Indian cuisine is famous for its complex flavors and aromas, with curries being the most recognizable dish. Chana masala, naan, lassi, and kulfi are popular dishes. Indian food is dynamic and inventive, with a history dating back thousands of years, and is constantly evolving.
Indian cuisine is world famous for its complex combinations of flavors and aromas. The curries, breads and sauces of traditional Indian cuisine come together in unique ways, making an Indian meal a truly immersive experience for food lovers. Many traditional meals in Indian cuisine are based on ancient physiological beliefs and are thought to be beneficial to the mind, body and spirit.
The most easily recognizable set of Indian dishes are called curries and they are famous in India and all over the world. Curries typically combine a basic ingredient, such as chicken, lamb or a vegetable, with a delicately spiced sauce. There are hundreds of curries, using standard main ingredients like fish or unusual ones like watermelon. Different regions of India specialize in local spice blends and specific curry blends, so a curry from one region of South India can be very different from one from another area, even if they have the same basic ingredients.
A delicious curry that has endless variations throughout Indian cuisine is known as chana masala. This dish is all about chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, and is particularly popular throughout northern India and Pakistan. Typical ingredients included in a chana masala are onion, tomato, garlic, ginger and turmeric. The curry can be spiced with chilli for those who like spicy food or served relatively bland for the less adventurous. Chana masala is almost always suitable for vegetarians and is a great dish to start with when learning to eat or cook Indian cuisine.
Since most curries and main dishes in Indian cuisine use sauces, bread is an important part of a balanced Indian meal. Naan, a well-known variety of pita-like Indian bread, is a large flat bread that is round or palm frond-like in shape. Naan is excellent for picking curries and can also be stuffed with various ingredients, such as garlic. Focaccia is a crusty cracker-like bread made from whole-wheat flour, often puffed up over high heat before serving.
Indian beverages include tea and beer, but a popular smoothie-like concoction works wonders on a hot day. Lassi is a simple combination of whipped yogurt with ice water, sugar or salt. Some variants of lassi are mixed with fruits such as mangoes or bananas. Don’t let a trip to an Indian restaurant go by without trying this delicious treat, especially during a hot summer.
Desserts in Indian cuisine are not often found outside Indian restaurants, but they are wonderful in their own right. Kulfi, an Indian form of ice cream, is a thick combination of condensed milk and heavy cream, flavored with pistachio, rose or saffron. Gulab jamun are thick dumplings served in a sugar-based syrup, often accented with cardamom, honey or rosewater. While there are variations from region to region, kheer is a rice pudding served across the Indian subcontinent and is often considered the forerunner of Western versions of the dish.
Indian food is a dynamic and inventive cuisine with a history dating back thousands of years. With its constant use of ingredients sourced from different regions, it is possible to travel the country ordering the same dish over and over again and never be quite sure how it tastes. As Indian food becomes more popular in the Western food world, even more variations are added to traditional dishes, making the cuisine of India a constant revelation and adventure for food lovers around the world.
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