Indian Food Information

indian food

Chapatti is made from whole grain durum flour. We used a mixture of stone ground whole wheat and all purpose flours. We anglicized the recipe further by adding a touch of sugar.

In India, Chapatti is a complement to vegetables, stews, and other dishes. We buttered them. Katie, our teenage daughter, walked in during the session and promptly found some jam to smear on them. She graduated to hot buttered chapatti sprinkled with plenty of cinnamon and sugar and declared them scrumptious.

indian cuisine

Needless to say, there are more than a few styles of Indian cooking, each with their own unique influences and adaptations. Buddhism, Hinduism and Ayurveda have centered many of the Indian people around a predominantly vegetarian diet, yet the Persian influences emphasize meats, namely lamb and poultry.

The colliding Indian and Persian cultures created what is known now as Muglai cooking. The tandoor (hot charcoal oven) was introduced, and meats marinated in yogurt and laced with spices came forth. The original Indian flat breads, like chapatis and papadams, met their match with tandoori naans.

Most of the food that Westerners find in our favorite Indian restaurants have both the Indian and Persian traits as well as European accents, notably with the addition of cream in curried dishes. The cream mellows some of the pungent spices and adds a sweet richness to the food, making it more suited to the Western palate. Coconut milk is also used to impart a creamy texture and sweet taste.

For Indian food at home, I always use my own spices to make the curry seasonings, rather than prepackaged curry powders. All curries are different, and to get just the right flavor, adding a little cumin here and little turmeric there lets me create my own, unique dish. This, in fact, is the traditional way that Indian chefs prepare food; cooking is an oral tradition in India, and it is quite uncustomary to have hand-written recipes for any of the dishes.

To give a general idea of what spices (and how much) might be included in a basic Indian curry, see the Indian Curry Formula below, as well as the recipes that utilize this formula. Use this recipe as a guide, adding a touch more or less of certain ingredients to your taste. This recipe can also be used as a basis for the spices you should have on hand for easy Indian curries at home.

There are many different sorts of rice; among them, the parboiled one that I do not recommend, regardless of the brand. Some people may like it but for me this is something other than rice. The taste is awful and it seems to never be cooked. To have good rice, use Indian, Thai or Asian rice; or any other rice that is not parboiled. Italian rice is very good as well. According to the rice you buy, you will need to use a specific cooking method; for example, Asian rice is not good for making risotto, Italian rice is not good for serving with Chinese cooking.

  Boiled rice: The simplest way to cook rice.
  Note:This is a very simple way to cook rice but not the best because the rice, boiled in a large quantity of water, is “washed” and most of the taste is lost in the water. Look below to see my recommended methods for cooking rice. The methods to cook the rice are different according to the sort of rice you are using.
  1- Bring a big quantity of water to the boil. (8 to 10 times the volume of rice), together with 1 tbsp of salt for each 2 pints of water used. 
2- Add the rice and bring back to the boil, on a high heat, stirring frequently.
3- Reduce the heat to a low to medium heat, to keep boiling until the rice is cooked. Stir occasionally to make sure the rice is not sticking to the pot.
4-  When cooked, (about 15 minutes, maybe less according to the specific rice you are using), strain and serve immediately, plain or with butter or olive oil.
  5- If you are not serving the rice immediately, cool the rice in cold water, strain and store until you are ready to serve it.
  (The rice can be very easily reheated in a microwave oven. You can also use it to prepare fried rice)

  Pilaff: An alternative way to cook rice
(use Basmati rice for instance for this recipe)   This method is called riz Pilaff (or pilaw) in French cuisine.
  1-  Take an ovenproof dish, put on a medium heat with one tbsp of butter for 2 cups of rice.
2- Add some chopped onion and sweat* in butter.
  3- Add the rice;  stir it in to the butter with the onion, for one or two minutes, until the rice becomes translucent.
4- Add 11/2 the volume of water, together with some salt, pepper, and a whole garlic clove if you like, (this is optional).
  5- Bring to the boil, cover with aluminium foil, put in the oven at 200°C (400° F),  and cook for between 14 and 17 minutes, until done. It should be ready when all the water has been absorbed.
  *When sweating the onions you can add a choice of whole spices (not ground). Sweat together with the onions, then  add the rice and cook together. You will have to remove the spices when eating or before you serve the rice. This takes a little time, but the rice cooked in this way is really very delicious.

  Risotto: To use Italian risotto rice it is better to cook it the risotto way.

Here is the basic way to do it.
1- Sweat chopped onions in some butter.
  2- Add the rice, (“arborio”, “vialone”, “carnaroli”…; (about 3 ounces per person).
3- Stir until the rice becomes translucent.
4- Add dry white wine to the level of the rice. Cook until almost all the wine is evaporated.
  5- According to the recipe you are preparing, (if your risotto will be made plain, with sea food, meat, vegetables etc.) add fish stock, vegetable or chicken broth; (for 12 oz of rice add about 1 pint of the stock, you will add more later).
6- Bring to the boil on a medium heat, stirring frequently. Add salt and pepper.
  7- Keep cooking the rice, adding more liquid when necessary. (The quantity of liquid necessary to use in risotto is difficult to say as different rice brands will absorb more or less liquid.) 
8- Immediately after the rice has absorbed the previous amount of liquid, add more liquid, and repeatedly add a little each time, allowing the rice to absorb little by little the liquid. 9- Repeat the process until the rice is cooked, stirring frequently.
  10- When done, the risotto should be cooked but a little “al dente”. It should be creamy as well. 
11- To finish add grated parmesan and serve immediately.
12- To give more taste, add chopped garlic, cream during the cooking process.
  Almost anything can be added in risotto, depending on personal choice; vegetables cut in cubes, sea food, chicken, meat cut in small pieces, cooked before or not, depending if it can be cooked in the risotto itself.

  The basic Asian way of cooking rice:

To prepare the rice this way, you can use a rice cooker; this is a wonderful device. It will cook alone and keep the rice warm for hours.

If you do not have a rice cooker:
1- Put one volume of rice (Thai, Basmati etc.) in a pot.
  2- Add 11/2 the volume of water, and stir. 
3- Put on a medium to high heat. 
4- Bring to the boil. Cover with a lid and boil on a low to medium heat until cooked.(about 15 minutes)
  5- Serve immediately. 
(Make sure the water does not evaporate too much during the cooking. Do not stir the rice during the cooking).

    Brown rice

Brown rice can be cooked in the same way as: “Boiled Rice: The simplest way to cook any rice”; except that the rice will need to be cooked for about 1 hour to be ready.
Drain and store like plain rice in the recipe above.

Jean-Louis Vosgien www.photos-and-recipes.com

About the Author

Jean-Louis Vosgien is a culinary consulting chef. He was the first chef in France to introduce in the 1980’s fusion food, which at the time was unknown,  and was considered an expert in that field by press people. He created two cookery schools, one in Saint-Tropez and the second in Lorgues, near Saint-Tropez He created a cake, famous in France, “Le Canelou de Provence”, sold today in the three major supermarket chains in France.

The use of a tandoor oven is very important in traditional North Indian cooking, and many breads and dishes were designed especially for these clay ovens. This includes many famous Punjabi and North Indian foods: paratha, naan, kulcha, roti, and other exiting breads; and tandoori lamb chops, chicken tikka, tandoori chicken, seekh kabab, tandoori prawns, reshmi kabab, and a variety of other dishes. Only a few of us these days, however, are lucky enough to have our own tandoor. This article will look at a few alternatives we can use in its place.

Tandoori food has a distinctive smoky flavour that is produced because of the clay oven’s design. Heat in a tandoor is generated from lit coals at the base of the oven (which has a similar shape to a pot-belly stove). As the food inside it cooks, its juices drop down onto these hot coals, producing deliciously flavoured smoke that is the signature of the tandoor.

Naturally, it is difficult to find an exact equivalent of a tandoor, but we have a few options. Barbecues can be pretty good, especially where cooking can be done over a grill that lets food juices run onto the burners or coals. The effect isn’t quite that of the tandoor, but the resulting flavour is a fair approximation.

You could choose a conventional oven to cook ‘tandoori’ dishes. The similarity here is that both the oven and the tandoor have an enclosed space where heat is trapped, but the former does not produce the trademark smoky flavouring of real tandoori food. This method is the best alternative for cooking tandoori breads (naan, roti, kulcha etc), when a tandoor is not available because the bread is surrounded by heat.

A grill can be used when cooking food like lamb chops or chicken tikka even though the concept of grill cooking is really the reverse of tandoori cooking. A grill does not have an enclosed space and food is heated by elements from above. Nevertheless, tasty food can still be achieved. The grill is good for quick cooking (ie when the barbecue is not an option).

Overall, the most suitable alternative to a tandoor is a coal-fueled barbecue when you wish to do some North Indian style cooking. Even so, tandoors are far easier to buy in the West lately, so if tandoori-style food regularly graces your menu, it may well be worth making the investment.

About the Author

Laliey Singh trained as a chef in India before moving to Australia where he now lives with his wife and son. You can find more of his cooking articles, along with video demonstrations, recipes and tips, online at http://www.cooking-with-gusto.com

A native to India and other parts of Southeast Asia especially Indonesia, turmeric is integral to Asian cooking. A member of the rhizome family, besides imparting a yellow colour and a characteristic flavour to food, it has a long history of use in India Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine.

Health Benefits of Turmeric Botanically known as Curcuma longa, derived from the Arabic name for kurkum plant, known as saffron, turmeric is often confused and substituted with the same. Totally unrelated to saffron, a member of ginger family, the root of the turmeric plant in its dried form is used as spice. Mildly aromatic with a pungent bittersweet flavor, it was called “Indian saffron” as its shares the deep yellow orange color of the saffron. Turmeric is used as a condiment, textile and culinary dye.

Turmeric is used extensively in Indian, Middle East, Moroccan, African and Southeast Asian cookery, especially in curries, vegetables, rice, fish and meat dishes to add color and flavor. For the traditional ayurvedics, turmeric is a very important herb. Considered a cleansing herb for the whole body, it gives energy and grants prosperity. The finger like stalk is scalded, dried and used for medicinal preparations. An excellent natural antibiotic, it strengthens digestion, prevents the formation of gas and helps to improve large intestinal flora.

It purifies the blood, aids digestion of protein, promotes proper metabolism in the body, correcting both, excess and deficiencies. It is used in treatment for fever, mild stomach upset, infection, arthritis, dysentery, jaundice and other liver problems. Ancient Chinese physicians used turmeric to treat chest congestion, menstrual discomforts and many more ailments. Turmeric may help to relieve carpel tunnel syndrome, joint inflammation and prevent cancer. Add a pinch or two of turmeric to warm milk to soothe respiratory aliments such as cough or asthma.

Sprinkle a bit of turmeric with honey (optional), on cuts, bruises, or scrapes after a thorough wash, as the anti bacterial action will prevent wound infections. One should be careful while using turmeric since its deep color can easily stain. Quickly wash the soiled area with water to avoid further staining. Turmeric powder should be kept in a tightly sealed container in a cool, dark and dry place. Fresh turmeric rhizome should be kept in the refrigerator.

About the Author

Kevin Pederson has been managing a number of natural home remedies websites which have information on home based natural cures and remedies for cold and cough and benefits of turmeric and other natural herbs http://home-remedies-for-you.com.

Many people are mystified by traditional Indian cooking and cuisines and a little somewhat confused with the varieties of curries and spices used . Some may even think the traditional Indian cooking is mostly about vegetarian dishes and curries.

India has one of the finest and richest culinary histories. Contrary to popular belief, Indian cuisines are not complex or too confusing to cook. It can also be as elaborate as you want it to be. If you understand the diversity of the country, which is divided into four regions, north, south, east and west, you will appreciate the varieties of dishes, exotic spices, cooking methods,etc.

Interestingly there are two kinds of meat that you will not find in many Indian recipes, one is beef and the other is pork, this is due to religious factors, as cows are sacred to the Hindus and pork is prohibited in the Muslim diet.

Indian cuisines are however generally characterized by exact combination of spices and flavours and the cooking method generally is to saute and simmer the dishes or curries over low heat. Tandoori cooking has popularised the oven-clay oven method which has produced tandoori chicken or naan bread.

Regardless of region, spices are key ingredients in Indian cooking. The Indians are also mindful of the healing properties of spices in their cooking. These are derived from plants’s roots, buds, seeds, fruits and dried bark which produce the exotic aroma. It is released when the spices are heated up. All these spices are all readily available in supermarkets.

Spices can be grouped into five basic categories : sweet, pungent, tangy, hot, and amalgamating. The way these are used and the amounts used in cooking are governed by these characteristics. Examples of the different types of spices are:

Amalgamating : Coriander seed, fennel seed Sweet : Cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, vanilla Pungent : Cloves, star anise, cardamom Tangy : Ginger, tamarind, sumach, kokam Hot : pepper, chilli, mustard, horseradish

Most of the herbs such as thyme, sage, marjoram, oregano, bay leaves, mint and rosemary are considered as savoury. The herbs do have varying degrees of flavour intensity,however not as dramatic as with spices. Northern Indian cooking is influenced by the weather which can range from extreme heat to freezing cold. The dishes are traditionally rich and heavy with cream and ghee, using breads, meats and tend to be less spicy. Yoghurt is widely used instead of coconut milk which is widely used in the south. They also tend to be drier as soupy sauces do not mix well as dippings for breads. Naan and chapati breads come from the north.

In the south where the weather is mostly hot, rice is widely grown and this makes the diet of south Indians rice-based that goes well with soupy curries. Spices are used heavily and the southern cusines tend to be spicier than the north. The roti-prata or dosai are typical southern breads.

Indian desserts are basically different forms of rice puddings, milk puddings, vegetables and fruits dipped in sweet syrup. Indian sweets or fudges are usually decorated or garnished with raisins, almonds, pistachios. Mostly made by boiling down milk to remove the moisture and then adding butter, flavour and sugar. The Indian sweets usually have high sugar content so use sugar in moderation when trying out Indian dessert recipes.

About the Author

Noraini Maskuri loves cooking and has professional training in bakery. She owns the MyCookery.com website

Researchers in America have found conclusive evidence that Curry has profound health benefits. Their research shows that the ingredient turmeric; which happens to be an essential component of the entire curry preparation, prevents diseases like cancer.

Previously Curry and bear drinking went hand in hand according to the bear drinkers association of Wales. There were numerous claims that a hot curry after a heavy drinking session minimized the chance of a big hangover. Additionally it was claimed that Curry soaked up the alcohol and thereby reduced damage to the stomach lining. These claims remained unsubstantiated for a long time until Welsh bear drinkers association decided to fund a study/survey. Surprisingly, out of a sample of 100 bear drinkers who very kindly volunteered to take part in this survey responded to the questions listed below as follows:-

Preferred choice of food after a drinking session? 84% not only preferred a hot curry but they said it was a must.

….. James comments … I drink between 10 to 15 pints on Friday and Saturday night. Saturday may be a bit more because of football. I make a point of having some food before I start drinking every time. But, around 11pm when the pubs shut… I nip down to the local India and order a very hot curry. I find that it sobers me up fairly quickly and the morning after, as it were, is not so bad….. I put this down to what is in the curry…..

Are you an avid curry eater? 87% only eat curry after they’ve had few bears.

…. Their general consensus appears to be that… amongst side effects… it makes people sweat when they eat a hot curry… Profuse sweating during the course of a meal lasting say an hour or 45 minutes lowers the alcohol content in the blood stream. The statement that curry “sobers me up” therefore stands to reason and so the claim is a valid one…..

By far the biggest endorsement for curry having health benefits and to an extent healing properties comes from the American study. The study demonstrates that curry and in particular the ingredient turmeric contains properties which prevent certain type of cancer from growing and developing. The type of cancer that the turmeric is proving beneficial in preventing are:-

1)Colon cancer 2)Pancreatic cancer 3)Skin cancer 4)Leukaemia

Finally, curry and its ingredients are not only benefiting drinkers in pubs across the country in the UK but in Europe as well. The real exciting news is that serious medical conditions such as the ones above (1 to 4) which threaten peoples lives can also be eradicated, curtailed or even prevented altogether. I suggest that you dig out your old Indian recipe books and start cooking healthy curries for yourself and for your family straight away.

About the Author

Curry is back in vogue and this time for health & healing properties. For your better future health check out our site for wonderful Curry recipes and information. http://www.indianrecipessite.com

A lot of South Asian children and youngsters worldwide are moving from an Indian diet to a predominantly western format diet. These changes coupled with metabolic syndrome lead to the development of early diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

South Asians have very different dietary habits. Their diets are rich in carbohydrates and many of them are vegetarians. A typical Indian diet consists of chapattis and rice in every meal and would mostly be eaten with lentils or vegetables; in contrast to a western diet that is predominantly meat based and has lesser emphasis on carbohydrates. They mostly prefer cooked hot meals and like to prepare their own food. This means that an Indian Diet is not just a set of different ingredients but a different eating pattern altogether. Many westerners cannot follow an Indian diet because it is extremely spicy and full of pungent and strong flavors. Most Indian diets, if planned well, are healthy because they are high in fibres and provide a healthy mix of carbohydrates and proteins in every meal. They also included a lot of pulses, milk and milk products, and vegetables.

A study published by the American Lung Association has found that Indian children living in England whose diet consisted largely of foods from their native country were less likely to have symptoms of asthma and allergy than Indian youngsters who ate a primarily Western diet.

Indian diets tend to contain more vegetables, less meat and fewer additives and packaged and processed foods than the traditional British diet, said Dr. Britton, of the Division of Respiratory Medicine at the University of Nottingham in England. The findings were similar for children eating vegetarian and non-vegetarian diets.

A study led by researchers from St. Michael’s Hospital and the University of Toronto have found that a diet high in low-glycemic foods improved both Diabetes control and cardiovascular risk factors. A diet rich in nuts, beans and lentils have been found effective in lowering blood sugar levels in people with Type 2 diabetes, according to a new study.

According to a study, the Indian diet encompasses diversity unknown to most other countries, with many dietary patterns emanating from cultural and religious teachings that have existed for thousands of years. The role of turmeric (haldi/curcumin), a common Indian curry spice, cumin, chilies, kalakhar, Amrita Bindu (traditional Indian Ayurevedic antioxidant supplement containing extract of several plants (long pepper & nigrum, ginger, nutgrass/cocograss, chitrak and caltrop) and various plant seeds are known for their apparent cancer preventive properties.

When people talk about being vegetarian, many usually think that they do not have many recipes to choose from. Furthermore, being vegetarian in several countries like United States would only require them to eat raw or uncooked vegetables.

However, that is not the case for vegetarian Indian recipes. Vegetable lovers will find delight in eating the delectable Indian food recipes without the need to have the same old, boring, and dull taste that they have with the typical vegetarian cuisines. The vegetarian Indian Food has a wide array of choices when it comes to flavor. You can still taste that mouth-watering zest even if there is no chicken, lamb, or any kind of meat used in the main ingredients.

Generally, Hindus are vegetarian by nature. This is because they believe that by saving the lives of the animals, they will get to cleanse their souls. Because of this, they have integrated several ways (and spices) to enjoy Indian cooking with vegetables so that they can still have a tasty and healthy meal at the same time.

Most of the Indian cooking recipes for the vegetarians not only have vegetables but lentils, fruits, beans, legumes, and sprouts as well. Vegetarian Indian cuisines are considered the healthiest since the vegetables and the fruits that they use have low or even zero calorie. Moreover, they only use oils that are low in fat when cooking. No wonder why there are still Indians who can live up to 90 years old or more.

In a vegetarian Indian cuisine, one of the most served foods is the Chapati. Even non-vegetarians also eat Chapati especially as an appetizer. Chapati is a flat and baked wheat bread that is served with lentils or dahl and other vegetables of your choice.

But if you want a meal that is heavier in your stomach, then it is a must that you eat rice instead. The Tava Pulao or the Griddle Fried Rice is the choice of many vegetarians in India who have a big appetite. This is considered as the most famous street food in the country and also served in fine-dining restaurants as well. The Tava Pulao is made not only from rice but served with mixed vegetables too. All of the ingredients are cooked in one big pan. As a result, it creates one well-blended flavor and rice, vegetables, and spices.

Other popular vegetarian Indian recipes include the Murukku, Paan, Puri, and the Thosai.

You know that Indian food is wide ranging in variety, taste and flavor. The strong flavors in Indian recipes are derived from spices, seasonings and leafy vegetables. Indian recipes have become famous world wide and it is liked by non-Indians too. Most of the spices included in the free indian recipes are used not only for their flavor, but because it has been found out from olden days, that they contain medicinal value.
Each state in India has its own style and combination in making Indian recipes. The Indian food is renowned for its gravies, which is a tasty attraction for a newcomer. The North Indian recipes differ from South Indian recipes. In Indian cuisine, food is categorized into six tastes – sweet, sour, salty, spicy, bitter and astringent.

The perfect combination of spices and depth of flavor in Indian recipes and with cooking techniques, has made it a gastronomic delight and it also fulfills today’s requirement for healthy eating.

Indian food recipe is a platform to share Indian recipes with the world. Indian food recipe include vegetarian recipes, non-vegetarian recipes, South Indian recipes, Gujarati recipes, Punjabi recipes and more different types of Indian recipes.

Indian recipe – Vegetarian dish: Gobi Aloo (Potato and Cauliflower curry) 1 cauliflower 2 potatoes 2 onions sliced 1 tsp whole cumin 1 tsp coriander powder 4 dried red chilies 2 tbsp garlic-ginger paste ½ tsp chili powder Salt to taste 1 tsp turmeric 2 fresh green chilies (opt) 2 tbsp chopped cilantro

• Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the cumin, dried red chilies, stirring to mix. • Add the onions and stir occasionally, until golden brown. • Add the garlic-ginger paste, chili powder, salt, turmeric and finely chopped green chilies (optional). Stir-fry for 2 minutes. • Add the chopped potatoes and cut small florets cauliflower to the mixture, stirring to coat the vegetables in the spice mixture. • Reduce the heat, add water. Cover the pan and let simmer for 10-15 minutes. • Transfer the vegetables to warmed serving plates and serve immediately.

Indian recipes are diverse and extraordinary, based on religious beliefs, climate, culture and availability of ingredients. Indian food recipe provides a guide to the food of India and every Indian recipe will interest and inspire you.