Flavours Of India

Authentic Indian food today ranks among the famous cuisines of the world from places like France, Italy, Japan, China and others. Tradition of Indian cooking is counted among the great culinary traditions in the world. The cuisines reflect the many different cultures of the place with tremendous diversity. Yet the style of cooking shows some unique bond which every region share. Whether you talk of the exquisite vegetarian dishes or the rich and flavored non-vegetarian dishes, you have the concoction of different types of ingredients, spices and flavors.

Each region of India has its own specialty which is inspired by race, history, religion and geography. For instance, the Rajasthan cuisines make use of more milk and milk products than water due to scarcity of water in the place. The Punjabi food reflects the vibrant culture of the place, the tradition of people who love variety and want food filled with not only nutritious ingredients but also some amount of love by which they are prepared.

The secret of Indian style of cooking is the use of spices. Always being hot filled with chilly varieties, spices Indian food is also a complement for the blend of sauces that are used while preparing the recipes. The tradition of Indian cooking is an art and you would have great experience in cooking Indian food. Right from planning your recipe to collection of ingredients in right amount to blending of spices, simmering, steaming and stirring, the cooking is an activity that would enjoy the most.

The good thing about Indian cooking is that it is neither complex nor confusing. You don’t have to work too hard to prepare them. Just you need some patience preparing the spice blend and collect some ingredients for them. You have to be very specific while you cook Indian food for the real taste. For example you must use coconut oil for South Indian dishes to get the real taste and pure mustard oil to get the flavor of Bengal and East.

The traditions of Indian cooking have seen both vegetarian and non-vegetarian style of cooking. There are some recipes or dishes which require not a contemporary roaster or micro-woven, but the burning coal or a perfect fire place to roast them. For instance you can prepare tandori chicken in a woven but the taste of it roasted in a hearth has a different feeling.

Indian cooking thus involves all types of cooking- frying, boiling, steaming, roasting and low steam frying. There are few recipes where banana leaves are used to steam meat and fishes. Your mouth would just water while you see them prepared!

Rajasthan the princely state of India is almost 2/3rd desert. Still the place rules with its magnificent palaces made of sandstone, white marbles, and stones along with the elaborate dishes of the place. In spite of being a desert the place is so colorful with brightly colored clothes by people, the pink walls of city of Jaipur, the music, the dance, the fun loving folk and the larger than life style of living. There is to some extend Muslim influence with great history. Therefore you can expect some variety of meat preparations though majority of the population here are vegetarians.

Indeed the place is known for their variety of vegetarian food styles. Whether you talk of Lapsi which is wheat porridge or the ‘bhujia-roti’ combination, you have something to stuff in your mouth without any sort of hesitation. If you wish to learn about the taste of Rajasthan and its vivid culture which is reflected in the dishes, read the book on Rajasthan Cuisin by Maharani Gayatri Devi.

Rajasthani food is mostly known for the cooking in Royal Kitchens. Food here is a serious business because of the tourists flooding the state almost all the year round. The cooking here has its unique flavor and they use the simplest ingredients in them. Gram flour is widely used in some delicacies like Pakoda, Ghatta ki Sabji, Khata and others. They use bajra and corn to make bread (rotis). The place is also known for Khichri a particular dish prepared by ingredients like – rice, vegetables, ginger, spices, and some amount of butter. Rajasthan is also known for richly snacks like – ‘Daal-Moth’, Papad, Chips and Bhujia.

Here are few things which you always find in Rajasthan:

Lassi

This is natural yoghurt which is churned to remove the butter and make Lassi (buttermilk) a cool beverage served in summer.

Rajasthani Dal-Bati-Churma

This is a common food of Rajasthani people. Daal-Bati is cooked lentils and roasted balls of dough which is accompanies by pickle berries cooked in different methods. The Churma is a sweet dish made of jaggery or sugar in ghee. For taste and variety some ingredients like coconut, khoya and resins are also used.

Frying Puris and Chola

This is also a Punjabi favorite snack. Grams are soaked in water and later on cooked to a delicious stuffy recipe called chola masala which is served with fried white thin breads that puff like balloons when they are put on hot boiling oil in big pans.

The other common things which you would be able to taste in Rajasthan are – sweets having some spicy flavors, jalebis, mithais, faldas and glass of milk served with thick cream.