Indian cuisine is
closely related with culture, religion and traditional festivals. The
best-known fact about Indian cuisine is that all the Indians adore
spicy food. Actually
India is a real spice field, the country which
manufactures 1 600 000 tonnes of spices that is 86% of all spices in
the world! Taking into account these figures, it isn't surprising
that the art of spicy food cooking has achieved such perfection in
India that the rest of the world, especially its western part, has no
choice but to admire and to try to imitate it.
Indian spicy food
can seem too sophisticated to a foreigner for its variety of spices
and their blends. To gain an understanding of spicy food
cooking tips
in India one should know the characteristic of each spice and its
combinations with other spices. The Indians call that masala
– a
blend of some different spices; perhaps everyone knows the famous
spicy food chef d'oeuvres
like Chicken
Tikka Masala and Masala tea.
One third of the
Indian population are vegetarians, and that fact causes the
popularity of rice and various pulses like chana (bengal gram), toor
(red gram) and mung (green gram). Processed in flour, pulses with
spice are common
spicy food in India. As for the oil, in India the
choice is wider than in Europe: preparing their tasty spicy food
dishes, besides familiar sunflower and soybean oil, the Indians use
also coconut oil, peanut oil, mustard oil and even hydrogenated
vegetable oil, known as Vanaspati ghee. The most widespread spices
are cumin, chili pepper, coriander, black mustard, ginger, cardamon,
nutmeg and fenugreek.
There
isn't one Indian traditional dish, each region has its own customs
and cooking secrets. In the north dairy products are on the top, many
dishes are milk-based. The Indians like spicy food so much that they
put chilies and other spices not only in main courses like Tandoori
Chicken, but also in sweets, for example such desserts as gulab jamun
or ras
malai contain cinnamon and saffron. Indian bread differs from its
western confrere: using a griddle called “tawa”
Indian housewives
bake flat round roti, naan and paratha. One of the most typical snack
in the north is samosa, a spicy food dish seasoned with
coriander, tamarind and mint.
South
Indian cuisine is distinguished by a great variety of spicy food
vegetarian dishes like Sambar which is dressed with fresh curry
leaves, coriander, mustard seeds and asafoetida. Served on a banana
leaf Sambar is a real boon for vegetarians and spicy food
connoisseurs.
As
regards beverages, Indian spicy food tradition leaves its mark on them
too. In a hot day the Indians drink Lassi – a blend of water,
salt
or sugar, yogurt, and spices. The origins of spicy Lassi is Punjab,
where it is traditionally dressed with cumin and topped with malai
(clotted cream). Lassi is a perfect refreshment for those who are
languid with the heat and also for
spicy food admires, who are used to have extra fiery dishes.
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