Food, Hyderabadi delicacies, Specialties of Kerala, and alike. Pickles, chutneys, and other additional appetizers are famous items of Indian food which find their position in almost all types of Indian foods.

Sweets of all kinds are very popular in India and are eaten at the end of a meal. In some parts of India, they are one of the items for breakfast. And when one thinks of an Indian festival, one cannot but conjure up visions of a variety of multicolored mouth watering sweets.

The sweet dishes here complement and even compete with all the items that have gone before it. It may surprise you but it is a fact that wide variety of delicious sweets and deserts can be seen in different part of India. Rice Kheer and Gajar Ka Halwa are very popular all over India with their many variations, along with Meethe Chawal, the saffron flavored rice adapted from zarda pulao, a favorite festive recipe of the Muslims.

One can also taste south Indian variation of north Indian kheer known as Semiya Payasam; the famous Bengali delicacy –Rasogolla (fresh cottage cheese balls in syrup).Different novel presentation of broken wheat or dahliya in form of lapsi can be experienced in any part of India in its specialized flavors.

The lip smacking rasagolla sweet dish preparation is discussed here below.

Rasagolla

Ingredients:
1 litre of cow’s milk;1/4tsp of citric acid finely dissolved in ½ cup water;1 tsp polished flour;1 cup crystal sugar;3 cups of water; some drops of rose essence

Method:

1. To make chenna (paneer)
   Boil milk in a pan, and then allow it to cool for sometime. Now carefully skim fat from its surface. Boil the milk again. Little by little add citric acid, and stir it continuously. When milk start to curdle up, put the pan aside from heat flames, leaving it covered for 10-15 minutes. Now set muslin over any bowl. Pour all the curdled milk into this muslin to strain it. Carefully gather all the corners of this muslin and then tie it properly on the top of curds about 5-7cms. Hang it up now for at least 15 minutes. Smoothly squeeze this bag now, take it down and set it amid two cutting boards. Leave any heavy object of about 3 kgs for about 1-11/2 hour on the top board .afterwards remove weight. Untie this bag and remove the chenna.

2. Put the chenna on a smooth surface and knead it finely using the heel of your hand at least for 1minute.side by side starts pouring flour over it and then knead it again properly till cheena acquires soft and rich-smooth touch (roughly 5 minutes).now divide this mixture into 10 equal fractions. From each fraction, prepare balls of 4cms.in diameter. Roll each of these balls between palms with slight pressure till they turn smooth and even.

3. Fill the cooker with water and sugar crystals and allow it to cook on high heat. Bring it to a boil, while stirring it constantly for the preparation of sugar syrup. Carefully leave chenna balls in this sugary syrup one by one.

4. Place the lid on cooker and allow it to cook on full pressure on a heated flame (high). Trim down the flame later and again cook for about 5-7 minutes.

5. Place your cooker aside from heat and let it to cool slowly and naturally. Now take off the lid of cooker, and Stir in some drops of rose essence. Finally transport the rasogollas along with some sugar syrup in a serving bowl. Cool it off for some time and then serve chill.