Indian cuisine is spicy, with a rich taste and a bright aroma of spices. They are especially good for our dank and damp autumn weather. Each state of India has its own authentic dishes that are not similar to dishes from another region. We offer to add new flavors and colors to your usual dinner and present an overview of the most interesting recipes common in Indian cuisine.
India: food and tradition
The main gastronomic feature of this country is that most of its inhabitants prefer plant foods. The main part of the population professes Hinduism, where the cow is a sacred animal. Therefore, beef should not be eaten – prison terms may be threatened for this.
Also, a significant part of the inhabitants are Muslims, so pork is also rarely eaten here. If we talk about meat, Indians prefer chicken dishes in a variety of sauces, sometimes lamb, and beans, cereals and vegetables form the basis of the diet. Dairy products, and especially dahi yogurt, are considered sacred.
Indians prepare their own paneer – a special homemade cheese that is added to soups and vegetable dishes. Dairy and sour-milk products, thanks to the complex protein casein, provide long-term satiety and mitigate the aggressive effects of spicy foods on the body.
According to the canons of Ayurveda, traditional Indian medicine, while cooking, it is important to remember that the dish should contain combinations of sweet and sour, spicy and salty. Also, another taste is added to the taste palette – astringent.
The traditional cuisine of India is rated by nutritionists as one of the healthiest due to spices and their positive effects on the body. However, tourists should be careful with too spicy and spicy food – the digestive system can fail. It is better to try meat dishes, only after making sure that the product is fresh – in a hot climate, the meat quickly deteriorates.
Spices and seasonings
Great importance in Indian cuisine is given to spices, spices and seasonings, and not necessarily spicy. The most famous of them is curry, which gives not only a recognizable taste to chicken or rice dishes, but also a very cheerful bright yellow color.
Curry is a mixture of various spices. Here are the main spices that are included in its composition:
Curry composition may vary. Some spices may be missing, but turmeric in this mixture must be present without fail. Usually, curry is prepared as a sauce or stew. It consists of vegetables, legumes or meat, as well as a scattering of a variety of spices.
Bread and pastries
The culture of consumption of bakery products in India is different from the European one. Here, the usual yeast bread is replaced by various cakes in the form of thin pita bread, which are baked in a pan or pies. \
which is stuffed with vegetable stew or beans. Or simply make them in the form of a crispy round pancake, which is dipped in sauces.
For the holidays, Indians fry samosas – these are small triangular-shaped pies with various fillings. By the way, the right pie should be without bubbles on the dough.
Sweets and drinks
Indian desserts are made with chickpea flour, fruits, nuts, coconut, milk and butter. At the same time, honey is rarely added as a sweetener: it is believed that when heated, it loses its beneficial properties and harms the body.
Traditional delicacies:
Laddu. Prepared from nuts, spices, coconut and chickpea flour. Small balls are made from the mixture, which are fried in ghee;
Gulab Jamun. Dessert made from semolina and milk, but not ordinary, but dry. The delicacy is fried in oil to a crust;
Khir. Rice pudding boiled in cream or very fat milk with the addition of candied fruit or citrus peel, nuts and cinnamon, cloves and cardamom;
It may seem that Indian desserts are reminiscent of familiar oriental sweets. Therefore, in some dishes their oriental prototypes are guessed.
Not a single holiday passes without them – it is a symbol of well-being and prosperity. Going on a visit, Indians always take a bag of sweets with them, as tradition and etiquette require this.
Drinks are also often spoken at home. The most popular are those made on the basis of milk or yogurt. This is a refreshing lassi cocktail that can be similar to salted Turkish ayran or drinking sweet yogurt with fruit. But still, strong black masala tea is beyond competition in India, which is brewed with various fragrant spices and served with milk, which balances the taste of the drink.
Cooking authentic Indian food at home
A gastronomic journey to this incredibly interesting country can be planned without buying tickets. To try this cuisine, here are 7 step-by-step recipes for vibrant and delicious dishes that will help you get an idea of Indian traditional food.
Spicy Creamy Chicken
The spice mix and vegetable sauce give the chicken an unusual flavor, while the creamy sauce softens the spiciness. For a complete immersion in the world of Indian cuisine, serve the dish with long-grain basmati rice, which is so loved by the people of this country.
