Life without sweetness is boring. Sweets have always been the integral part of Indian cuisine. Perhaps no where in the world you would come across such a variety of sweets that are predominantly available in every nook and corner of the market streets in India. Along with chat-patas the sweet is another favorite item for evening snacks as well as after meal servings. The sweet dishes are different from Western dishes in the sense they are prepared never with the concept of calorie but taste and richness. They aid in digestion and are normally consumed after taking a good meal.

An Indian meal almost remains incomplete without the sweet dishes. Here are few recipes of popular Indian sweets which are available in all corners of the country.

Khir

Ingredients you would require:
milk 2 liters, 4 tablespoon of sugar, 200 gm of pure basmati rice, few raisins, dry fruits, sliced almonds, chopped cahew nuts, a little bit of permitted color if required and bay leaves.

Heat the milk in a large pan and simmer it till it reduces to 3 quarters of its original volume. Now add the rice on it and let it get cooked for 10 minutes. The milk volume will be now reduced to half. Add sugar and heat for 1 minute. It is time to add the bay leaves, raisins, cashew nuts, almonds and dry fruits. Keep stirring while you put the ingredients in the khir. Cook for another 3-4 minutes. The khir is ready. But don’t serve it hot. Khir is usually served when it is cold and the taste of cold khir is very captivating after a good meal.

Rosogulla

Ingredients you would require:
1 kg of cottage cheese, sugar 1 kg, water 1 ½ liters, ghee 5 tablespoons, semolina 2 tbsp, standard-flour 2 tbsp, rose water few drops and cardamom powder. Sometimes permitted color and flavors are also used.

How to Prepare Rosogulla?

Pour the water in a deep pan and add sugar. Boil the mixture for 20-30 minutes till the volume is reduced to ¾.  Put aside the syrup prepared. Now it is time to prepare the rosogulla balls. Take a mid size bowl which can hold the cottage cheese. Add the cottage cheese to ghee, standard flour, semolina, and cardamom powder. Mix the entire ingredients together fine that they form dough. It must be soft enough to make the balls. Knead the prepared dough evenly until your palm becomes oily.

Now you can make the balls of rosogolla using the dough. Make the balls not less than 1 ½ inches of diameter. Add the prepared balls in the sugar syrup and get them cooked again for another 20-30 minutes. Now you will notice the balls turning spongy. Put off the flame and let it cool. After 15 minutes you should add the rose water to it. The rosogullas are ready to be served after one hour.

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.

If you wish to feel the elate and richness of Indian food, you cannot afford to miss the Punjabi dishes of India. The Punjabi Cuisines are renowned throughout the world for their highly energetic food. The have some awesome cuisines which are very much indigenous to the land of Punjab and which are now eaten by people of all regions. They have brought about a revolution in the breakfast table with so many types of ‘Parathas’ for a heavy and perfect breakfast along with curd and other healthy items.

There are more than hundreds of original Punjabi dishes which you can prepare in your home and serve them. The great feeling of Punjabi food lies in the variety and versatility of their recipes. Here are few popular Punjabi dishes of India which are relished by people from all regions throughout India. They are simple to prepare and very tasty to gulp them down.

Alo-Gobi Recipe:

You need:

1 cauliflower, 4 potatoes, 1 tomato, ½ spoon turmeric powder, ½ spoon red chilly powder, 1 table spoon coriander powder, ½ table spoon sabji-masala, salt to taste, Ghee or oil. The ingredients mentioned here are for two-three people. You can increase the amount according to the servings you need.

Method:

Cut the potatoes (Alo) and cauliflower into pieces. Wash them properly. Now heat the oil or ghee in a cooking pan. Add some amount of chopped onion, paste of garlic and ginger. Fry the mixture till it is brownish in color. Now add the chopped cauliflower and potatoes. Cook in medium flame for 5 minutes. Now add chopped tomato, the turmeric powder, chilly powder, coriander and cook it for another 5-10 minutes. If you wish you can add little amount of water so that the stuff don’t stick to the pan. Serve hot with bread (rotis).

Roasted Baingan ka Barhta

You Need:

two eggplants, I large onion chopped, 1 tomato chopped, garlic cloves, chopped green chillies, ½ oil, fresh coriander leaves chopped, and salt for taste.

Method:

Roast the eggplants till they are soft. Peel the skin of the eggplants and mash them. Add the desired amount of salt on it and mix the mash with salt. Make a mixture of oil (preferably mustard oil), chillies, onion, garlic cloves and coriander leaves. Add the mixture to the mashed eggplant and mix the whole stuff properly. You can pour one tablespoon of lime juice over it for taste and little amount of butter. Serve it with rotis.

Protein rich pulses are a must in the Indian meal because they offer much of the nutritional material required for the upkeep of our body system at a lower cost-they are substantially cheaper than meats. you will find all variety of pulses, here in India, from whole to spilt pulses like sabat urad (whole black gram), chana dal (spilt Bengal gram) with or without skin, lentils like arhar dal (red gram) and dried beans like rajma (kidney beans).listed below are some delicious recipes made from such pulses which forms a very part of Indian culture.

Tuvar dal (red gram) in Gujarati style

Ingredients:
7 cups water;1 ½ cups oily red gram washed;1 tsp turmeric powder;5 ½ tsp salt;1 tsp red chili powder;1 ½ tbsp coriander powder;65 gms jaggery crushed;1 medium chopped tomato;5 green chilies slit;7 pieces cocum washed;2 tbsp coriander leaves chopped

For tempering:
2 tbsp vegetable oil;1 tsp mustard seeds; ½ tsp cumin seeds;2 whole dry red chilies; 1 sprig curry leaves ;1 large pinch of asafetida

Method:

1. Pour 4 cups water into cooker. Add red gram, turmeric powder and salt. Stir once.

2. Close cooker. Bring to full pressure on high heat. Reduce heat and cook for 3 minutes.

3. Remove cooker from heat. Allow to cool naturally.

4. Open cooker. Mash dal well with back of a ladle to blend with liquid.

5. Place cooker with dal on high heat. Add remaining water (3 cups) and all other ingredients except those for tempering.

6. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

7. For tempering, heat oil in a pan for about 1 minute. Add mustard and cumin seeds. When crackling, add red chilies, curry leaves and asafetida. Stir for a few seconds and pour over dal. Stir and serve hot.

Sambhar

Ingredients:
11/2 tbsp vegetable oil;6 whole dry red chilies;3 whole dry red chilies(Kashmiri);1 tbsp Bengal rgam;1 cm. piece asafetida;1/2 cup grated coconut grated;2 sprigs curry leaves;1/4 cup coriander seeds;1/2 tsp cumin seeds;1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds;5 ½ cups water;1 cup red gram washed;1/2 tsp turmeric powder;4 tsp salt;25 gms tamarind soaked in 1 cup hot water for 15 minute and pulp extracted; 1 medium onion chopped into 5 pieces;2 drumsticks peeled and cut into 5cm.long pieces

For tempering:
2 tbsp vegetable oil; 1/2 tsp mustard seeds

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan for about 1 minute and roast together whole chilies, Bengal gram,asafetida,coconut,1 sprig curry leaves, coriander, cumin and fenugreek seeds till coconut turns golden brown.

2. Grind roasted ingredients into a paste, adding a little water (1/2 cup) from time to time. Now pour 3 cups water into cooker. Add red gram, turmeric powder and salt. Stir once. Close cooker .bring to complete pressure on high heat. Reduce heat and cook for 4 minutes. Then remove cooker from heat .allow to cool naturally.

3. Open cooker. Mash dal completely with black of a ladle to blend with liquid. Add round paste, tamarind pulp, onion, drumsticks, remaining curry leaves (1 sprig) and water (2 cups).stir once.

4. Close cooker. Bring to full pressure on high heat. Remove cooker immediately from heat. Reduce pressure by placing cooker in a basin of cold water for about 2 minutes. Open cooker.

5. For tempering, heat oil in a pan with mustard seeds, when they starts to crackle, pour into sambhar. Stir and serve hot