An Ancient Treasure
India is the world’s chief supplier of spices and has been for at least thirty-six hundred years. These fragrant and flavorful plant substances, which often have been more prized than jewels, have drawn people from all over the world to India throughout history.
Unlike spice seekers from other nations, Indians have always had access to a wide array of different spices. Some of the most popular spices include mint, bright orange turmeric, pungent cumin, sweet and refreshing cardamom, parsley-like coriander, bitter-tasting kari (cah-ree), cinnamon, and mustard seeds. Indian chefs have been using these and other delicious spices to preserve, color, flavor, and perfume their food for thousands of years. Indian cuisine would not be the same without them.
An Artful Combination
Indians use spices the way artists use paint, blending them together in hundreds of different combinations and proportions. For a dish to be considered well cooked, no single spice should ever dominate. Instead there must be a perfect balance of ingredients, with each dish having its own distinctive taste, color, and perfume. This means that cooks need to understand the characteristics of each spice and how they mix together. Chef Mridula Baljekar explains: “Spices are the heart and soul of Indian cooking. Knowing how to use the spices is the key that unlocks the secrets of alluring aromas and magical flavors of classic Indian cuisine.”
Indian cooks blend spices in a number of ways. They create a masala (mah-saah-laah), a general term that refers to any combination of ground spices. They make masala by grinding different spices together into a powder. This may be done in a stone dish known as a mortar with a small, wooden, clublike tool called a pestle. A food processor can also be used to save time. Garam masala (gah-rahm mah-saah-laah), a favorite spice mixture, is a specific blend of up to fifteen spices that is widely used in Indian cooking. It features cinnamon, black pepper, cloves, cardamom, and other spices. It is dark and zesty.
Spices are also used whole. Roots, pods, seeds, and leaves are fried for less than a minute in hot oil or ghee (gee). Ghee is a type of butter in which all the milk solids have been removed. Incredibly fragrant, the spiced or tempered oil is used as a basis for hundreds of different sauces.
Rice and Grains
Sauces are often served over rice, a staple of the Indian diet and an important part of Indian culture. Rice symbolizes good fortune in India, which is why rice porridge is the first solid food fed to babies. It is also the most important crop in India, with one-fourth of all cultivated land planted with it.
Although many varieties of rice are grown, basmati (bas-maah-tee) rice is the most popular. It is known for its smooth, rich taste and fresh aroma. Basmati literally means “the queen of perfumes” in Hindi, one of the most common languages spoken in India. Indians have many uses for basmati rice. It is boiled and topped with a spicy sauce filled with meat or vegetables. It can also be stir-fried with spices, used in puddings, puffed into a popcorn-like snack, or cooked in aromatic casseroles.
Indians eat about 4.5 pounds (2 kg) of rice a week. Before cooking it, they carefully rinse the rice. This removes impurities and excess starch and keeps the grains from sticking together. Then the rice is soaked for at least an hour before it is boiled. Soaking whitens the rice and helps the grains absorb the flavor of the spicy sauces that will be poured over them. According to authors Martin Hughes, Sheema Mookherjee, and Richard Delacy, the end result is, “white, long, and silky.”
Wonderful Breads
Although rice is eaten at every meal in southern India and in great quantities in northern India, flat breads known as rotis (ro-tees) are the core of northern meals. Rotis are also popular in the rest of the nation. Roti originated centuries ago as a portable food that farmers and shepherds could dine on when they were out in the fields. Today Indians use rotis like edible spoons to scoop up saucy dishes, meat, and vegetables.
Rotis are made without yeast from nutrient-rich whole-wheat flour, which is mixed with water and kneaded to form a thin dough. The dough is divided into tennis ball–size portions, rolled into almost perfect circles, and cooked on a hot cast-iron griddle known as a tawa (tah-waah).
Cooks make a wide variety of rotis, but the most common is chapati (chah-paah-tee), a soft flat bread that balloons out as it cooks. Other favorites include pooris (poo-rees), which are deep-fried chapatis, and paranthas (pah-rahn-thahs), which have a pastry-like texture. Many Indian cooks make fresh roti for every meal. Traditionally the woman of the house makes the bread as the family eats. When the roti is done, she brushes it with butter to keep it soft and transfers it from the griddle to the table. “This is simple . . . home cooking,” explains a chef at the Indian Foods Company. “I cannot go for many days without my roti.”
Colorful Legumes
Legumes are another essential part of the Indian diet. Legumes such as lentils, beans, and peas are eaten at least once a day. They are usually flavored and scented with spices and served over rice, or with roti and a vegetable. Since they are loaded with vitamins, minerals, protein and fiber they are quite nutritious. This may be why an Indian proverb says that legumes and roti are all an Indian needs to survive. Indian cooks use over 60 different types of legumes. These include tiny yellow split peas; black, yellow, and pink lentils; and tan chickpeas. One of the favorite ways of using legumes is in dal (dahl), a delicious stewlike dish. Each cook has his or her own dal recipes, so there are countless variations. Depending on the cook, dal can contain just one type of legume or a few. It can be thick and chunky, or the lentils may be mashed so that the dal is thin and velvety smooth. But what gives dal its special taste and aroma are the spices that flavor it.
To make dal, cooks soak the legumes overnight to soften them. Then they simmer them for hours. When the legumes are tender, selected spices are cooked in hot oil or ghee and added to the legumes right before they are served. This gives the legumes, which are otherwise bland, a savory flavor and a mouthwatering aroma. Popular combinations include pink lentils spiced with cumin, pepper, and chili powder, or yellow split peas flavored with mashed garlic, ginger, and cinnamon.
Mint is often added to the stew. And sometimes yogurt is mixed into dal to give it a creamy texture. One thing is certain: No matter the ingredients, Indians love dal. “There is something wonderfully warm and tasty about . . . dal,” explains chef Suvir Saran. “I want [it] when I have a craving for something simple and homey, but still savory.”
Indian cooking is, indeed, warm and tasty. Indian chefs artfully combine brightly colored legumes, richly perfumed spices, and deliciously satisfying grains to create dishes that are uniquely Indian.
Taken from my copy of the book whose cover is being used to illustrate this blog post.
To be honest, I am not a great fan of Indian food. Perhaps it is because I am not get used to it. There are not many Indian restaurants available in Lombok, therefore I did not eat it often. However, I have to admit that Indian cuisine is one unique cuisine exist on earth. If you think about it again, Indian cuisine can bring you to another whole experience where you can utilize all of your senses. Your “Sight” can see the various colours served on one plate. Your tongue would taste the diversity of flavours in one spoon. Obviously, you’ll get to smell that fragrant distinctive odor of spices. Feel the different textures of the biryani, the lamb, samosas, and so much more. Your appetite will definitely mount after hearing that meat and chicken tandoori sizzling on the hot grill.
ReplyDeleteI have tried several Indian food such as tandooris, pani phuri, kadai masala, vindaloo, paneer korma, biryani, and some other. The Indian cuisine served in the Mulia Jakarta was the only Indian food that meets my taste preference. Could anyone give me any preference about other Indian restaurant or dish that I should try? Thank you.
Indian food is one of my favorite type of food. It has an incredible diversity and the mixes of spices are always delicious. Although I have to admit that I have never been to India, so all the Indian restaurants I have tried may have adapted their recipes to match the tolerance to spices of their customer, and real Indian food must be much spicier. Indian food is good to eat but also really nice to look at as it is very colorful. One thing that is not mentioned in the article is that India also have amazing drinks. My favorite one is the lassi, most of all the one with mango, which is basically a liquid yogurt with mango. Moreover, the biggest advantage of Indian food is that no matter in which country you are, Indian restaurants are always affordable. I have not been to any Indian restaurants in Indonesia yet, so I would be interested to know if you know a good one.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I’m not a big fan of Indian food. When I heard the word Indian food, the word that comes to my mind is ‘curry’. The first time I tasted curry is when I ate chicken curry-indomie. But, I admit that Indian food is unique and has its own characteristics. Indian food has its own taste of spice and smells. It also has different kinds of menus with various colors. Hence, when you combine few menus in one plate, it can look good. Although I’m not a big fan of Indian food, I still have a personal favorite. My favorite menu is the naan bread. I like to combine it with chunks of lamb curry with a little mint chutney and yogurt. Sometimes I just like to eat the naan bread by itself. I tried this combination when I was eating at Shangri-la Hotel, Jakarta. I could use an advice about other menu’s that I should try.
ReplyDeleteIndian food, in my opinion, has the most interesting taste in the world. It mixes sweet, sour, spicy all together. Not only its taste, it is also very appealing to the eyes. They create it as if it is art, as mention in the blog post how indians uses different combinations and proportions in making food, balancing different spices, and creating well cooked dish.
ReplyDeleteDuring my time in india, I got to try many different kind of cuisines there. They have many varieties of food and combinations of food. Their portion is always so large that you’ll never leave an indian restaurant with an empty stomach. But what I love about indian food the most is that they are really cheap. With only 200 rupees, which is around 40.000 rupiah, food so much that the plate is as big as the table. So you dont ever need to worry about an empty stomach in india because with even a cheap price, you can satisfy your stomach.
Indian cuisine has long been a favorite and fascination to my family. For us, the diversity and complexity of each dish are the reason of our interest. And since my grand mother is half Kashmiri, Indian cooking has always been close to our heart. It is the diversity of the ingredients included in a dish which appeals me the most. Sometimes, I would imagine how can such dishes are first created. I suppose it involves tremendous amount of experimentation in order to achieve the current state of Indian cooking. Another reason behind my kindred fondness towards Indian cooking is almost every variant of Indian cuisine is halal, therefore whenever we travel Indian food will always be on top of our wanted list. In my travel, I have notice the diversity of Indian cuisine, and not every kind are palatable for my taste, even though some of them look seemingly identical. And after doing some digging, it turns out that the origin of the seemingly similar dishes are different, and it further awe me.
ReplyDeleteGod I love indian food so much. Maybe some people don’t like it. But not for me, I love indian foods, especially chicken curry. There is an indian restaurant in Semarang. Well, it is located in a place that is a little bit far from the downtown of Semarang. So, sometimes I ate there when I with my family. Japanese curry and Indian curry is slightly different. The taste, well it is just different. But actually like Japanese curry more than indian curry. Because it is more salty than the indian one. But, I do like indian curry. I also like canai bread. Canai bread ‘s shape is actually doesn’t look like a bread. It is usually use to make foods like kebab. The thing is, I’m a great fan of Indian foods. I like all of indian food that I’ve already know until now, and I will not stop eating it until I die maybe.
ReplyDeleteHere in Indonesia, Indian food might not be as prominent as Japanese food or Chinese food but in fact, Indian food is one of my favorite cuisines. My favorite dish is chicken curry and naan which is an Indian flatbread paired with the most delectable white sauce that makes all the difference. I’ve always wanted to learn to cook Indian cuisine. My first experience with Indian was when I lived in the US my family and my dad used to take us to an authentic Indian restaurant downtown. What intrigued me most about Indian food is the variety of spices used in a dish. In one Indian dish alone, it can include curry powder, paprika, cinnamon, bay leaf, ginger, cayenne pepper, and many more. One of the most authentic Indian spice is called saffron which is mainly cultivated by 16.000 families in India. Overall, I believe that the diversity of Indian cuisine should be more represented in Indonesia.
ReplyDeleteI've never been to India but I consider Indian food as one of my favourites. It is loaded with different kinds of spices and herbs so it is very flavorful. The article mentions that for an Indian dish to be considered well cooked, no single spice should ever dominate. Instead there must be a perfect balance of ingredients, with each dish having its own distinctive taste, color, and perfume. So the process of making delicious Indian cuisine is very complicated and it requires a lot of patience as well as practice. My personal favourite of Indian food is basmati rice, vegetable briyani, and dahl. Indian bread, called "roti" is a unique type of bread in my opinion, because most bread use yeast but Rotis are made without yeast and from nutrient-rich whole-wheat flour. In Indian cuisine, nothing tastes bland and everything is made from scratch using ingredients from whole foods sources, thats why many people love Indian food.
ReplyDeleteIndian food is like essence of livelihood. For every occasion they provide you with amazingly different specific receipt. The food changes it flavor and ingredients as per seasons and biological requirements. As in during summer they love to have fruits which in time it is required by the body and supported by the vibes. During Diwali, they have lot of fried snacks which increases the fats level that is required to prevent cold during Diwali. Even though the cuisine changes from region to region, the essence would never change. In the northern parts of India, food is made with variety type of spices. This spices in India are not functioned only as flavor but also for some other particular advantage such as the stability of hormone. All in all, Indians always treat their food as something that is important, such as: how they have variety of spices to put in a food, how they balance the spices and also how they change the receipts on different events/occasions. Indian food is a must try food.
ReplyDeleteI am in love with Indian food, no kidding, I could eat it for a whole month and not get tired of it. The bright colours, the interesting smells and the unique textures are some of the reasons that make Indian food so special. As a Western, I normally use cutlery for eating, however, I do enjoy eating with my hands when eating Indian dishes. This summer, I got the opportunity to visit Sri Lanka for two weeks. Sri Lanka is an Island on the south of India; therefore, India has a strong influence on its culture, religion and food. Sri Lanka is not only a beautiful country but also has AMAZING food: the curries, the bread, the street food, and the flavours. My favorite dishes were: the vegetable roti we bought on the street, the coconut hopper and the dal curry (red lentils). When we were in the city Ella, we meet a cooking chef who taught us how to cook ten different Indian dishes. Trying new dishes is, in my opinion, the perfect way to get to know a culture.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of indian food, what comes into my mind directly is curry, either it’s chicken curry, mutton curry or even Steph Curry. The first time I taste Indian curry is when I was in Singapore, specifically the little India, my mom brought me there to purchase something which I forgot already, but then I remembered specifically that I taste many varieties of curry until my mom told me a story about her friend which was food poisoned because she ate curry too much. Which is quite an effective method to be honest to stop me to enjoy curry since I was too afraid that same thing would happened to me back then. Nowadays, I haven’t had the chance to taste the real Indian curry again since our family haven’t enjoy our holidays by visiting many places due to much circumstances. However, my grandma back in my dad’s hometown cooks good Indonesian version of curry which quite similar to be honest by the curry that I tasted back then.
ReplyDeleteAs I know,Indian cuisine is famous for its rich flavor of spices and herbs. No country in the world produces as many varieties of spices as India. Each spice plays a specific role that gives Indian cuisine its characteristic taste. It consist a wade variety of traditional recipes that makes it even more unique, compare to other cuisines, Indian food has been known by all the people in the world for its wonderful features of Indian cuisine that has wide range of choices. As a food-enthusiast, I tried some Indian food in one of the Indian restaurant when I was in Bali. The food was great, I ordered too much , not expecting they would come in a big portions. But actually, even if they came in a big portions I could’ve just finished them, it is the strong taste of the spice that made me nauseated a bit. However, Indian food is presented in a unique and different way than any other cuisines, for examples dum pulao or dum biryani and wazwan. I think Indian cuisine is perfectly match for Asian like me.
ReplyDeleteJust as the article had mentioned, India has always been the main supplier of spice in the world in the past. With different variety of spices that are produced by Indian farmers, there’s no doubt that the food will also be filled with different combinations of spices that will satisfy our taste bud. I have to say that the different spices that are mixed into one Indian dish to produce such delicious meal are the reason why I fell in love with Indian cuisine. I remember back in high school, I would often trade my lunch with my Indian friend’s lunch because I just love Indian food and some of the reason is that my friend got bored of his food. The scent of a warm basmati rice with chicken curry covered in its unique and flavorful sauce is why Indian cuisine will always be on top of my mind whenever someone asks me to list the best cuisine from around the world.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this article, I suddenly remember when I went to Singapore six months ago. Singapore, which is dominated by the Indians makes me feel like I’m in India expecially when I visited Little India. I also went to Gayatri, the famous restaurant for selling the Indian cuisine in Singapore. The Indian Foods are unique because of its rich spices that taste spicy and for several people it stinks or smells bad. I also wondered why every dish in India is connected to curry such as chicken curry, mutton curry, and prata that we usually deep it in curry paste. Personally, I don’t really like Indian food, not because of the wonderful taste but because of the output which is our waste that is smelly and its smelled like the curry that we have consumed. Besides from my arguments, Indian Cuisine is wonderful because of its historical cultures that is hereditary from their ancestors that become one of the best International food right now.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, Indian foods are very interesting and flavorful although I am not really fond of it. Among other Indian foods, I find curry is the most extravagant one. I like curry because it tastes like there are a thousand spices in your mouth and they just beautifully collaborated making one very unique taste. As of today, curry is so popular in many countries including Indonesia. There are quite numerous curry restaurants in Indonesia. There are also many foods that are adapted from it such as instant noodle. Instant noodle is very well known and loved in the country. There are a lot of flavors existed of instant noodle. Among the flavors is curry. There are three curry flavors of instant noodle: white curry, chicken curry, and special curry. Me and my family especially loves the special curry one. We have one big box for it in the kitchen.
ReplyDeleteIndian cuisines have a very unique taste. Indian cuisines are dominated with spices since they produce a lot of spices in their country. One of the famous Indian cuisines is curry. The first time I tried curry, I feel nauseated. I may be exaggerating at that time, but that is really what I feel when I tried curry for the first time. As time goes by, my tolerance on food tasting is getting better so I can enjoy Indian foods like everyone else. Indian dishes characteristic is rich in taste and that makes them unique and outstanding. I believe that a lot of people could sense if it's Indian cuisine by only tasting the first bite. One of the Indian dishes that I like is their wonderful bread that called Rotis. I like the taste of Indian Rotis especially Naan bread. Another dishes that I like from India are their street food. Their street food tasted very good and not too much for my own personal taste. You guys definitely should taste it.
ReplyDeleteEventhough I haven’t tried real Indian food, based on what I saw on television or on the internet Indian food looks very appetizing. Like any other local foods from around the world, in a plate of Indian food we can see the history, the philosophy, and the culture of different parts of India. What makes Indian food unique is that the spices used in the meal itself. India is famous for being one of the biggest supplier of spices in the world. This spices came from different parts of India. That means spices are grown in different types of environments making it so diverse. Because of that, Indian food have unique taste, but it is is still acceptable to the taste buds around the world. One of the examples of this is in the curry flavored instant noodle. Yes, it may not be a perfect copy of the original curry but it is accepted by a lot of people that it is delicious.
ReplyDeleteI always wanted to go to India, just to try the original and local taste of Indian food, and see what their culture looks like. I have tried some of the Indian food, such as the dosa masala, tandoori chicken, and other else. Indian foods, as far as i know, are using a lot of spices and chillies to make their foods taste good and spicy. I don’t know how many spices existed and used by the Indians, but i know one of their main and special spice, which is the garam masala. Garam masala consisted of a lot of spices, mashed and mixed into one in the form of powder. It is added to almost every food in India, as far as i know. It is added to add some flavor and aroma from the foods. I tried Indian foods while i was back in Singapore, as there are a lot of Indians in Singapore, and the food is rather more authentic and original than the one that usual Indian restaurants made back in Indonesia.
ReplyDeleteI have a very strong liking towards Indian cuisines. For me, it’s uniqueness is unparalleled. Indians are also known to use the spices and herbs better than any other people on earth and the complex combinations of spices like ginger, turmeric, cardamom, cumin, chili pepper and my favourite of all, garam masala makes their cuisines special. The thing about Indian food is that it does not only have strong tastes of spices but is also appetizing and mouth-watering. Back at home, my mother would cook dishes upon our requests and despite having no Indian bloodlines, in my opinion she still managed to cook excellent Indian food although at times she was assisted by our native Indian relative to ensure that the taste is just perfectly acceptable even by a native Indian tongue. Among my favourites, Biryani rice with chicken curry serves my appetite the best. Biryani itself is a mixed rice dish made with spices, vegetables, meat (chicken, mutton, beef, prawn, or fish) and eggs added occasionally.
ReplyDeleteIndian food is always identic within their aroma, strong flavor, and numerous spices ingredients. By that identity, Indian food restaurants are mostly survive in many region of countries. It seems like because of their differ product from any other restaurant that makes people really hard to get bored of it. That is why Indian restaurants not only exist in Asian, but they also start to grow rapidly in some west countries. This is actually one of a brilliant idea of what Indian people have done; which they introduce their culinary to the world by selling it abroad instead of embracing people to go to their country. In fact, I just realize that sometimes people does not always have to come from a far just to try the culinary of a certain country. We all know that India population is getting overwhelmed; so instead of adding more population (like tourist) to their country, they start to sell their cultural heritage (example Indian food) outside their country. So, can it be also apply to Indonesia? Well, we never know until we try.
ReplyDeleteTo say that Indian food comes with an aroma, strong flavour of its own kind might be true, but it is actually the main reason on why I don't like them. I have to admit that I'm a picky person when it comes to food tasting; I'm very selective even just from the smell of the food, even the looks. Most of Indian food doesn't have the best looks, although I know some might say you cannot dislike a food if you've never tasted it. The closest I've been to an Indian culinary culture is probably in some parts of Singapore, and not a single one Indian dish I like, and nor a single one dish I have planned to try. I'm too selective, maybe this is one of the many reasons why it is very hard for me to gain weight, some might think that this is a good thing, but for me it really isn't something to be proud of.
ReplyDeleteIndian food has been an interesting part of my life that i have truly wanted to taste since a very long time. It doesn't mean that i have never tasted any Indian food, but so far the Indian food i have tasted are the Indian food that you can find in restaurant. I have always wanted to try Indian food that are purely traditional and from the hands of a real Indian chef. Eating Indian food from restaurant is just simply introducing you the taste of Indian food but not giving you the real vibes of the true Indian food. I am very curious of tasting Indian food in India itself and tasting it with the real traditional spices. I have once tasted Indian food in a restaurant in London with a real Indian chef but it is not enough for me to give me the vibes of a real Indian food.
ReplyDeleteIndia is well known for its cultures and traditions that have existed for centuries. One of the things people mostly talk about the Indian culture is its cuisine. From the text I can infer that spices mean so much to Indians. Indian chefs pay a lot of attention to the balance of ingredients in their cooking, as one spice shouldn’t overpower the other spices. I can relate to Indian people because I also think that rice is a staple food in my diet. Other than that, I am genuinely surprised that the Indians can make breads without even adding yeast to the dough. I also love the fact that the Indian households still use the same recipe from centuries ago. I really appreciate Indian food because it is so complex, although personally I’m not a big fan of it. When I went to Singapore not long ago, I stayed in Little India. My family decided to eat Indian food for breakfast, but I ended up didn’t eat anything. I decide that, Indian food just didn’t match my palate.
ReplyDeleteI think Indian food is overrated, the truth is i don’t really like Indian food because i can’t stand the smell of Indian cuisine, Indian food have so many unusual flavour combinations (although Indonesian food have many combination also) but Indian food just go way too far and merge flavours that should never be allowed to mingle, and the smell of this combination so strong that will floating around your kitchen for at least two days after making Indian food. But my family love Indian food so much, usually my mom love to cook biryani. Biryani is a rich dish cooked with lamb, chicken, or beef, and the meat is flavour with warm spices and gravy. There are two types of biryani, kaccha and pakka. In pakka biryani, the meat and rice are cooked fully and separately, and then layered together. In kaccha biryani has cooked meat and rice which are layered together cooked fully in a dum.
ReplyDeleteI love Indian food! I used to eat a lot of Indian cuisines in food courts and take away food stalls during my 4-year stay in Sydney. I’ve never actually went to India, but the food I eat is cooked by Indians. Other than buying Indian foods, my mother’s aunt who lives in Sydney likes to cook Indian food as she experienced working in an Indian restaurant. Indian cuisines are usually spicy, combined with long-grain rice which is called “Basmati” rice in India. My favourite Indian menus are beef and lamb curry with “Biryani” rice, especially when served spicy.
ReplyDeleteIt’s a shame that there aren’t many Indian restaurants in Indonesia, although you can find Middle-Eastern cuisines which are similar to Indian cuisines. I also noticed that Japanese and Chinese restaurants are more popular among Indonesians. The only Indian restaurant I’ve visited in Indonesia is “Go Curry” in Setiabudi One, South Jakarta. The taste of the food there was delicious like any other Indian restaurants, but the problem is that the price of the food are too expensive.
Indian food is different from the rest of the world not only in taste but also in cooking methods. Foods of India are better known for its spiciness. Throughout India, be it North India or South India, spices are used generously in food. There are few examples of Indian food:-1. West Indian FoodIn western India, the desert cuisine is famous for its unique taste and varieties of food. Rajasthan and Gujarat are the states that represent the dessert flavour of Indian food. Here an immense variety of dals and achars (pickles/preserves) is used that substitutes the relative lack of fresh vegetables in these areas.2. East Indian FoodIn eastern India, the Bengali and Assamese styles of cooking are noticeable. The staple food of Bengalis is the yummy combination of rice and fish. Usually, the Bengalis love eating varieties of fishes. A unique way of preparing the delicacy known as 'Hilsa' is by wrapping it in the pumpkin leaf and then cooking it. Another unusual ingredient that is commonly used in Bengali cooking is the 'Bamboo Shoot'.3. South Indian food in southern India, the states make great use of spices, fishes and coconuts, as most of them have coastal kitchens. In the foods of Tamil Nadu use of tamarind is frequently made to impart sourness to the dishes. It simply distinguishes the Tamil Food from other Indian cuisines.4. North Indian FoodFood in north India, to begin with, Kashmiri cuisines reflect strong Central Asian influences. In Kashmir, mostly all the dishes are prepared around the main course of rice found abundantly in the beautiful valley. Another delicious item cooked here is the 'Saag' that is prepared with a green leafy vegetable known as the 'Hak'.
ReplyDeleteFor me, Indian food is having some sort of similarity with Indonesian food. Both food are rich of ingredient and tend to have a strong taste. The only different is that in Indonesia, the spice ingredient likely to be separated from the main dish. For example like “sambal” with fried chicken, sambal with rice, and many more. While for Indian food, they tend to mixed the spice with the main dish, for example like curry, chilly beef, etc. I personally like both of these food, because usually people who already like Indonesian food would have a high chance to love other kind of strong-taste food, like Indian food. I do highly admire Indian food since i was a little, however i gotta be honest that i rarely ate them because restaurant that served Indian food is kinda hard to find, especially in Yogyakarta. Besides, i also considered Indian food to be a little expensive, therefore i tend to eat this food only when there is some sort of special occasion. Still prefer Indonesian food.
ReplyDeleteIndian food is one of the best food in the world, if not the best. They have a very strong and diverse flavor and one thing I like most about indian food is its portion. Since I am big eater, I always like foods that have enormous portion. My favorite one being the fried egg. You might think like, what is the difference between ordinary fried egg and indian fried egg right? Well, to be fair, it is totally different. First they don’t cook it on a small pan, but they cook it on a pan that is as big as a table, and they use as much as 150 eggs every time they cook. An then they pour 2-3 kilos of red onion. They also use a lot of spices and it clearly shows when it is being cooked. Indonesian might not think indian food is good because they just haven’t tasted the real indian food yet, and I can assure you, once you tried the real indian food, you’ll be asking for more and more.
ReplyDeleteOne of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating. ~Luciano Pavarotti and William Wright. Indian cuisine has always been interesting to a food lover. Its rich in spices and taste. The are wide variation of indian cuisine, and what catches my eyes is the indian curry. Its an unfimiliar dish that we can find in food court or restaurants. The first time i tried it was in Satoo Restaurant, it has a unique taste and very delicious. Since then i began to explore more indian dishes in Jakarta, such as chicken tikka masala and naan roti. we heard that the process of making indian food is really complicated and needs too much ingredients as well as patience, thats why i prefer to eat indian food at a restaurant rather than cooking it at home.
ReplyDeleteWhen I see this article it makes me excited to comment, I am a very big fan of Indian food. Back then I had no clue about indian food at all but then I often watched culinary programme on NatGeo, AFC, and many more and it makes me know a little bit about Indian food. After that I started to search where can I get a nice and decent Indian food in Jakarta to try. I've been tried Indian food all over Jakarta but I think the best is in hotel Mulia Jakarta, it is known for their Indian food such as Tikka Masala, Paneer, Dhal, Chickpea Curry, Aloo Tikki, and their Butter Chicken. But I think their Cheese Naan served with Chicken Tikka Masala is the best Indian food in Jakarta. What makes the Indian Cuisine is so unique is the use of lots of spices which makes the cuisine is colourful.
ReplyDeleteAs stated on the article, India always have an easy access to a lot of different spices not like other country that always try to find spices because they don't have that much spices. This geographical benefit makes Indian cuisine have rich in taste and very unique. A lot of variety in Indian food also influenced by range of diversity in ethnic groups, religions, cultures, occupations, etc. I think it's hard to cook an Indian food, because it has a lot of spices and you have to include all of them with the right proportions. If you don't have the right combinations or proportions, the taste of the food will not be good because every Indian dish have their own unique taste. I am not familiar and not a big fan of Indian food, unlike Chinese food or Japanese food. Maybe because in Indonesia, we have more Chinese restaurants than Indian restaurants.
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