Food of India

Do you believe that one should eat to live and not live to eat? If yes, then you really need to visit India to change your perception about food. The locals of this magnificent country are considered to be one of the greatest connoisseurs of food on the globe. It is as important to them as their cultures, traditions and even religion! Food is perhaps one of the many things that weave Indians in one thread. Forget three course meals; you will be showered with a large assortment of dishes which can be consumed anytime, anywhere. However, what’s typical of all the Indian dishes is the rich taste of locally prepared spices, which infuses a delectable aroma in them.

Bengali Food

No Bengali food can ever be cooked without panchphoron - the five essential spices, namely mustard, fenugreek seed, cumin seed, aniseed, and black cumin seed. Bengali cuisine is known for carrying a perfect blend of sweet and spicy flavours, good enough to treat your taste buds. The staple food of people in Bengal is rice and fish. Fish remains in almost every Bengali dish. Do not miss to try dishes like Begun Bhaja (crunchy fried eggplant snack), Luchi (small chapattis made of maida), Tangra Macher Jhol (spicy Catfish curry) and Ilish Macher Jhol (pungent fish curry). In addition, no festival in Bengal can ever be celebrated without the local Bengali sweets including Rasgulla (a syrupy dessert made from fresh curd cheese), Sandesh (made of milk, sugar and paneer) and Mishti Doi (sweet curd).

Gujarati Food

Gujaratis are devoted to vegetarian food. The traditional Gujarati food is served in a silver plate with a number of silver bowls. Some of the must try dishes in Gujarat are Dhokla (made of fermented rice and split chickpeas), Handva (single layered thick bread), Thepla (made of wheat, spices and Green leafy Fenugreek mixed well in dough) and Kadhi (made with a combination of Yogurt, butter milk, gram flour/maize flour and rich spices).

Punjabi Food

The locals of Punjab are a bit too serious when it comes to food. It plays a major role in all the spheres of their life. Their craziness for non-vegetarian food is evident with the range of non-vegetarian dishes they prepare including Butter Chicken (chicken cooked with rich spices and lots of butter), Chicken Curry with Tomatoes (chicken cooked in tomatoes and delectable spices), Chicken Tikkas (roasted chunks of chicken in a spicy sauce), Tandoori Chicken (marinated chicken cooked in clay oven) and Amritsari Fish (fish prepared with spicy Punjabi spices). In addition to this, Chole Bhature (a combo of chana masala and fried bread) can be called the national food of Punjab.

Rajasthani Food

The cuisine of Rajasthan offers a range of mouth-watering dishes. Rajasthanis are known for using ghee in most of their dishes. Some of the must try Rajasthani dishes include Gatte ki Sabzi (flour balls and tangy gravy made up of buttermilk and spices), Rajasthani Kadhi (made of buttermilk, gram flour, spices and ghee), Dal-Bati (unleavened bread prepared from whole wheat flour and fillings of onions and peas) and Laal Maas (a fiery combination of mutton, hot spices and a burst of red chillies). In addition, for the aficionados of sweets, Mawa Kachori of Jodhpur, Ghevar of Jaipur and Malpuas of Pushkar are sure to lure desserts.

South Indian Food

Light, low calorie and gratifying, the South Indian cuisine brings to you a melange of rice and lentils. Also, whether it is dosa (kind of pancake made of rice and urad beans), vada (fried doughnut looking snacks), idli (cake made of rice) or uttapam (a thick pancake topped with vegetables of your choice), Sambar (a lentil-based vegetable stew) is a must with all the South Indian dishes. For the worshippers of non-vegetarian food, dishes like Ayila Porichathu (fish marinated in lip-smacking spices) and Kozhikode Biryani (rice cooked with meat and locally found spices) are must try. Also, for those with a sweet tooth, Thengai Paal Payasam (cooked in milk sweetened with sugar), Palkova (thickened milk sweetened with sugar) and Mysore Pak (a mix of gram flour, cardamom, sugar, and ghee) are good enough to fall for gluttony.