Indian: The Best Cuisine Ever

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Indian Cuisine

The Cuisine of India is characterized by its sophisticated and subtle use of many spices and herbs. Considered by some to be one of the world's most diverse cuisines, each family of this cuisine is characterized by a wide assortment of dishes and cooking techniques.

Generally, Indian cuisine can be split into four categories: North Indian, South Indian, East Indian, and West Indian. Despite this diversity, some unifying threads emerge in the art of Indian cuisine. Varied uses of spices are an integral part of food preparation, and are used to enhance the flavor of a dish and create unique flavors and aromas.

The Heart of Indian Cuisine : Spices! 

Spices play a very important role in Indian cooking. Indian food is incomplete with out these spices. Indians spice up their food, teas, drinks and even sweets not with these wonderful aromatics for their exquisite flavor.

Masala is a word very commonly used in Indian cooking and is simply the Hindi word for "spice." So, whenever a combination of spices, herbs and other condiments are ground or blended together, it is called masala.

No Indian Kitchen is without these certain spices which are a daily part of the cooking. Here's a Guide to Indian Spices Including the different names, what they are used for and pictures showing what they look like.

A Guide to Ordering Indian Food: What You Need to Know Before You Order 

Ready to try some Indian food, but completely confused by the menu and what to order?


...If your unfamiliar with Indian cuisine and the terms used in preparing Indian food, it's always difficult ordering food off an Indian Menu. And more often than not you end up ordering the wrong type of dishes or, too much or too little and spoil your experience.

Deciphering and ordering Indian food is a lot easier than you might think. Whether your ordering food from an Indian restaurant or abroad the basics are more a less the same. Indian Menu's abroad tend to use English terms to help you with a description of the dish out but in India you only have the names of the Dishes to go by.

Here's a guide that will help you to Order Indian Food in a Restaurant

Indian Menu Terms & Dishes (Part-I) 

A Guide to Ordering Indian Food

This guide covers roughly what some of the names you may come across, on an Indian Menu and their meanings, which will help you decide what you'd like to Order the next time your at an Indian restaurant.

The Names of Indian Dishes & Terms used In Indian Menu's

Monsoon Cravings 

The rainy season is when certain foods make an appearance which everyone craves for on those glum days. With the Monsoon comes those Street Food stalls serving pipping hot fried crispy treats, steaming hot & spicy foods and popular hot beverages like Masala Chai and coffee. These comfort foods give you that warm feeling inside and make any rainy day perfect. So here's a list of India's Monsoon Cravings:- ...Read on

Straight from the Tandoor 

The Tandoor, an outdoor cooking oven is the equivalent of the Western Barbecue/ Barbeque. Most people seem to think that 'Tandoori' is a recipe. Like many of the world's great dishes this is actually a cooking method that has become synonymous with the food that is prepared. Marinated meats, vegetables, seafood on skewers and Indian breads along the walls are cooked in tandoors only to come out as the most delicious and mouthwatering Tandoori dishes and Kebabs!


Read More about The Wonder's of Cooking in a Tandoor (A Clay Oven). And all about Tandoori Cuisine, including Recipes and Videos.

Tandoori Chicken 


Tandoori Chicken is one of the most famous dishes in Indian Cuisine. It is a chicken dish that originated in Punjab region of India. The chicken is marinated in yogurt, and seasoned with tandoori masala. What makes Tandoori Chicken so special is in the way it is cooked. It is traditionally cooked at high temperatures in an earthen oven called a Tandoor.

Read more about Tandoori Chicken, including Recipes and a Video on How to Make Tandoori Chicken

Lassi: An Indian Yogurt Drink 


Lassi is a traditional Indian beverage, originally from Punjab, made by blending yogurt with water, salt, and spices until frothy. Traditional lassi is sometimes flavored with ground roasted cumin.

Sweet lassi is a more recent invention, flavored with sugar, rosewater and/or mango, strawberry, pineapple, lychee or other any fruit juice. It's a very refreshing and easy to make drink.

See the Different types of Lassi, the Recipes as well as an instructional video on how to make Lassi.

Samosas: Fried Indian Vegetable Pastries 


Samosas are fried, triangular pastries that may be filled with vegetables or meat or a combination of both. The samosa is arguably the most enduring of Indian snacks. Traditionally samosas in India have triangular or conical shapes and are stuffed with an assortment of fillings ranging from minced meat with herbs and spices to vegetables such as cauliflower and potatoes. Savoury samosas are usually served with a chutney of some sorts.

Read about the Origin of the samosa, the different types of samosas around the world, different recipes of Samosas, chutney's thats go with it and a video tutorial on making samosas!

Taste India with a Cup of Chai 


Tea is one of the most widely-consumed beverages in the world, second only to water. Tea's world consumption easily equals all other manufactured drinks in the world - including coffee, chocolate, soft drinks, and alcohol - put together.

Needless to say Tea is the most prominent drink of India, which is the world's largest producer, exporter and consumer of tea. "Chai" generic word for Tea in India and in much of the world, but for many English speakers, "chai" is always construed as "Masala Chai" or "Spiced Tea". Characteristically Chai, is a full bodied tea boiled with water and milk together while the sugar can be added while boiling the tea or after. Masala Chai is brewed with different combinations of warm spices.

More on Tea, the types of Tea and Indian varieties of Tea along with Recipes for that perfect cup of Masala Chai and different tea.

The Magic of Parathas (Indian Stuffed Bread) 

Known as one of the best and popular breakfasts of India, 'Parathas'(Stuffed Bread) are a healthy, delicious and filling food. Anyone would agree that the best way to start a morning with a good appetite would be to indulge yourself into some steaming hot butter-dripping 'parathas'.

Check out how this type of 'Indian bread' came to exist in almost every household and How 'Parathas' can be eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner too...

Butter Chicken 

Butter Chicken or murgh makhani is an Indian dish from the Punjab region popular in countries all over the world that have a tradition of Indian restaurants. Known for its fiery red color the dish is not considered spicy on the contrary most places serve it slightly on the sweeter side but can be made spicy as well. Murg Makhani is a dish that has wonderful flavor and a rich and creamy texture. If you haven't already, you will surely fall in love with it!

Read More about this Indian Curry Dish, get the Recipe and Watch a Video on how to make it.

Biryani (A Rice and Meat One Dish Meal) 


Biryani is surely a popular food dish in India having almost 26 different types of 'Biryani' in India alone. Many have been fascinated by its taste and the sheer brilliance of its preparation.'Biryani', however first it originated from Persia.

Derived from the persian word 'Birian',which means 'roasted before cooking', biryani is a mixture of rice(basmati),meat/vegetables, yogurt and spices.

More on the Different Types of Biryani and some Biryani recipes

Lentils(Dals), Pulses and Beans used in Indian Cooking 

Dried legumes and their edible seeds, known as pulses, are classified into three groups - lentils, beans and peas. Legumes and Pulses are a natural source of protein, high in fiber and low in fat. They have a wide range of flavours and textures and form a large part of the Indian daily diet.

They are eaten either whole (with the skin still intact) or split in half (with or without their skins). The term "dal"or "daal" refers to a bean or lentil which has had the outer husk removed and the remaining lentil is then split. This ensures a quicker cooking time and a softer, creamier texture when cooked.

Here's a complete guide to the different types of Dals, Lentils and pulses used in Indian Cooking

North Indian Street Food-Chaat 

Chaat which literally means 'to lick or taste' in Hindi is the quintessential North Indian street food. Chaat is a generic name for a tangy and spicy mix, whose ingredients can be quite varied. Most chaats are based on fried dough, with various other ingredients and sauces. Chaat can be tangy, spicy, sweet, salty, crunchy and soft all at the same time. It's truly an 'Explosion of Flavors' in your mouth and can tingle your taste buds leaving you wanting more!

Here's more on Chaat Ingredients and some of the most popular Chaat Dishes and Recipes

Southern Dosa Delights 

A very popular Indian Dish, is the South Indian original- Dosa. Similar to a crepe, it is served with a variety of fillings that will offer you the most authentic and tantalizing flavors of South India. from an anytime snack of crisp paper thin wafers to a filling meal with wholesome stuffing, and served with chutneys and a dollop of butter, the dosa has made a place in the heart of connoisseurs of food in spite of the current pizza, French fries and burger fast food culture...Read More

More about Dosas- the different types, recipes, how to make dosa pictures and a video.

Goan Cuisine: 10 Dishes that Scream GOA! 

The small Western State of Goa in India is ever famous for three things...the beaches, it's easy-going nature and it's FOOD..Goan Cuisine. The men of Goa with their pot bellies are evidence of the fact that Goans love their Food.

The Goan cuisine is an interesting mix of varied influences. The long period of Portuguese rule, besides that of the Muslim and Hindu kingdoms, has left an indelible influence on the original style of Goan cooking and this has led to an exotic mix of truly tasty and spicy cuisine. Most people who sample Goan cuisine, enjoy this different and unique style of food which has a distinct and unique combination of spicy flavours....Read more

Here are the 10 Most Popular Dishes of Goa


Other Related Articles:
Where's the Party at in Goa?-A Guide to Nightlife in Goa
The Exotic Beaches Of Goa
A Mouthful of Kerala
The Heart of Indian Cuisine-Spices!

The 10 Most Popular Maharashtrian Dishes 

Maharashtrian (or Marathi) cuisine is cuisine of, those from the state of Maharashtra. Where food is concerned the range and variety are plenty and tongue tickling. Here you will find strong aromas of spices (like black Maharashtrian masala)as well as garlic and ginger in abundance. Maharashtrian cuisine covers a wide range from being extremely mild to very spicy dishes. The staple dishes of Maharashtrian cuisine are based on bread and rice, while lentils (pulses) play an important role as well.

A typical Maharashtrian feast called 'Thali'.... a spread of tongue tickling delicacies from the western region of India. See the 10 most Popular Dishes of Maharashtrian Cuisine.

Gulab Jamun-The most Popular Sweet in India 

Gulab Jamun is popular Indian sweet. It is made of khoya, dough, often including double cream and a little flour in a sugar syrup flavored with cardamom, rosewater or saffron. It is usually made with "essence of rose", but in the past rose petals were used...Read More

Learn how to make Gulab Jamuns here.

Indian Cuisine Poll 

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Lensmaster

NAIZA wrote...

Yummy food pictures you got here. I love food but I must taste more Indian cuisine in the future. Fab five!

ReplyPosted September 10, 2008

Lensmaster

Rajays wrote...

Very informative and interesting lens. Wonderful information ... I love Indian food too. Going to cook some keema mutter tonight. This lens makes me crave for some indian spices. :)

ReplyPosted June 24, 2008

Lensmaster

Ancy wrote

Good start...way to go!!

Reply Posted June 20, 2008