Cuisines Of India

Given that I was born in West cost India, studied in Western India, most of my cooking involves north Indian recipes ,as well as its cover whole tests of Indian culture. I think I can definitely talk Indian cuisines.

Kashmir – One of the most beautiful region of India and called as heaven on earth is also popular for its heavenly rich and mouth watering preparations. Kashmiri cuisine is a perfect confluence of three different cooking styles – Kashmiri Pandits, Mughals of Persian origin and Muslims of Central Asian origin. One of the most popular dishes and coming to India is Mutton Rogan josh.

Punjabi Cuisine – First thing comes to my mind is makki di roti – sarson da saag. Do try the lassi along with the tandoori food for sure. Eat at a dhaba or genuine Punjabi restaurant to get the authentic taste.

Awadhi and Muglai cuisines – are from Uttar Pradesh region of India. Mughlai style of cooking as the name suggests was developed during the Mughal regime. These dishes are rich in fat, proteins and carbohydrates famous for the exotic use of spices, dry fruits and nuts. You must try kebabs for sure if not anything else- mutton seek kebab, reshmi kebab, hara bhara kabab.

Spoke a lot about mutton and chicken dishes, now try some fish, you are in Bengal and Orissa region

Bengali cuisine – This region again has the influence of Nawabi culture and the British European culture. There are east bengali dishes and west bengali dishes. Poshto from West Bengal and shorshe bata from East Bengal. Come during Durga pooja ,go to pooja pandal and get in the queue in front of the food stalls.

Bihari cuisine reminds me of Malpua first and then litti chokha, dal puri, parwal ki mithai, the cuisine is mostly vegetarian. Orissa is lot influenced by Bengal but the cuisine is synonym with Dalma prepared with lentils and vegetables.

Marathi Cuisine – State of Maharashtra is home to popular cities like Mumbai (Bombay) and Pune. And this state touches coastal belt on one hand and central India. Maharashtra cuisine unique in its own way , dishes range from being mild to very spicy. Kadhi chawal, Vada pao & Misal Pao, Pao bhaji, Puran Poli, Srikhand and then there are spicy kolahpuri dishes at the other end of the spectrum.

Gujarati– Dhokla, Thepla, Phaphda, khakhra land. Gujrati food is primarily vegetarian with high nutritional value. In most Indian tourist places, you will have a restaurant serving Gujarati Thali, Rajasthani thali and Jain thali for vegetarians. Gujarati food has an appealing palate pleasing sweet and sour combination. Gujarat being a hot and dry place makes the use of tomatoes, lemon and sugar quite common in its cuisine to save the body from dehydration.

Rajasthani/Marwari – Like Gujarat even Rajasthan is snacker’s paradise and in known for bikaneri bhujia, pyaj kachori, mawa kachori, ghewar and mirchi bada. Besides Rajasthani cuisine must have items are Dal bati churma, Gatte ki sabji etc. Rajasthani dishes make liberal use of ghee. If you are a non veg , you should taste Lal maas for sure in rajasthan. Famous dishes include Moong dal halwa, Jaisalmer ki dal, Udaipur ka laal maas, Kota ki pyaj Kachori.

Goa– Love sun ,sand, beaches and sea food?? Welcome to the land of Goa. It’s a potpourri of flavors: beef, pork, vinegar ,coconut, jaggery, cashew/fenny and lots and lots of seafood. Popular recipes include Goan fish curry, prawn balchao, Pork sorpotel, Fish Recheado, Pork Vindaloo, Chicken Xacuti, Chicken cafreal, and Rava fried fish.

It comprises of Andhra region, Karnataka, Tamilnadu and Kerala. Leaving Andhra food which is comparatively hot and spicy, everything else is mild flavor using coconut, curry leaves and home made spices. Rice is again the staple food here and both Idli, dosa are rice combined with lentils preparations, supposedly healthy breakfast options. popular dishes of south include Idli, Masala Dosa, Vada, Chicken Chettinad, Hyderabadi biryani, Appam with stew, Payasam, Gongura Mamsam.

We have grown up eating Poha Jalebi for breakfast and till date I feel Poha tastes best in Madhya Pradesh. Central India is Bhopal, Gwalior, Chhattisgarh , Mulwa and Indore region, Indore being the capital of street food in India. This cuisine is again a unique blend of various influences from all sides including northern and eastern region of India. Wheat preparations with vegetables, Paneer & Dal in veg as well as Meat preparations famous in Bhopal belt. Dal baffle is the MP version of Rajasthani Dal bati which is particularly popular in Indore-Ujjain region.

People from all other parts Of India perceive Momos, Chowmein, Manchurian and Thukpa to be the North Eastern cuisine however that’s not all. North eastern cuisine is rich and has variety that comes from 7 sister states. This region includes places like Sikkim, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram etc. and has primary influence of Bengal on one hand and Chinese dishes on the other. In Assam you will get Rice with Tengamach but in Sikkim as well as Arunachal , you will find the Thukpa, Chowmein and momos being popular as a result of chinese and Tibetan influence.