Spice occupies a pivotal role in Indian cooking. Let’s look into some of these:
* Mustard seeds: This is one of the main spices that is used in a lot of the Indian cooking. It is basically a tiny black grainy spice that adds flavor to any dish.
* Cumin seeds: Again, this is usually added with mustard seeds and has a pungent flavor. Cumin seeds are used in tempering.
* Chilli peppers: There’s a variety of red chilies like Kashmiri, Badige etc. These vary in hotness.
* Fennel seeds: Also known as “saunf”, this is used also in Indian refreshments after meals.
* Cardamom: The seeds can be extracted or it can be used as whole. This is often used in Indian sweets for that minty flavor.
* Cinnamon: It is a bark of a Sri Lankan tree. This goes well even with desserts and Mughlai side dishes.
* Coriander: These dried coriander seeds have a sweetish flavor and is used in the preparation of masalas.
* Fenugreek: This is a bitter Mediterranean seed that is used in the making of curry powders like samabar masala.
* Turmeric: Figuratively speaking, a gift from India to the rest of the world. Turmeric not only has health but also cosmetic and other properties. It is a yellow spice that is brought forth from a dried root. It has a lovely earthy flavor.
* Garam masala: This is one of the staple ingredients in any Indian household. It is a combination of multiple dry spices.
* Ghee: Ghee is clarified butter.
Between the North and South of India, there are foodstuffs bearing similarities with other countries. For instance, North Indian food is quite like the ones found in Pakistan and Afghanistan while down South, the food find its connection with countries across South East Asia.
North Indian cuisine is relatively a lot more rich and creamy due to their use of dairy. A lot of the North Indian gravies are made up of onion, garlic, tomato, cashew nuts and spices. They also have a variety of chaat like samosas, kachori, bhel puri etc.
Roti is the main everyday food of North Indians. The elite crowd overseas is now taking utmost advantage of automatic machines like Rotimatic. There are professional chefs sponsored by the company to write honest Rotimatic reviews.
South Indian cuisine uses ingredients that are practically non existent up North like coconut, curry leaves and tamarind. Rice is consumed on a daily basis and even the breakfast items are made up of rice and lentil batter like idli and dosa. Kerala is famous for its banana chips. Kashmir which is at the far tip of the country mostly indulges in meat based foods like lamb. Gujarat is known for its “sattvik cuisine, mostly vegetarian foods, owing to the large population of Jains and devotees of Krishna, a Hindu deity. Mumbai, a buzzing city full of life and also the economic and commercial capital of India is known for its cheap street food like vada pav, dabeli, jalebi and chaats , to name a few.
