Indian Regional Cuisine

The cusine in India varies from one place to another as we go. One region in eating is completely different from other region. Food is very internal part of any culture and the regional cuisine reflects the culture , tradition and influence. India is a country with around 500 languages and diverse culture, tradition. 

1. Bengali cuisine :

Bengali are very fond of fish and fish plays very dominant role here. Even the Brahmin caste of Bengal eats fish as their staple diet. The food is made with local ingredients with fish and rice being staple food. The most preferred meat is mutton . Mustard is grown abundant here so , Mustard oil is used along with Mustard for tempering, Thickening pastes. 
Machar jhol is eaten everyday with plain rice. similarly, Doi Mach - a lightly Seared fish cooked in curd gravy with onion , ginger and cumin seed is common . Tamatar chutney is also popular. For dessert, Rassgoola and chum chum are common. Chicken curry include sorse Murgi which is very typical Bengali chicken curry made from masala of Mustard, green chillies and turmeric powder. 


2. Kashmiri cusine :- 

Kashmiri Cuisine is mainly meat base and Kashmiri are heavy meat eaters. Veg dishes are combined with non veg dishes . Rice is mainly used here and staple food which balance spicy flavours. The meat is accompanied by yogurt and garnished with saffron. The dishes had fruits, nuts, saffron, mace and nutmeg added. The history of Kashmiri Cuisine can be traced down to fifteenth century when India was invade by Timur and migration of various peoples. Kashmiri Muslim Cuisine is also known as wazwan . The Hindus are vegeterian who eats rice , lentils and beans. Lamb is very popular here along with beef. When it comes to tempering, the food is tempered with hing . The favourite dishes of Kashmiri Cuisine are - Rogan Josh , Meth maaze , Alok bukhar ( chutney made with onion , sugar , lemon juice ), Rishta ( it is made by poaching lambs dumpling In red gravy which is flavoured with saffron. The meat used is from leg) , sheikh kabab ( spicy ground lamb on skewers)


3. Punjabi Cuisine :- Punjabi Cuisine is not complicated as the dishes consists of both vegeterian and non vegetarian dishes. The spices used here varied from minimum to maximum . The main staple food is wheat while rice is enjoyed in special occasion and festivals . Punjabi cusine uses extensive onion , ginger and garlic to enhance the taste of dish. The traditional Punjabi thaali consists of varieties of kind of bread . Some are baked in tandoor while other are cooked on tawa. Tandoor cooking is very popular here which includes tandoori roti , naan and kulcha. The use of dairy product is also abundant. Punjabi Cuisine uses a lot of ghee and home cooked dishes varies from Restaurant cooked dishes. Paratha and Puri are also popular here.



4. Awadh cuisine :- 

Awadh is ancient name for present Lucknow and surrounding regions in North India. The cusine has great mughal influence and is very famous for Nawabi food. Awadh Cuisine has mastered the art of slow dum cooking . Wheat is staple food here but rice is also eaten in different forms like biryani , pulao . The cooking pattern is very similar to middle East. This cuisine use both veg and non veg dishes with blending of various spices. Kebabs , roomali roti , biryani , Korma are very popular here.  Similarly korma ( rich and thick gravy with smooth texture made of curd , cream ) , biryani ( long grain aromatic basmati rice cooked with chicken and mutton pieces ) , Nargishi kofta ( boiled egg wrapped around by minced mutton and deep fried) , yakhni pulao ( pulao made with rich mutton stock) are very popular here. 


5. Andhra Pradesh Cuisine :- 

Andhra Pradesh cuisine is cultural heritage of india. The fusion between Hindus and Muslim style of eating is commonly found here. Red chillies are used extensively and no no Andhra curry is complete with out at least 40 red chillies. Rice is a staple food here. The Andhra Pradesh Cuisine do not uses much fat and oil so food is dietary delight. The main highlight of this cuisine is Hyderabadi food. Mughal influence is also seen here with biryani , kebabs , korma , Shrek kebab being popular. Similarly , chutney and pickles are also very popular with a lot Cuisine made from fish and prawn. 


6. Tamil Nadu Cuisine :- 

Majority of people in Tamil Nadu are Hindu so cusine is mainly vegeterian with Rice and lentil domination. Sea food is very common here with Rice being staple food. The food are more spicy and sour. Rice plays a very important role here and is combined with lentils to make various breakfast and snacks like idli , dosa , sambhar . Coconut oil is medium of cooking used here and coconut, tamarind , hingh is used extensively. Curd balance the hotness of dish. Meat and seafood are flavoured with red chillies , black peppercorns and fresh curry leaves to give strong and vibrant curry aroma.


7. Goan Cuisine :- 

Goan Cuisine is perfect blend of East and west. We will see influence of Portuguese, French and and Africans very easily in Goan Cuisine. There is very strong influence of using fish, beef , seafood , pork , olive oil  , vinegar in Goan Cuisine. The Portuguese brought potatoes , vinegar , beef , bread , pork to Goa so Portuguese made biggest impact on food. Staple food is fish and while Christian eat beef and pork. Most Indian gravy are incomplete with out tomato. Similarly, Goa community is three different types ; Hindu , Muslim and Christian. Christian food reassemble of western Cuisine. Hindus may be vegeterian and they are restricted to beef as cattle is considered sacred. Popular , Goan Cuisine includes vindaloo , sorpotel ( pork meat with spices) , beef assado ( Beef marinated in mixture of chillies, ginger , garlic , salt, turmeric ) , caldin ( prepared from fish prawn , coconut milk and tamarind with use of hot green chillies, ground pepper eaten with rice). Cuisine is hot, sharp , sweet due to spices and curry pastes made with coconut, red chillies and vinegar.


8. Gujarati Cuisine :- Gujarati Cuisine is mainly vegeterian due to Jain influence. It is known heaven cuisine for vegetarians. The uses of spices change according to season. Their dishes have a sweet taste. The food is not very oily and spicy in North gujarat . Western Gujarat is dry and green vegetables are hard to come here while rainfall is very abundant in central Gujarat so so green leafy vegetables and fruits are very common here. Sweets and snacks are offered to welcome the guests . Some popular dishes are :- vagharalu Bhaat ( rice fried along with vagar , which is tempering of mustard seed , red chilly , curry leaves and turmeric), khakra ( very thin crisp bread). Gujarati cuisine is home to some of india's finest vegetarian dishes . Food is mild and spices paste are made with ginger and chilly. 


9. Rajasthani cuisine :- 

Rajasthani cuisine is known for its exotic food which is divided into two parts - Rajput and Marwari . Rajasthani Cuisine uses lot of dry coconut , ghee ,butter medium of cooking . Pickle and chutney are very popular here . Camel milk, goat milk are also common. The Marwari kitchen is restricted kitchen where no one is allowed to enter except professional Brahmin cook. It covers vast desert and green vegetables are not common here. Thaali consists of fresh ginger, radish , lime , green chillies with one or two vegetables and roti. Kebab from game are also very popular. 


10. Maharashtra cuisine : -

The cuisine has light,sweet and sour flavours drawn from Mango, tamarind , coconut. Dishes are hot and spicy . Popular Indian food includes dosa , hamburger, pulaos , biryani . Vada PAV is also very popular ( gram flour cakes stuffed in between bread).

11. Hyderabad cuisine :-

It is home to unique non vegetarian cuisine similar to mughlai. Ghee is used and spices are added to cream and butter. Similarly, dishes are garnished with almonds , cashewnut, pistachio, raisin.

12. Cuisine of Kerala :- 

It is land of coconut palms , spice such as cardamom, cinnamon, ginger , pepper and Turmeric. It has well developed vegetarian cuisine but also boosts plenty of meat , poultry and seafood dishes. Typical Kerala feast is referred as 'sadya' . Puttu is very popular ( rice flour dough layered with grated coconut, steamed in hollow bamboo)

13. Karnataka cuisine :- 

India best cardamom and black pepper are Produced here and dishes with gravy are accompanied by kozhi roti ( dry broken piece of dosa) or Neer dosa ( soft handkerchief like). No meal is complete without saaru( a clear pepper broth)

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