Indian Cuisine
We don’t deny Indian food is rich. After all, here pure gold was served as dessert.
In the kitchens of a royal family in Bihar, was created a dish that could easily make it to the world of Ripley’s ‘Believe or not’. Asharfi Murabba (pronounced: ash-er-fee, moo-rub-baa).
Prepared behind heavily guarded doors, the head-chef, named Muniji, carefully added a little bit of this and that (predictably he never told anyone the recipe) to a jar full of solid gold coins. In fact, that’s the only ingredient we are sure of.
This would go on for a couple of weeks. And when it was ready to be served, the gold would have transformed into a soft, sweet, succulent delicacy! In their effort to please the royal palates, the cooks of yore have left behind a rich legacy of exotic cuisines. You can be sure to find a feast awaiting you in every part of India.
North Indian food has a strong influence of Persian cuisine. The Mughal invaders introduced delicious and fragrant rice dishes, such as pulav and biryani. Garnished with pounded silver (vark), these dishes along with spicy korma (braised meat in creamy sauces), kofta (grilled spicy meatballs) and kabab graced the tables of the nobles.
In eastern India, a verdant expanse of paddy fields and rivers, you can savour many varieties of fish based dishes. No festival in the east is complete until the ‘hilsa’ (a type of fish) has been served. Curry is not the only thing with which fish is eaten. It is smoked, grilled, fried and stuffed into green coconuts.
The cuisine of western India is mostly prepared in ghee (clarified butter). Here you can enjoy also bhaji (spicy potatoes), karhi (chickpea dumpling in yoghurt sauce) dal batti (lentil dumplings in dal) served with rice and puris (Puffed whole wheat fried breads).The state of Gujarat has contributed some of the finest vegetarian dishes.
Goan cuisine effectively mixes local Knokan and Portuguese flavours. Its hot vindaloo curries and distinctive sweet and sour dishes are popular all over the western region, An interesting dish is the Bombay Duck, which is neither from Bombay nor a duck, but a small sun-dried fish cut and sold in strips.
South Indians like it hot. Here rice is served with very spicy curries. They put chillies, mustard, coconut oil and various other spicy seeds to conjure up mouth-watering dishes like dosa (rice pancake stuffed with potatoes and vegetables) and idli (rice dumpling served with sambar).
For more information contact your nearest Indian Tourism office. You’ll have a time of your life. In fact, we’re even willing to bet an asharfi (gold coin) on it.
South Indian Food
The Malabar Coast in the South India is famous for its spices of pungent aromas that lured many foreign invaders like the Dutch, the French and the English. Cardamom, pepper, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg are some of the notable spices, which are found in abundance in the Southern region. The availability of coconut, fish and root tubers have influenced the culinary creations of the South. Rice is the staple food for the people of South India instead of wheat, which is more popular in northern states.The very mentioning of the name of South India, particularly Tamil Nadu, brings to ones mind the tastes of Idlis, dosas, Sambhar and Vada. However, there are more than these that can treat the taste buds. Most of the vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes of this region have a generous use of spices and coconuts. The final tempering with oil, mustard seeds, curry leaves, red chillies and urad dhal is almost the same for most of the dishes. In Kerala, the staple food of the people is fish accompanied with steaming rice of big variety. Banana chips and jackfruit chips are the speciality snacks of this state and most of the visitors make sure they have at least a few bags of these items in their carry home luggage! The Andhra cuisine has a great Mughal impact. Their food is known for its spiciness and hotness. The kebabs and the Biriyanis are not to be missed. Home made pickles, pappads and dry chutney powders to be used with dosa or idli or rice are the famous culinary traditions of this region.
In the kitchens of a royal family in Bihar, was created a dish that could easily make it to the world of Ripley’s ‘Believe or not’. Asharfi Murabba (pronounced: ash-er-fee, moo-rub-baa).
Prepared behind heavily guarded doors, the head-chef, named Muniji, carefully added a little bit of this and that (predictably he never told anyone the recipe) to a jar full of solid gold coins. In fact, that’s the only ingredient we are sure of.
This would go on for a couple of weeks. And when it was ready to be served, the gold would have transformed into a soft, sweet, succulent delicacy! In their effort to please the royal palates, the cooks of yore have left behind a rich legacy of exotic cuisines. You can be sure to find a feast awaiting you in every part of India.
North Indian food has a strong influence of Persian cuisine. The Mughal invaders introduced delicious and fragrant rice dishes, such as pulav and biryani. Garnished with pounded silver (vark), these dishes along with spicy korma (braised meat in creamy sauces), kofta (grilled spicy meatballs) and kabab graced the tables of the nobles.
In eastern India, a verdant expanse of paddy fields and rivers, you can savour many varieties of fish based dishes. No festival in the east is complete until the ‘hilsa’ (a type of fish) has been served. Curry is not the only thing with which fish is eaten. It is smoked, grilled, fried and stuffed into green coconuts.
The cuisine of western India is mostly prepared in ghee (clarified butter). Here you can enjoy also bhaji (spicy potatoes), karhi (chickpea dumpling in yoghurt sauce) dal batti (lentil dumplings in dal) served with rice and puris (Puffed whole wheat fried breads).The state of Gujarat has contributed some of the finest vegetarian dishes.
Goan cuisine effectively mixes local Knokan and Portuguese flavours. Its hot vindaloo curries and distinctive sweet and sour dishes are popular all over the western region, An interesting dish is the Bombay Duck, which is neither from Bombay nor a duck, but a small sun-dried fish cut and sold in strips.
South Indians like it hot. Here rice is served with very spicy curries. They put chillies, mustard, coconut oil and various other spicy seeds to conjure up mouth-watering dishes like dosa (rice pancake stuffed with potatoes and vegetables) and idli (rice dumpling served with sambar).
For more information contact your nearest Indian Tourism office. You’ll have a time of your life. In fact, we’re even willing to bet an asharfi (gold coin) on it.
South Indian Food
The Malabar Coast in the South India is famous for its spices of pungent aromas that lured many foreign invaders like the Dutch, the French and the English. Cardamom, pepper, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg are some of the notable spices, which are found in abundance in the Southern region. The availability of coconut, fish and root tubers have influenced the culinary creations of the South. Rice is the staple food for the people of South India instead of wheat, which is more popular in northern states.The very mentioning of the name of South India, particularly Tamil Nadu, brings to ones mind the tastes of Idlis, dosas, Sambhar and Vada. However, there are more than these that can treat the taste buds. Most of the vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes of this region have a generous use of spices and coconuts. The final tempering with oil, mustard seeds, curry leaves, red chillies and urad dhal is almost the same for most of the dishes. In Kerala, the staple food of the people is fish accompanied with steaming rice of big variety. Banana chips and jackfruit chips are the speciality snacks of this state and most of the visitors make sure they have at least a few bags of these items in their carry home luggage! The Andhra cuisine has a great Mughal impact. Their food is known for its spiciness and hotness. The kebabs and the Biriyanis are not to be missed. Home made pickles, pappads and dry chutney powders to be used with dosa or idli or rice are the famous culinary traditions of this region.
Courtesy: ‘Incredible India!’ Campaign Literature