Spicy Thali

Brussels Sprouts and Portabella Mushroom Stir Fy

2012-02-14T10:06:00.000-08:00

I always want to come up with a goof write up for my recipes, but it never happens. I guess I am not very expressive, or may be I have two kids here staring at the me wondering why mom wouldn't let them eat their dinner before clicking a few shots. Whatever the reason, I enjoy blogging and will continue to do so.
Since I am official on a diet and haven't been eating much these day, I have decided to at least blog about food to satisfy my foodie side. Wish me luck that I am continue to grow this blog, which is my most neglected one.

Okay today when I packed lunch for Spy, he asked me, " what is that weird looking thing mom?" Me: I am not sure some veggies, add made it. He is very discriminating against brussels, so didn't want to reveal the truth.

1lb brussels sprouts quartered

4 portabella mushroom sliced thickly

1tsp paprika

1tsp garam masala

salt

oil

1. Heat a big pan, add oil.
2. When oil heats up toss in the veggies along with paprika, garam masala, and salt.
3. Cook until nice and done.
4. Yes it is as simple as this.

Indian Glossary

2011-08-07T06:37:00.000-07:00

DAL & BEAN

Toor Dal - Pigeon Pea, Probably the most used dal in Indian subcontinent. They have a mild nutty flavor.

Moong Dal - Skinned split green bean.

Green Dal - Whole Mung Bean

Masoor Dal - Red Lentil

Chana Dal - Split Chickpea

Pattani Dal - Split Pea

Urad Dal - Skinned Black Lentil

Whole Urad Dal - Black Lentil

Brown Lentils

Val Dal - Split Lablab Bean

Lal Chori - Azuki Bean

Black Eyed Peas

Kala Chana - Brown Chickpea

Chana - Chickpea

Moth Bean - Turkish Gram

Rajma - Kidney Beans

Butter Beans - Lima Beans

Black Beans

Grains

Idli Rice

Basmati Rice

Jasmine Rice

Semolina

Cracked Wheat

Poha - Beaten Rice

Idli Rava - Broken Idli Rice

Barley

Nuts

Badam - Almonds

Cashewnuts

Pine Nuts

Pistachio

Walnuts

Peanuts

Flours

Maida - All Purpose Flour

Besan - Chickpea Flour

Atta - Indian Whole wheat Flour

Ragi - Finger Millet Flour

Rice Flour

Spices

Ajwain SEeds

Bay Leaves

Cumin Seeds

Black Pepper

Mustard Seeds

Black Onion Seeds

Cardamom Pods

Clove

Coriander Seeds

Cinnamon Sticks

Fennel Seeds

Fenugreek Seeds

Poppy Seeds

Saffron Strands

Dried Red Chili

Rose Water

Ground Spices

Ground Cumin

Ground Fennel

MTR Brand Chana Masala

Garam Masala

King Kitchen Masala

Amchur - Mango Powder

Sambar Powder

Ground Cinnamon

Ground Nutmeg

Paprika

Chili Powder

Turmeric

Asafeotida

Ground Coriander

Noodles

Thin Rice Noodles

Vermicelli

Dairy

Ghee - Clarified Butter

Paneer - Indian Cottage Cheese

Koa - Milk Solids

From The Freezer

Grated Coconut

Fenugreek Leaves

Herbs

Fenugreek Leaves

Basil

Cilantro

Curry Leaves

Mint

Indian Vegetables

Snake Gourd

Bottle Gourd

Indian Broad Beans

Coconut

Drumsticks

Elephant Leg Yam

Ridge Gourd

Cluster Beans

Bitter Gourd

Indian Purple Eggplant

Long Beans

Lotus Root

Winter Melon

Banana Flower

Shallots

Okra

Raw Plantain

Tender Banana Stem

Taro Leaves

Ivy Gourd

Raw Jackfruit

Indian Fruit

Dates

Tamarind

Friends Night

2011-06-30T14:57:00.001-07:00

My girl friends decided to have a get together family night this week. This is what we had on the menu Eggplant Parmesan, Cold Pasta Salad, Italian Bread with antipasto, Panner Tikka Masala, Vege Pilaf, Naan, Cucumber Raita, and Fruit Salad. I discovered that my kids liked Eggplant Parmesan like crazy. It was a fun evening, and it reminded me of the wonderful parties I used to throw before the kids came along and life became unpredictable. I will try to entertain more friends form now on and have more potluck nights.

Coconut Chutney With Green Chili - Thengai Chutney

2011-06-26T14:52:00.000-07:00

My dear husband's favorite, he will eat it with anything and everything. No Indian breakfast is complete without coconut chutney. This is such a versatile chutney in south India, almost served with every meal and snack. The coconut and green chilies compliment each other. I use the grated frozen coconut from Indian grocery store.

11/2 cup grated coconut

1/4 cup roasted split gram/ yogurt

2 fresh green chili

1/2 inch fresh ginger root peeled

1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves

Salt

1/4 cup water

To Temper:

1 tbsp oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

4 curry leaves torn

1tbsp sesame seeds

a pinch of asafetida

Grind grated coconut, roasted split gram, green chili, ginger, coriander leaves, water, and salt in a blender until it is smooth. If the consistency is too thick add a little water as necessary. 2. Transfer the smooth mixture into a serving dish.
Heat oil in a sauce pan at medium heat, when it warms up add everything for tempering and fry a little bit until the mustard seeds start popping up. Quickly Pour the tempering over the chutney and mix it.

Finger Millet With Gound Peanut Patties - Ragi Vada

2011-06-26T14:51:00.000-07:00

This is my grandmother's special, my dad always tells me found memories of family gathering around this snack. They grew their own millet in the fields and ground them into flour using a stone grinder by hand, to make these treats for snack time along with lots of chutneys and dips. Grandma usually sat next to her big wok on top of her wooden burning stove as she cooked these patties and loaded them into a near by river grass basket. As the baskets got filled up, it was taken to the seating area where family members gather around it, for a great snack and a good chat.
I don't make them very often. Once in a while, I love to munch on the chewy center and the crispy outer crust on a rainy dull day. It will always remind me of my dear grandparents and the big house with big fields .It has an earthy taste to it. Eat them when they are hot otherwise it tends to get more chewy and hard to eat.

1 cup ragi flour

1/2 cup peanut

1/2 cup roasted split dal

1 medium onion chopped finely

2 small dried red chili crushed

6 curry leaves chopped

Salt

oil

Coarsely powder the peanut and roasted split gram in a blender.
Mix all the ingredients except oil in a bowl, add enough water to make a stiff dough. Knead the dough and make small thin patties out of them.
Heat oil in a small wok, and deep fry the patties until it is crispy outside.
Serve hot with coconut chutney.

Kohlrabi Stir Fry With Greens - Knol Khol Varuval

2011-06-26T14:50:00.000-07:00

Today after my son's soccer practice, we walked through our local farmer's market. My eyes caught the bright purple kohlrabi, I picked up a few even though they looked a bit overgrown. I wanted to try something different than the usual simmering them in dal, so I combined both the leaves and bulb to make this creation.

You can a bit of garam masala about 1/4 tsp at the end along with lemon juice, if you want.

3 small sized kohlrabi peeled, and cut into sticks

leaves sliced thinly
1/2 tsp ginger minced
1/2 tsp garlic minced
1/2 tsp green chili minced
a pinch of turmeric
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp mustard seeds
lemon juice a little bit
salt
oil

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan at medium high heat. When the oil is hot add mustard, ginger, garlic, and green chili fry till the raw smell goes away.
Reduce the heat to a medium and add in the salt, turmeric, coriander powder, and cumin powder, fry but don't burn the spices.
Add kohlrabi and it's leaves with little water and mix well so the vegetable gets coated in the spice well. Cover and cook until they are done and all the water is evaporated. Mix in lemon juice and fry for 2 min.

Bitter Gourd With Onion And Coconut - Pavakai Poriyal

2011-06-26T14:49:00.000-07:00

Bitter Gourd is not something that appeals to everyone’s taste buds. You either like it or don’t. I am not really crazy about this spiky looking vegetable. Yesterday at my local Indian store I couldn’t resist these as they looked so fresh and arranged in a fancy tempting way. So I ended up bringing home a few of them.This dish calls out for a lot of onion and coconut to add a sweet touch to the dish and to tone down the bitter taste. You can add about 1 tsp of palm sugar if you wish along with the bitter gourd.

3 cup bitter gourd finely chopped
3 cup onion finely chopped
3/4 cup grated coconut fresh/dry
½ tsp chili powder
¼ tsp turmeric
7 tbsp oil
Salt
To temper:
1 tsp mustard seed
5 curry leaves

1. To prepare the vegetable, trim the ends and split it lengthwise into halves and scoop out the seeded part with a spoon,. use the green outer part of the vegetable.
2. Heat oil in a wok over medium hot. When hot add the mustard seed and curry leaves. When the seeds splutter, add in the onion and fry till soft.
3. Stir in the bitter gourd, coconut, chili powder, turmeric and salt, stir well. Cook the vegetable without covering in medium heat until the vegetables are soft and cooked. Stir them continuously to ensure the don't burn at the bottom and for even cooking. After it looks fully cooked increase the heat to high and fry till the vegetables till dry and starts to turn light brown. 4. Serve hot as a side.

Tangy Sesame Seed Sauce - El Kuzhambu

2011-06-26T14:48:00.000-07:00

Mom is currently visiting us. She is indulging us with her authentic karis which DH eats like crazy, as if I never cook anything nice for him. It is really embarrassing. But anyway I am enjoying her stay with us and filling myself up with her food, as I have already gained about pounds. .This is a spicy south India soupy dish that is eaten together with steamed rice and some vegetables. It has a nice nutty flavor of sesame seed. This is my mom's recipe and she made it with her own two hands upon my request.

11/2 cup onion chopped finely
2 cup tomato chopped
½ tsp tamarind paste
½ tsp turmeric
4 tbsp oil
salt
To Powder:
2 tbsp sesame seed
2 tsp urad dhal
1 tsp chana dhal
1 tsp cumin seed
1/2 tbsp peppercorn
To Temper:
½ tsp mustard seed
½ tsp cumin seed
½ tsp fenugreek seed

Heat a small frying pan over medium heat and fry the spices to powder till the change a shade darker and smell nutty. Then cool it and powder it finely in a coffee grinder.
Heat oil in a sauce pan over medium high heat, when the oil is hot enough add the tempering spices and fry till mustard seed splutter and the other seeds turn a shade dark.
Add onion, cook till it turns light brown. Mix in the tomatoes cook till pulpy. Add salt, turmeric and tamarind paste, fry for 1 minute. Add the powder and cook for until a semi thick consistency is achieved .
Serve hot with steamed rice.

Chicken Cooked With Hot Spices - Kozhi Masala

2011-06-26T14:47:00.002-07:00

The first time I tasted this dish was in my cousin Jayanthi's house in India. She is a really good cook whose specialties are mutton briyani and chili chicken. She literally makes them almost every other day. she invited me for lunch and served this spicy chicken which she had carefully prepared with with Sakthi chicken masala powder, along side of briyani and boiled egg. Since I am not a big fan of Sakthi masala, I came up with my own spice mixture as a substitute. This is a very simple fast chicken recipe that I always end up making. The chicken pieces in this dish have enough masala just clinging to it and have a very warm spicy taste due to the addition of chili powder and pepper powder. The green chili and curry leaves are fried with the chicken at the end to give it a fresh aroma and unbeatable flavor. You can substitute the spice mix with you favorite curry powder or chicken masala powder or meat masala powder.

2 lbs skinless chicken quarter with bone
11/2 cup onion chopped finely
2 tbsp garlic paste
1 tbsp ginger paste
3 cup tomatoes chopped roughly
¼ tsp turmeric
salt
oil
Spice Mix:
1tbsp coriander powder
¾ tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp aniseed powder
1/2tsp black pepper powder
11/2 tsp garam masala
Herb Mix:
10 juliennes of fresh green chili
10 curry leaves
¼ cup packed coriander leaves chopped

Cut the chicken into bite size pieces. Leave the bones in.
Heat oil in a sauce pot over medium hot. When the oil is warm add in onion, fry till they start to brown. Mix the ginger and garlic paste, fry till the raw smell goes away.
Add chicken, tomatoes, turmeric, salt and about ½ cup water. Cook covered till the chicken is well done and the tomatoes are pulpy. Uncover and cook on high until all the water has evaporated and the curry looks like just clinging to the chicken.
At this stage add the spice mix, fry well in low heat for about 5 minutes. Add the herb mix and stir in well for another 1 min.
Serve hot with Indian bread or rice.

Salty Yogurt Drink - Lassi

2011-06-26T14:47:00.001-07:00

When summer hit you can find lassi everywhere in India at homes, streets, and cafes to cool down the hot sweaty citizens. There are many kinds of lassi, but this one is my favorite to buy from the street vendors when I am on a shopping trip to the bazzar. The taste of mint in this drink is really soothing. I usually make a big batch and store them in the refrigerator.

1 cup plain fat free yogurt
1 cup chilled water
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 to 1 tsp salt
1/2 cup of ice cubes
Garnish:

Mint leaves

Blend all ingredient in a blender until it is frothy. Pour into a tall glass jar. Stir in a couple of chopped mint leaves. Let is stand for about 5 minutes.
Transfer into individual serving glass and garnish with mint leaves.
Serve chilled.

Whole Wheat Unleavened Bread - Chapati

2011-06-26T14:46:00.001-07:00

If there is one thing in the world I hate making, that would be Indian flat breads. Especially if kids are around, they do a big mess trying to make balls and roll the dough. Chapati is a flat unleavened Indian bread. It is the staple bread in all part of India and resembles a whole wheat tortilla.
Chapatis are made from atta flour, which is a finely milled, low gluten, soft textured whole wheat flour. You can get this at any Indian grocery store. The regular whole wheat flour is not suitable for this bread. The bread should be light textured. For best result knead the dough until it is really smooth, then let it rest for a while at least for 2 hrs.

2 cup atta flour
21/2 tbsp oil
1 to 11/2 cup boiling water approximately
salt

Mix in the atta and salt and oil. Gradually add water to form a firm dough. Knead the dough until it is smooth enough but still pliable. Cover with plastic wrap and leave aside for a few hours. Or place it in the fridge until ready to cook.
Divide the dough into 15 balls and roll it with a rolling pin into a thin circle.
Heat a frying pan and brush with some oil. Cook the chapatis one at a time in medium heat on both sides till tiny dark spots starts to appear.
Serve hot with any curry, stir fries or dal of your choice.

Fried Rice And Lentil Pancake - Kuzhi Paniyaaram

2011-06-26T14:45:00.001-07:00

This is a favorite kids meal. Every time my mother prepared the idli batter, I begged her to make me a batch of these, when I was a kid. I usually ate them plain without any chutney or sauce. My son loves them anytime of the day with some tomato ketchup, but traditionally they are served with chutney and sambar.
Kuzhi Paniyaaram is a breakfast tiffin made with idli batter in the chetinadu region of Tamil nadu. Kuzhi means hole and paniyaaram is used to refer anything that is round. So that is what they are small golden rice dal balls made in the holes of a special pan. Nice crispy outside but soft spongy inside they can be had for snack as well as served as an appetizer.They are also made all over the southern India with little variations and known asAppe in Konkani and Paddu in Kartanaka.

To make these paniyaarams, you need a special kind of mold with holes in it called paniyaara chatti. You can buy this mold at any Indian grocery store or online Indian shops, if not use the aebeskiver pa which is used to make Dutch fried pancakes.

4 cup idli batter
2 cup onion finely chopped
1 tbsp finely chopped green chili
1 tbsp finely chopped curry leaves
1 tsp mustard seeds
oil

Heat oil in a frying pan, add mustard and let it crackle. Add onion, green chili, curry leaves, fry till onions are soft. Mix this seasoning with the idli batter.
Heat the paniyaaram mold. If you don't have one use a Danish pancake molds. Add a few drops of oil in each hole. Spoon a little batter into the individual holes. Cook until the edges start to crisp up. Turn the balls upside down with a fork and cook the other side till golden crispy.
Serve hot with chutney and sambar.

Poached Eggs On Potatoes - Eeda Batata

2011-06-26T14:44:00.001-07:00

The kids sometimes ask for some special breakfasts. The little one always starts with mom I want something good to eat, which translated means I want something other than the usual. So I decided to try this recipe today and see if I can impress the kids. Turned out to be a great hit with them, and also with DH.Poached eggs on cumin flavored potatoes with fresh coriander leaves and sliced green chilies all made in one pan. I am not sure about the real name of this parsi dish but they make one great breakfast. Traditionally they are made with thin potato slices, but I substituted with grated potatoes for convenience.

3 eggs
1 cup onion chopped
4 cup thawed, frozen hash brown potatoes
½ tsp cumin seeds
¼ tsp turmeric
¼ tsp chili powder
1 tsp chopped coriander leaves
1 tsp sliced green chili
salt
oil

Heat oil in an large frying pan, add cumin seeds and fry till they turn a shade dark.
Add onion fry till light brown. Mix in turmeric, chili powder, salt. Add the potatoes and mix well till all the spice powders coat the potatoes. Level out the potatoes and sprinkle some water. Cover and cook gently till the potatoes are done and the water is almost evaporated.
Sprinkle the coriander leaves and green chili on top. Do not mix it.
Make three small holes in the potatoes and break the eggs in the holes. Cover the pan, reduce the heat to minimum and let the eggs cook in the steam gently.
Serve hot on toast.

Savory Chickpea Flour Pancake - Chilla

2011-06-26T14:43:00.000-07:00

I am not sure why Indians make pancakes with literally every grain and bean know to human. I always have besan and a few other staple flours in my pantry, which helps me a lot when there is nothing left in the home to cook and I am lazy to go shopping till next day. Please tell me I am not the only one who experiences these kinds of days. I quickly whip up some kind of pancake or crepe with one of the available flours and serve with whatever chutney I can find in the fridge.Chilla is a savory pancake made from besan which is basically chick pea flour. They are native to the north western part of India. These light and earthy pancakes can be made more nutritious by adding vegetables like cabbage, spinach, zucchini, peas, tomato and carrot. I like to serve them with some tomato chutney, fresh cut fruits and a glass of salty lassi.

1 cup besan

½ cup chopped onion
½ cup peas
1 tsp green chili chopped
½ tsp coriander powder
¼ tsp chili powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup cold water
salt
oil

Whisk besan, semolina, salt, baking powder, coriander powder, chili powder and water into a smooth batter. Mix in the green chili, onion, and peas.
Heat a non stick frying pan, brush with some oil. Spread a ladle full of batter into a medium sized pancake. Add some oil on the edges. Cook on both sides till brown.
Serve hot with any chutney or plain yogurt of your choice.

Spicy Tamarind Rice With Peanuts - Puliyodhara

2011-06-26T14:42:00.001-07:00

When I was a small kid, every summer break my family made a long never ending train journey to visit my grandparents. During those days when even a refrigerator was considered a luxury and station lunch was just a soggy poori with some bland potato curry on the side, the only option left for us was to carry our own food.

Well it was not an easy task to prepare and pack a meal when you are in a hurry to catch a train. So puliyodhara in small banana leaf parcels with some pickles and papad was my mom’s quick fix. The reason she choose this over the other endless variety is it is easy to prepare, will stand all the temperature abuse during the journey and will still maintain its freshness. She would make the pulikachal the night before. The next day early in the morning she could steam some rice then mix it with some pulikachal and pack the rice in small individual banana leaves.

Well in the 2011 version of this travel food, I would pack the rice in a food saver box along with some potato chips, a pear and a bottle of spring water.Puliyodhara is a sour tamarind rice very popular in south India. It has different names in different regions like Pulihora in Andhra Pradesh, Puliyodhara in Tamil Nadu, Puliyogare in Karnataka. This is also a very famous temple food distributed to the devotees as prasadam.

3 cup raw rice
salt
3 tbsp tamarind paste
To Temper:
3 tbsp oil
2 tssp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp asafoetida
6 curry leaves
5 garlic pods sliced
2 green chili sliced
3 tbsp peanut
To Powder:
2 tbsp coriander seeds
5 dried chilies
1 tbsp white sesame seeds
1/2 tsp asafoetida
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp whole black peppercorns

Cook the rice as per instruction and let it cool, then separate the grains using a fork. Dry roast all the ingredients for the powder and grind it into a fine powder.
Heat oil in a wok as soon as it smokes, add all the tempering ingredients. When the mixture starts to splutter and the peanuts and garlic turn into golden brown, add the tamarind paste along with 1//2 cup water. Let it boil
Add the masala powder and cook until the sauce is thick and oil starts to separate. Take off the wok from the heat and gently fold in the cooked rice until all the grains are well coated with the sauce.
Serve with a potato side, papad and raita.

Salmon In Southern Coconut Sauce - Meen Kuzhambu

2011-06-26T14:41:00.000-07:00

My dear Hubby has never ever had fish curry in this life before he meet me. Fresh seafood is not readily available in his native village expect for a few fresh water stream fish, which is caught by the locals and sold in the market. These fishes have so much bones in them, so eating them ia a bit tricky and a skill that is acquired over time. Alternatively mutton and other meats are most frequently cooked as curries. On the other hand I lived near the coast area and fish was one of our staple, I can eat them everyday. Mom had a special clay pot that she used to cook fish curry, and the aroma filled the entire house. The best part was the curry tastes even better a day later. When I was a kid the curry was too strong for me, so I just ate the fish with rice and tempered lentils.
But now I and Hubby dear cannot live without this curry. I usually put in a extra cup of rice in the electric cooker whenever I make this curry.

This is a spicy fish curry with south Indian flavors. The coconut curry sauce just compliments the fish and it just melts in your mouth. The addition of both red chili and green chili gives it a nice heat to the dish. All the spices and the curry leaves fill the kitchen with wonderful aroma as it simmers. I love to use Mackerel for this recipe, but any fish or even shrimp would do after all it is a curry.

1 lb salmon chunks
1 cup tightly packed onion chopped finely
1/2 tbsp ginger paste
1 tbsp garlic paste
6 cup tomato chopped
13.5 oz / 400ml coconut milk
¼ tsp tamarind paste
salt
oil
Spice Mix:
11/2 tbsp coriander powder
½ tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin powder
¼ tsp turmeric
To Temper:
½ tsp mustard seeds
½ tsp aniseed
½ tsp fenugreek seed
1tsp red chili flakes
½ tbsp green chili sliced
6 curry leaves
Garnish:
cilantro leaves

Heat oil in a sauce pot, and add the tempering ingredients. Cook till the mustard splutter and the seeds turn a shade dark.
Add onion and fry till it turns light brown. Add the ginger garlic paste cook till the raw smell goes away.
Add the tomatoes and cook covered till it is all pulpy. With the back of your spoon break them down until it is al crushed and saucy.
Stir in the spice mix, salt and tamarind paste. Cook till thick till oil starts to pool on the side and thick.
Pour the coconut milk and boil till a nice saucy consistency is reached.
Mix in the salmon and simmer gently until the fish is cooked fully.
Serve hot garnished with coriander leaves along with some steamed rice and tempered vegetable.

Rice And Lentil Wafers - Papad

2011-06-26T14:40:00.001-07:00

In my home no meal is compete with papad. There are atleast a few dozen varieties in my pantry, and whenever I have that desire to munch on something and don't want to spend my whole day in the kitchen, these wafers come in handy. I throw a few in the microwave and snack on it with some leftover chutneys or sauces. Papad comes in different flavors, plain, garlic, red chili, black pepper, masala, mint, tomato to name a few. These days you can get some pre-fried mini ones from a well stocked Indian grocery store.It is used as an accompaniment to an Indian meal, or eaten as an appetizer with some chutney or yohurt dips. My favorite dips that goes really well with these crisps are onion raita, cucumber raita, kachumber and mint chutney.
During annual fairs in my town papad vendor bring in their big baskets of giant papads, and serve them topped with finely chopped onion, green chili, tomato, cilanto, and chat masala with mint chutney and lemon on the side. These papads were so big to feed one whole family, it was one of my favorite fair food next to banana chili fitters.

So now how to make a papad
Fried papad
Heat oil in a wok, hold the papad with tong and fry for a few seconds until it crisps up.
Drain it in a paper towel.

Grilled papad
Hold the papad with tongs and roasted over an open gas flame. Keep turning it frequently to prevent burning. As soon as papad has changed color, curled up and become crisp, it is done.

Microwave papad
Place a papad in the microwave and cook in high for about 15 to 45 sec depending on the size and thickness of the papads. Turn it once while cooking.

Decording Indian Cuisine

2011-06-26T14:37:00.000-07:00

Indian cuisine is as diverse as the countries population itself. It is influenced by local produce, spice, religion, and climate. It has evolved as traders and invaders introduced new spices and techniques. Every house has unique traditional recipes and the same dish goes though an extensive makeover when it travels from one region to another. For example korma curry in northern India taste and looks entirely different from the one from south India. Korma from the northern India has yogurt as it's base sauce flavored with ground almonds, but in the southern part korma literally means anything cooked in a coconut sauce with ground cashew nuts.

In India all three course of meal are served at the same time in a thali or banana leaf. There is no hard and fast rule to which dish should be combined with what, just go with you instinct and experiment on the way.

A typical Indian dinner will consist of an appetizer, rice and/or bread, lentils, two or more meat/veggie dishes, sweet, and accompaniments like pickle, chutney, salad, fruit, papad. A simple everyday meal will include few of the above categories while a festival or celebration meal will have extensive dishes served in all the categories.

Indian street food also called as chats are comfort food for most Indians and every vendor has his own secret ingredient and a bunch of loyal customers.
Appetizers and chaats are eaten as a snack.
Tiffins are light meals that are served for breakfast or as an evening after work snack.
Rice in India is dressed up for every occasion, it could be a simple everyday steamed rice or an exotic dum briyani with nuts and saffron.
Dals and legumes are staple food and every house has their own set of vegetables and spices to flavor the dal.
Vegetables, meats and seafood are both cooked as curries or stir fries and usually scooped with a piece of bread or served in a bowl with some rice.
Paneer is the tradition Indian cottage cheese used to make sweets and also some savory curries.
Kuzhambu is a soupy dish without or without vegetables that is served on top of steamed rice, with poriyal.
Poriyal is a stir fried vegetable flavored with mustard seeds, curry leaves, coconut and other spices and eaten along with steamed rice.
Some of my favorite regional cuisines
Tamil Cuisine
Kerala Cuisine
Telugu Cuisine
Gujarathi Cuisine
Bengali Cuisine
Punjabi Cuisine