Indian Breads

India is a land of infinite variety of it’s weather, it’s scenery, it’s people, their languages and their food. Culinary art of India differs from place to place, but the staple food is the “Roti” (bread). All over India, roti and naan are made from the same basic ingredients- grains, salt and water, yet they have a tremendous individuality. ‘Roti’, infact, has become a generic name for bread in India. Making different kinds of rotis is a science and matter of skill and technique, requiring practice and no successful cook will ignore the basic rules.

In north central India, wheat is the most commonly used grain and ground whole wheat flour called “Atta” is the basic ingredient in most of the rotis.

To make the study of Indian breads simpler and also with a view to being able to distinguish between them, it is necessary to classify these breads.

Based on basic ingredients as:-1. Wheat – chappati, phulka, poori, paratha, naan2. Rice – idli, dosa, peetha3. Maize – makkai ki roti4. Bajra – bajre ki roti5. Barley – phefre6. Gram flour – besan ki roti

Based on the method of cooking as:-1. Deep fried – poori, bhatura2. Shallow fried – parathas3. Tandoor – tandoori roti, naan4. Baked on the griddle – chapaties, phulkas, makkai ki roti5. Cooked in the oven – sheermal

Based on stuffing as:-1. Stuffed rotis – aloo ka paratha, gobi ka paratha, mooli paratha. Baide ka

paratha2. Unstuffed – phulkas, chapaties, tandoori roti.

Breads of North IndiaA. Kashmir – Kashmiri breads are more related to the breads of Afghanistan,

Central Asia and Middle East. They are generally baked by professional bakers in clay or brick ovens and bought fresh every day. Most breads like buns are sized for individuals. Some breads are encrusted with poppy seeds, others with sesame seeds. Some breads last just a day, others warpped in towels and placed in baskets can last for about a week.

1. Girda – a famous breakfast bread, chewy and is preferred hot with lumps of melted butter or clotted cream. Eaten along with

‘Noonchai’ i.e salted mountain tea, this bread found its origin from the Girda community of Afghans.

2. Kulcha – an import from western asia, is made from maida, kneaded with ghee. They are round in shape and can be stuffed with a variety of fillings like prathas. It is flaky and bun shaped, eaten with saffron flavoured Kahva ( Kashmiri Tea ).

3. BaquarKhani Naan – traditionally made by the method of dum cooking.the tava is placed on a medium charcoal fire and the naan is covered in layersof burning coal are placed on top of the lid. The effect is somewhat a mixture of frying and pressure cooking.

4. Sheermal – also has a Persian influence. “Sheer” in Persian means milk. The dough is made of flour, yeast, sugar, eggs, milk, enriched with raisins, cream, baked in a tandoor or oven.

5. Lavasa – has its origin in Afghanistan. These breads are made from wheat flour leavened by means of ‘ Khameer’. Khameer literally means yeast, but Kashmiris prefer to use a combination of yoghurt, atta, and sugar in the ratio of 2:1:1. this mixture is kept overnight to make khameer, which is then used instead of yeast. It provides a distinct flavour.

B. Punjab – the granary of the sub-continent, has a cuisine richly influenced by all invades from Alexander the Persian, to Shashah the Afghan, to Babur the Mughal. Agriculture and Punjab cannot be separated and the staple crop is wheat. It is then quite natural that the staple diet of the people of Punjab is wheat. Consequently, an interesting variety of rotis, parathas, naans can be found here.

1. Paratha/Parantha- is the most famous and popular amongst Punjabi breads. Paranthas are made from wheat flour, are rich and flaky, because they have been smeared witth ghee and folded in a special way so that they are somewhat like flaky pastry. They are shallow fried on a hot griddle (tava) with ghee.

2. Stuffed Parathas- are variations to the ordinary parathas. The dough is stuffed with a variety of fillings such as boiled mashed and seasoned potato mixture to make aloo paratha. Mince meat to make Kheema paratha. Finely chopped or grated radish or cauliflower to make Mooli or Gobi paratha. These are cooked as ordinary parathas, relished with fresh curds and pickle.

3. Tandoori Roti – perhaps the most famous bread of the region, made from a soft and pliable dough of whole wheat flour, shaped into a round roti with hands. This roti is placed on a padded cloth

and slapped on to the side of a tandoor. When cooked, it is removed with the help of a skewer.

4. Naan – the dough is made of refined flour (maida), enriched with milk, eggs and leavened.it is elongated in shape and cooked in the tandoor as the tandoori roti . variations like lasoon naan, pudina naan, are also prepared. There are also elaborate naans such as roghni naan – before baking the naan is brushed with saffron water. Kurmee Naan – naan coeked with a mixture of Khurma (dates) and jaggery cooked together. Similarly, there is the tomato garlic naan, badami naan, paneer naan.

5. Lachha Paratha – is a layered roti also known as lachhadar paratha. The dough is first made into a rope, then made into a circle and rolled out three times, half cooked and re-rolled and ghee is applied in between every layer while rollong. Baked on a griddle (tava) as paratha,.

6. Amritsar Paratha – soft dough, with the inclusion of baking powder is prepared. A mixture of plain flour and ghee is prepared separately. After rolling the dough is divided into chapaties, the folur and ghee is palced and flattened to a round shape. These are re-rolled and shallow fried.

7. Khasta Paratha/Roti- dough is made of wheat flour, eggs, cumin seeds, baking powder, ghee and milk. When cooked on a griddle, it is called a paratha, when baked in a tandoor, it is called a roti. It is crisp, like a pie crust, enriched with butter.

8. Makkai ki Roti- is made with a dough of makkai flour, salt and water, baked in a tandoor or on a griddle, eaten with sarson ka saag and butter.

9. Bhatura- a popular bread of Punjab, eaten with chole. Bhaturas are made from a leavened dough of maida and soda bi-carb and curgs. The dough is rolled out into a round or oblong shaped roti and deep fried.

C. Rajasthan –

1. Baffala – made from whole wheat flour. The baffala is first cooked in lentil soup then dry roasted and baked in the oven and eaten with dal.

2. Tikkas – are very popular among the peasants of Rajasthan. This is a thick roti made of wheat and cornflour mixed with a lot of chopped garlice, onion, tomatoes, green chillies and coriander leaves. Very little oil is used and it is cooked almost dry on a tava.

3. Dopattri – rotis are very popular in malwa area. They are soft and thin chapatti like rotis. Prepared in such a way that after cooking the two layers separate. Layer of fat is added between the two layers.

4. Bermi Roti – this is a complete food in itself. It is highly rich in proteins and a very popular bread of Jodhpur region. It is a roti of whole wheat flour with a stuffing of ground dal, onions, chillies, cumin, asafetida and salt.

5. Phefre – lightly flattened thick piece of dough, dry roasted on a tava and then put in a charcoal fire. Served with ghee and dal.

6. Baati – dough shaped into rounds and roasted in an oven. Traditionally it should be cooked on charcoal or a fire of cowdung. When cooked, they are served with generous servings of ghee.

D. Gujarat – Most of the gujaratis are vegetarians. Most of their food is based on grains, beans, roots and vegetables grown locally. Millet is the staple crop here and it is mostly ground at home on a grinding wheel.

1. Khakra – This bread has tremendous keeping quality is a favourite with travelers. Refined or wheat flour is bound with warm water and milk and spices into a dough. Thin chappaties are rolled and baked on a griddle.

2. Methi Thapla – made from a dough consisiting of wheat flour and methi leaves along with red chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric and salt. The dough is rolled out into small rotis and baked on a griddle with fat. Almost shallow fried.

3. Bhakri – another roti of Gujarat made from bajra flour. Kneaded with salt and water and cooked on a griddle.

4. Dal Dhokli – is a complete meal in itself. Wheat flour dough flavoured with red chilli powder and salt and turmeric. Is thinly rolled and cut into square or rectangular pieces and cooked in a spicy dal gravy.

E. Maharashtra –

1. Chappati – the local term for roti; is made from a dough of wheat flour, fat and salt. Rolled out into thin rotis and baked on a griddle.

2. Bhakri – most famous traditional bread of maharashtra, common amonst the farmers. Bhakri is made from jowar, bajra or

sometimes rice flour. Only salt and water are used to prepare the dough. The dough is rolled out or flattened by hand to make a thick round roti which is half cooked on a hot iron griddle and then puffed up on hot live coal or nowadays on a gas burner.

3. Amboli – made from a fermented batter of rice and urad dal, cooked on a griddle ( similar to oothappam ).

4. Ghavane – thin, crisp, pancakes made out of rice flour.

5. Poories – deep fried bread made out of dough of wheat flour, salt and very little oil. Ideally eaten along with shreekhand or basundi.

6. Vade – another deep fried bread made out of a special combination of grains like rice, urad dal, channa dal, coriander seeds, methi seeds. These are all groung into flour, the flour made into a dough and fermented for a couple of hours and then flattened into thick round poories and deep fried. Ideally eaten along with spicy meat / chicken curry.

7. Pao/Double roti – Indian version of the English bread rolls/buns. Cooked in exactly the same way as bread, eaten with a bhaji or potato vada.

There are very few maharashtrian breads which are stuffed with a sweet filling. These are normally served along with the rest of the meal.

1. Puran Poli – dough made of refined flour, salt and oil and stuffed with channa dal and jaggery stuffing, which is ground to a smooth paste.

2. Gulachi Poli – dough made out of refined flour and stuffing made of jaggery, til seeds and nutmeg.

3. Coconut Poli – dough made of refined flour and stuffing made of fresh grated coconut, sugar, nutmeg, sometimes enriched with mava.

F. West Bengal –

1. Luchi – popular breakfast item eaten with potato bhaji or jaggery. Luchis are made of maida, smaller than a poori in size and deep fried.

2. Kathi Roll – makes an excellent quick meal. A soft dough made of maida is rolled and baked on a hot tava like a chappati. The filling

is then added which is cooked separately and includes egg, meat, chicken. The chappati is then rolled to resemble a swiss roll.

3. Radhabollobhi – deep fried poori made of maida with a stuffing of urad dal and aniseed. Had as a snack item, maybe with a potato bhaji.

4. Dhakai Paratha- made out of maida dough, rolled, smeared with fat. It is then shaped into a cone by cutting along the radius of the circular paratha and then rerolled into a circular paratha and baked on a hot griddle using fat.

G. Bihar –

1. Bathuway ki roti – spinach or bathuway is kneaded together with fat. It is dark green in colour. Rolled out like a roti and shallow fried on a tava.

2. Peetha – dough is prepared with rice flour. Roti’s are rolled out and stuffed with a mixture of ground channa dal, roasted cumin and red chilli powder. Rotis are made into half moon shapes and steamed.

3. Litti – dough of wheat flour and salt is stuffed with a mixture of sattu (roasted and powdered Bengal gram) green chillies, onions and red chilli powder, rolled into balls and cooked overa live charcoal fire.

H. South India – the coconut plays a commanding role and rice replaces wheat.Breads from south India are mostly rice based since rice is the staple diet. Some of the breads from this region are –

1. Dosai – pancakes made with a batter of rice. They may have a variety of fillings and can be eaten with sambhar and coconut chutney. Variations are –

a. Narial Dosai – made from rice and coconut.

b. Jaggery Dosai – made from jaggery, rice, maida and coconut.

c. Rawa Dosai – made from semolina, maida and rice.

Apart from the above, plain dosais in various shapes and sizes are also very popular.

2. Idlis – soaked rice and dal is ground to make a batter which is then steamed in moulds.

3. Masala Idlis – batter consists of soaked rice, black gram, coconut, tamarind, green chillies and red chilli, all ground to a paste.

4. Cconut Idlis – batter of rice, grated coconut, urad and channa dal is used.

5. Uttappams – batter of par boiled rice and urad dal, ground together and fermented overnight. Cooked on a hot griddle with toppings of onios, green chillies and green coriander.

6. Appams – these are rice flour pancakes, enriched with coconut milk, resembles a thick dosai with a depression in the centre.

7. Puttu – batter of rice flour and coconut milk. Traditionally cooked in bamboo pipes, stoppered at one end with a perforated stopper, covered by a coconut shell and then steamed. Eaten with ghee banana and curries.

Kashmiri Cuisine

Kashmir a paradise on earth as it is referred to, is situated in the northern most area of India. Kashmiri food is famous all over the world for its richness. The food is delicious, ye appealing, attractive, naturally coloured and aromatic.

Kashmiri cooking developed through the ages as two great schools of craftsmanship – Kashmiri ‘Pandit’ and ‘Muslim’. The basic difference between the two was that the Hindus used ‘hing’ and ‘curd’ and the Muslims used ‘onions’ and ‘garlic’.

Though Brahmins, Kashmiri Pandits have generally been great meat eaters. Curd plays an important part in fact, no meat delicacy except certain kebabs, is cooked without curd. Muslims use onions and garlic in the cooking. The famous Kashmiri chilly is also extensively used and adds not only flavour but also colour to the dish. Both Hindu and Muslim families cook a large range of kebabs and koftas. However each community flavours its dishes quite differently.

The traditional kashmiri muslim banquet know as ‘Wazwan’ is not only a ritual, but a ceremony. The word ‘Waz’ means Chef and ‘Wan’ means Shops known as ‘Wazas’. These cooks are descendents of the master chefs who migrated from Samarkand and parts of Central Asia at the beginning of the 15th century during the reign of Timur. The Wazwan consists of as many as thirty six courses of which fifteen to thirty dishes are varieties of meat, some cooked through the night. Guests are seated in groups of four on a dastarkhan – the traditional cushioned seating on the floor and share the meal on a large metal plate called a ‘Trami’. A (Tasht – Nari) or wash basin is taken around by attendants so that guests can wash their hands. The Trami arrives heaped with rice and the first few couses. A typical Trami consists of a mound of rice divided by four sheikh kebabs, four pieces of methi korma, one tabak maaz, two pieces of trami murgh – one safed, one zaffrani, curd and chutney are served in small earthern pots. There are seven standard dishes that are a must for all Wazwans- Rista, Rogan Josh, Tabak Maaz, Dhaniwal Khorma, Aab Gosh, Marchwangan Khorma and Gushtaba. Gushtaba is the final dish.

Rice is the staple food though wheat is grown too, to make Kashmir’s super bread such as bun – shaped ‘Kulcha’ and the sesame encrusted ‘Tsachvaru’ both very popular acoompaniments for tea. The same blue lakes – Dal, Nagen, Manasbal and Wular; on which tourists glide in upholstered shikaras; are also filled with the rhizhomes of the lotus, often called ‘lotus roots’. These are cooked in variety of ways, called ‘Nedr’ or ‘Nadroo’. They are cooked with lamb with tender spring greens dipped into a rice flour batter and made into fritters.

a. Praan – a bulbous root of a plant belonging to the onion family. It looks familiar to a leek, but also has a pungent smell and a taste of its own.

b. Maaval – a flower used to enhance the desirable red colour for gravies.

Special Preparations

c. Roganjosh – is a famous curry made with mutton, whole spices, ginger powder, curds cooked on a slow fire to a red colour and thick gravy.

d. Tabakmaaz – marinated and fried chops (ribs).

e. Aab Gosh – mutton cooked in spices and water first and then added to reduced milk.

f. Sabdegh – mutton cooked with saunf and garam masala, curds, turmeric over a slow fire using little water so that the gravy is thick.

g. Gustaba – pounded meat koftas cooked in a curd based gravy.

h. Kabargah – mutton ribs cooked in water and little milk along with elaichi, saunf, laung, dalchini, then dipped in a batter of gram fand rice flour and deep fried.

i. Dhaniwal Khorma – mutton cooked in a curd gravy and flavoured with hara dhania leaves (green coriander).

j. Marchwangan Khorma – mutton cooked in curds, spices, dry ginger powder and red hot chilli paste. Maval is also used to enhance colour.

k. Yakni – trotters, cleaned and cooked in water along with onions, cardamom, cloves, saunf, eaten as a soup.

l. Alu Dum – baked spicy potatoes in a rich curd gravy.

m. Methi Chaman – cottage cheese and fenugreek curry.

Kashmir is also famed for its annual crop of ‘saffron’ harvested from the No acoount on Kashmiri cuisine would be complete without a mention of Kahwa or Kashmiri Tea. Kahwa bears little resemblance to tea drunk in the rest of the country. In fact, it is unlike any other beverage in the world. Saffron, nuts and spices are added to the base of a green tea brewed in a samovar. The spices may vary from family to family, depending on what the individual can afford. A typical cup of kahwa would cosist of green cardamom, cinnamon, finely sliced almonds. Kashmiri’s also enjoy a salted milky tea called ‘Noon Chai’ where the tea leaves are soaked for half an hour in water with rock salt powder and later boiled with little milk; to prepare this tea.

Punjabi Cuisine.

The word ‘Punjab’ is made up of two Persian words “Panj” meaning fire and “Aab” meaning water. This was probably because of the five rivers which flow through Punjab. Punjab is called the ‘wheat granary of India’. It has a very fertile soil and this along and this along with its climate is particularly favourable for groring wheat and sugarcane.

Due to its strategic location. Punjab has had to take a lot of battles from many invaders. Punjab emerges into history with the coming of the Aryans in the early vedic age followed by invaders from Persia and then the Mauryas. From the 10th century AD began a series of Muslim invasions. Much later Punjab was divided between India and Pakistan.

Punjabi cuisine can be broadly classified into stages according to its development. The first saw the foundation of hanger system practiced even today which involves preparation and distribution of free meals in Gurudwaras. Halwa, made of flour and pure ghee is served as Prasad. The second stage brought a considerable change in the authentic Punjabi food. The Muslim invaders compelled the people to take up arms and rise in revolt. People had to flee and take refuge in jungles which compelled them to hunt animals and eat them. Thus started the consumption of non-vegetarian food.

Today, Punjab is considered as a land of abundance filled with good things to eat. The world famous tandoori chicken, chole-bhature, dahiwada, paneer mutter, gajjar halwa, were all born here. Punjabi’s believe that good food not only strenghthens the physique but also enriches the mind.

Most people are simple, hardworking farmers and likewise their food is simple, good and most importantly satisfying. Punjab being the biggest producer of wheat, thus wheat forms its staple diet. Wheat is milled into flour and used to prepare a variety of breads which maybe baked in the tandoor – naan, tandoori roti, missi roti or deep fried – bahturas, poories. Vegetables are grown in abundance and can be cooked either in a curry or as a bhujjia. Sarson ka Saag – mustard greens cooked with green chillies, slowly overnight over a slow coal fire until the stems are tender, mashed into a thick puree, thickened with makkai flour and seasoned with onions, tomatoes, ginger garlic, served with plenty of home made white butter and eaten along with makkai ki roti.

Other popular vegetables are brijals (baingan), spinach (palak), radish (mooli), potatoes (alu), cauliflower (gobi), lotus stems (bhen).

Pulses and dals are also an important feature of every day meals. Those commonly used are toor (arhar), urad, channa, rajma, kabuli channa, lbiyan (chawli beans). The important step in preparation of dal is the ‘Tadak’ which gives the dal its characteristic taste and flavour.

- Chole – kabuli channa cooked in spicy tomato based gravy served along with bhature.

- Palak Murgh – chicken cooked along with spices and plalak puree.

- Macchli Amritsari – marinated darnes of fish, dipped in ajwain and amchoor flavoured besan batter and deep fried.

- Murgh Makhani – chicken marinated, cooked in the tandoor, served along with a butter enriched gravy made from the remaining marinade.

Milk and milk products seemed to have formed the basic and essential part of each meal. Every home has a cow and bufflaoes which were useful for farming, were a part of the household herd. Their milk is good for cream, butter and ghee, all used liberally in Punjabi cuisine.

Dahi or curds is essential to every meal eaten straight or combined with vegetables or fruits to form raitas, aloo raita, boodi raita, tomato raita, anar raita, etc. dahi is churned into butter and the butter milk is sweet or salty lassi, as a cooling drink against heat stroke. Dahi is also cooked with a mixture of besan and spices to make the famous “Punjabi Kadhi” with peas in the curry. Paneer mutter or with spinach – palak paneer or dipped into besan batter and deep fried – paneer pakoras. Spinach is also cooked with onions, tomatoes – paneer bhurjee.

Sweets are also mostly milk based. Kheer cooked with rice or sevian (vermicelli) garnished with dry fruitas. Phirnee – milk set with rice flour and served chilled. Other sweets are moongdal–da-halwa and gajrela (carrot halwa). Revri, tosha and pugga sweetmeats, made from gur (jaggery), and til seeds are made and served during the festivali of lohri.

Pickles or achar is made with baingan, sweet potato, mooli, lotus stem (bhen), kali-gajjar di-kanji is a winter special drink made from black carrots, mustard and red chillies. Papads made of moongdal flecked with black or red pepper. And something one never sees todal – dhingri and guchhi a species of mushrooms, brought all the way from Kashmir, dried in the sun later to be added to marvelous dishes.

Tandoori Cooking

North India’s clay oven is probably the most versatile kitchen equipment in the world. There is some doubt as to the origin of the tandoor. Differenct versions of it are found in the Middle East, in Central Asia and on the subcontinent. Tandoors have been found in excavations of Harappa and pre-harappan sites.

One school of thought claims that the home of the tandoor is Punjab. In the villages of Punjab, the communal tandoor dug in the ground is a meeting place for womenfolk – just like the village well – who bring kneaded atta and occasionally marinated meats, to have roti and kabab cooked. Many urban communities have their neighbourhood tandoor even today.

The other school would have us believe that the first tandoor was prepared in the frontier provinces. These tandoors were made of clay which was held together on the outside by animal hair and wheat husk. The inner walls were treated with saline water.

A third school claims that the tandoor is of Middle Eastern origin, where it is used extensively to bake bread.

The traditional tandoor is a clay oven, fired by charcoal. Tandoors are constructed for two kinds of use, the simple tandoor for home use and the larger tandoor for large establishments. The basic material required is clay which is free of any sand content. A kind of grass, called ‘munj’, is mixed with this clay and other natural kinders. The clay mixture is then well kneaded. The shaping of the clay is done by hand and the tandoor is put together in sections; either by the modeling technique or coiling technique. The shaping of the last top section is done by hand, and involves turning the upper section inwards like the upper part of the pitcher. The tandoor is then left for drying. Later an opening of about 10cm is made at the bottom to allow circulation or air. This is essential for temperature control as well as removal of ashes.

A certain amount of curing is necessary before the tandoor is fired for the first time. A good new tandoor should have a smooth inner surface. Green leaves paste usually spinach is applied evenly on the inside and left to dry. Then an emulsion of mustard, oil, buttermilk, jaggery and salt is applied over the spinach paste. The tandoor is now lit at a low heat and the temperature is allowed to rise gradually. The prepared emulsion will peel off. Replace it with another application of the emulsion. This process is repeated three or four times to ‘season’ the tandoor. The tandoor is now ready for use.

Wood was the original fuel used for firing the tandoor, but nowadays charcoal is used widely. The home tandoor takes just 20-40 minutes to heat up. The larger professional tandoor takes 2-3 hours to heat up and operates for about 6-8 hours.

Cooking different foods in the tandoor requires different temperatures. It is difficult to get the right degree but from experience one can get it almost right. The control temperature one needs a covex lid for the top and an iron disc for the little opening at the bottom. If the temperature is too high, the charcoal is movedto one side with the help of a skewer. If the temperature is low, then both openings are shut off. The best way to find out if the temperature is right, is to try and stick a roti or naan to the side. If it falls off, it means the temperature is low. To maintain an even temperature in the tandoor, it is important that the charcoal is evenly spread at the bottom.

Equipments used with the tandoor.

Sheekhs are iron rods of about 1cm thick round and vary in length depending on the size of the tandoor. These are used to prepare kababs and they absorb and conduct heat from outside and inside.

Bread sheekhs come in pairs. One is bent at a right angle about an inch from the end. The other has a small flattened spatula like shape. When the bread/roti which is stuck on the side of the tandoor is ready, it ia caught with the hooked sheikh, and supported form the back with the spatula and sheikh. Incase the bread/roti sticks to the walls of the tandoor, it is gently scrapped with this sheekh.

Sindhi Cusine.

After the partition, the sindhis came with very little in their hands, but rich in memories and proud of their culture. They share with the Punjabisa hearty apetite. Quite simply they love to eat and to entertain. The Sindhi community can be divided into various categories. Some of these eat non-vegetarian while others are vegetarians.

Food Habits:-

- Rice is usually eaten at least once every day, normally plain boiled rice, but sometimes combined with dals. ‘Tari’ a sweet rice preparation is prepared and served as ‘prasad’ for ‘pooja’ performed on a full moon night.

- Rotis – the most popular bread in Sind i.e roti, which in Sindhi is called ‘Koki’ – made from wheat flour, onion, green chillies, green coriander, salt, oil, cumin seeds, anrdana, formed in a dough rolled and shallow fired. Served with curds or pickle. Mithi koki, jaggery, sugar and dry fruits are used.

- Besan Koki – prepared by using besan instead of wheat flour. Phulkas are also prepared.

- Dal Pakwan – a very popular breakfast item. Pakwan prepared from a dough or refined flour, fat, rolled like poories, fried till they crisp.

- Dal – boil chana dal, add tamarind pulp, salt, turmwric, chilli powder and green chillies. Temper with cumin seeds and dhania powder.

- Papad – keechas are a Sindhi speciality it consists of papads made out of rice flour and deep fried.

-Pickles made out of carrots, turnips and onions are common, as well as ginger, green chillies, lime.

- Sweets – popular sweets are broken wheat sheera made from whole wheat flour roasted in ghee, sweetened with a sugar syrup and cooked until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan.

- Lola – refined flour mixed with a jaggery syrup, til seeds and fat. Divide into small balls and deep fry at medium temperature until creamish in colour. Cool and serve.

- Khand Tikki – hard dough made from refined flour, powder sugar and ghee, divide in tikki shapes, deep fry. Cool and serve.

Other sweets are malpua, sweet boondi, rice or sabudana kheer, mohanthal, chikki.

Vegetables :-

Famous dishes are,

Sai Bhaji – spinach and chana dal cooked along with onion, tomatoes, green chilli, salt, turmeric, chilli powder, puree, temper with garlic and hing.

Kadi – besan roasted in oil, cooked in water with green chillies, potatoes, curry leaves, tamarind pulp.

Non-vegetarian dishes - seyal gosht, fried fish.

Rajasthan

Rajasthan has so much life and colour in the cities, encircled by strong walls and dominated by inspiring forts. Rajasthan its culture and exotic food can be distinguished into two:- The warrior tribes from Mewar i.e Rajputs and the other business class people from Marwar i.e Marwaris.

Marwari kitchens are restricted territories. No one may enter except a professional Brahmin called ‘Maharaj’. He is the only person allowed to enter the kitchen, cook the

food and serve as well. The purity of the kitchen must pass directly from pots to the thali. The thali consists of fresh ginger, radish, lime and green chillies as salad, one or two vegetables like aloo gobi, brinjal, toordal flavoured with ghee, asafetida, cumin and fenugreek seeds, roti or phulka and dal-ka-sheera for sweet. Sometimes there is a soupy kind of dish based on curd ‘Kashi’.

In the olden dalys, Rajputs hunted and cooked their food on an open fire. Meats, including poultry game are marinated, skewered and grilled over live fires to make ‘Soola Kababs’. On occasions, large pits are dug in the earth and lined with well-lit dried cow dung, a very common fuel in the countryside. On this is placed a large pot which is lined with cinnamon sticks. Next a well marinated chicken with a paste of ginger, saffron, cloves, cardamom, mace and coriander seeds and stuffed with seasoned meat, is carefully placed over the cinnamon sticks. The pot is then covered and sealed with dough. More lit cow dung is placed over the top and leveled off with the ground. The chicken bakes slowly giving it an excellent flavour and aroma.

There are a number of grains which grow in Rajasthan - bajra, makkai, jowar and wheat are popular. Based on these rotis they make their rotis, usually those prepared from jowar, bajra and makkai are shaped and made by hand. They are cooked on a tav made of mud, which cooks very slowly.

Bati is a bread made from wheat flour and plenty of pure ghee as a shortening agent is used. In the olden days, in the dessert areas they used to bury the dough in the sand and by concealed heat; the batis would cook. But nowadays they are baked over live coal in a deep tandoor like pits dug in the ground. These batis are served along with a spicy dal preparation – ‘dal bati’. Batis are also crushed and powdered, mixed with sugar and ghee for making a sweet known as ‘churma’. Thus the whole meal could comprise of dal, bati and churma with some salad.

Other popular preparations are :-

- Moondal ki subzi – round small sized dumplings of moongdal i.e mogodi, coated in a spicy masala.

- Besan ke gate – besan / gram flour dumplings cooked in a sharp tangy curd gravy.

- Moongdal khilma – dal cooked dry (not mashed), tossed in a tempering of mixed spices of ghee, cumin seeds, red chilli powder, turmeric and asafetida.

- Amrud ki sabzi – an exquisite delicacy of guavas, simmered in a tangy tomato and curd masala.

- Maas ke Sule – kabab made from game (venison, wild boar) lamb, chicken and fish. The preparation uses two sets of marination first if raw papaya paste, galic paste, red chillies and slat for 10 hours. The second marinade consists of curds, deepfried onion and garlic paste, ginger paste applied for 2 hours. Skewer the

meat and roast in a moderately hot tandoor. Before service, smoke the kababs with live coals and cloves.

- Safed Maas – literally means ‘white meat’ is an ancient Rajasthani delicacy prepared with lamb, curds, almonds, cream, ginger garlic, green chillies, cooked together in handi sealed with an atta-dough and cooked in the oven.

- Lal – Maas – a lamb preparation, sautéed and cooked along with black cardamom, onios, garlic, curds and plenty of whole red chillies. Lal Maas is served on a bed of phulkas, with crumbled papad on top and eaten when the phulka has soaked as much of the gravy as possible.

- Maas ki Kadhi – uncommon lamb delicacy, cooked in gram flour and curd gravy.

- Makkai ka Soweta – a spicy combination of corn and lamb.

There are some famous sweets from Rajasthan like;

- Ghevar – which is a fried fermented batter, size about 10 inches in diameter, they are dipped in a sugar syrup and then layered with thickened milk.

- Lasan-ki-kheer – where garlic is first peeled, sliced and boiled to remove the smell of garlic, then cooked with thickened milk.

- Sweet kachori – kachori is filled with mava and dipped in sugar syrup.

Gujarat.

Gujarati food is vegetarian – ancient, traditional foods with astounding flavours and textures, all based on sound nutritional principles. Part of this state which runs along Inida’s upper West Coast is desert and part is semi – desert, making water valuable. Most of this valuable water has been used to grow staples – grains and pulses. It is with these staples and a smattering of fresh vegetables or fruits and nutritious seasonings such as sesame seeds and peanuts that most vegetarian Gujaratis make their delicacies from.

Western Gujarat that is Saurashtra is dry, and green vegetables are hard to come by. But the peninsula’s mixed farming provides abundant diary produce. The food is simple and nutritious and wholesome. The scarcity of greens has also encouraged pickling and preparing foods from dehydrated vegetables. Saurashtra also prepares an all important spice mixture – lehson masala or garlic, red chillies and salt pounded together used in a lot of it’s food.

Central Gujarat - Ahmedabad and Kheda is the granary of Gujarat. A majority of the people are farmers and the foodgrains they grow are often stored at home. Grains broken during cleaning are never sold but used in the home to prepare dhokla, vada, etc.

In the South is Surat, the rainfall is heavier here and there are plenty of green vegetables and fruits – mangoes, bananas, chickoos. The people are connoisseurs of good food, enjoy eating and equal care is lavished on appearance and presentation.

Gujarat has a variety of savoury dishes and a tradition of making and storing snacks. In a Gujarati home, sweets and snacks are always waiting to be offered to a welcome guest.

1. Shaak – general term for a dry, stir fried vegatble preparation such as batata nu shaak (potatoes cooked with tomatoes), kobi vatan nu shaak (cabbage and green peas), tuvar ringan nu shaak (brinjal and fresh tuvar beans).

2. Vagharelu Bhaat – rice fried alongwith a ‘Vagar’ or ‘baghar’ – a tempering of mustard seeds, red chillies, curry leaves and turmeric.

3. Khitchdi – a moist, soft cooked mixture of rice and moongdal.

4. Poories – deep fried puffy breads.

5. Khakra – very thin, crisp wheat bread.

6. Theplas – thin, crisp wheat flour and gramflour bread, flavoured with methi leaves or spinach.

7. Bajra-no-rotlo – bread made from millet dough.

8. Pudlas – gram flour pancake.

9. Idada Dhokla – made with a batter of ground rice and urad dal, fermented overnight, steamed with coarsely crushed black pepper.

10. Khandvi – gram flour batter, cooked, spread out by hand until it is paper thin, cooled and rolled up tightly, topped with a tempering and coconut and green coriander.

11. Kadhi – curd and gram flour curry.

12. Savouries generally termed as ‘Farson’ include:-

Cheewra – a spicy misture of puffed rice, nuts, split gram, dried fruit.

Papri – crinkled ribbons made by pushing gram flour dough through many slitted griddle.

Fafra – long, flat ribbons made by dragging gram flour dough by the heel of a practiced hand.

13. Chhundo – sweet chutney made with green mangoes, cardamom and cloves.

14. Athanu (pickles) made from raw mangoes and lime.

15. Basundi and Shrikhand are the most common sweets besides doodh pak and doodhi halwa, sheera made from wheat flour, jaggery and ghee are common on festive occasions. Other sweets include sweet sev and boodi, crisp poories coated with sugar syrup – mewa wadi.

Kutch

The Kutch region is covered by the desert. Because of scanty rainfall the people of kutch are hardy, industrious and lead an austere life. Their food is simple and so is their art of cooking. Milk and milk products are abound. A simple kutch breakfast consists of bajra roti and milk alongwith khakharas – which are paper thin, crisp, roasted chappaties with home made butter and curds. Lunch cosists of bajra roti or double roti commonly known as (Dabeli), a vegetable usually potato, curds,onions; while dinner is the main meal comprising of khitchdi with kadhi.

-Kutchi Dabeli – Pav (bread) cut into half, apply sweet chutney and garlic chutney, stuff with a potato mixture spiced and seasoned with salt, sugar, garam masala and dabeli masala, pan fried and served.

- Khitchdi – made of equal parts of rice and moondal flavoured with salt and turmeric.

- Godia Ladoos – usually prepared in winter with wheat flour, semolina, jaggery, ghee, dry ginger powder and eating gum.

- Gud Papdi – made from wheat flour, roasted in ghee to a golden brown colourr, mixed with jaggery, flattened in a thali, sprinkled with poppy seeds, cut into square pieces and served.

- Khjoor Pak – mixture of dates, mawa, dry fruits cooked together in lttle ghee, flattened in a thali, cut into squares, garnished with edible silver foil.

Bohri Cuisine.

One of the oldest Muslim communities in Gujarat is that of the Bohris. They are known for their works of charity, their social awareness. They are staunch followers of Islam and most of them are businessmen involved in the business of perfumes and utensils.

One of the unique characteristics of this community is their food. Whatever be the occasion, be it a birthday party or a wedding, the function is dominated by lavish, mouth watering food.

Bohris are usually non-vegetarians who love rich but not very spicy and oily food. Meat would include – lamb, poultry, beef. Pork is strictly forbidden. Bohri cuisine is very fine blend of exotic spices and herbs. Some of the most commonly used apices and herbs are cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, bayleaf, peppercorns, mace, nutmeg, saffron, mint, coriander.

Food is traditionally prepared in copper vessels. Lunch is served on a common metal plate – a thal which is large enough to seat eight people around it , set upon a stool. Diners sit on the floor. All the food is placed in the centre of the thal for the family to share.

The meal begins by uttering the word “Bismillah” which means starting in the name of God and tasting a pinch of salt. This marks the beginning of the courses, the first to come is usually an icecream, a pudding or custard, which is then followed by dry meat preparations such as sheikh kabab, boti kabab, mutton cutlet. Next would be served another sweet preparation usually different types of halwas such as badam or mixed dry fruit or thuli – made out of wheat and jaggery. The sweet is again followed by a savoury item and then

a sweet again. Finally the main course which usually consists of Mutton or Chicken Biryani accompanied by raita or mutton or chicken soup is served. The meal ends by tasting a pinch of salt again and thanking God. Apart from the meat, the food includes all types of vegetables cooked in rich gravies, there is an extensive use of dry fruits in the cuisine.

Some speciality dishes include :-

1. Lagania seekh – a very fine paste of seasoned minced (ground) meat topped with beaten egg and baked.

2. Khichda – well blended mixture of wheat cooked with different dals such as masoor, tur, chana and urad and mutton cooked with spices, finished with garlic flavoured hot ghee and garnished Birasta (fried slices of onions), chopped green chillies and green coriander.

3. Chutney ni murgh – chickencooked in a green chutney of fresh green coriander, mint, green chillies, garlic, ginger and coconut.

4. Daal chawal palida – plain boiled rice with tur dal and tempered with garlic, cloves, cinnamon, cumin seeds.

5. Kari – Lamb/Meat smothered in a most unusual sauce containing ground cashewnuts, roasted peanuts, charoli nuts, watermelon seeds, spices such as star anise and cloves. It is to be eaten with special black pepper rice.

PARSI CUISINE.

Parsis – a gujarati speaking minority are Zorastrians who fled Iran in the 8th century, due to muslim persecution by Arab invaders and landed on the shores of Idia, where they sought refuge on the western coastline of Gujarat. Soon the community flourished and prospered. They mastered the Gujarati language as well as English and soon became very successful merchants.

Originally, the Parsis were meat eaters, who prepared a lot of rich and heavy dishes. However, over the years they blended their culinary skills with those of the regional people thus giving rise to a blend of Persian and Indian cuisine. Today Parsi food is a delicious blend of Western influences, a gujarati love of sweet and sour mixtures and the Persian genius for combining meat with dried fruits such as apricots. After coming to Gujarat, they adopted a lot of gujarati food and became pulse and cereal eaters. The very famous ‘Dhansak’ is an adaptation of Guajarati food. As they shifted towards Maharashtra, they adapted the Maharashtrian dishes such as ‘Puran Poli’ which is called ‘Dar-ni-pori’. It is thicker and made of toor dal instead of chana dal.

‘Patrail’ is another dish which is an adaptation of of ‘Aluwadi’ (made from arvi leaves) made by Maharashtrians.

A lot of vegetables are also consumed due to Gujarati influence, but meat chunks are added to make the dish more appealing and tasty.

Eggs are a favourite of the Parsis and very often they are cooked over vegetables like potatoes (papata par idu), tomatoes (tomatar par idu). The famous ‘Akuri’ is an egg bhurjee, i.e scrambled egg with onions, tomatoes, spices.

Some of the traditional dishes are:-

- Salli Boti – meat dish cooked in a red, sweet and spicy gravy with dried apricots and served with fried straw potatoes which are sprinkled on top.

- Patrani Macchi – fish usually pomfret sliced and coated with a tangy green coconut chutney, wrapped in banana leaves and steamed.

- Sas-ni-machi – fish preparation often served at Parsi weddings. Slices of fish in a rich white sour and spicy gravy with whole cherry tomatoes.

- Tarapori Patio – a thick hot and fiery gravy of coating consistency red in colour made with pieces of dried Bombay Duck.

- Murgi no farcha – big pieces of chicken, marinated in a spicy masala dipped in a batter and then deep fired to a crisp and golden brown colour.

- Dhansak – is combination of brown colour jeera flavoured rice and a spicy dal cooked along with mutton/chicken and vegetables such as potatoes, sweet potato, red pumpkin, methi leaves, brinjals. This dish is never served on festive occasions as it served during the mourning period on the death of a person.

- Dhandar – plain boiled rice served with yellow toor dal. The dal is boiled and ground to a smooth texture and tempering of curry leaves, green chillies finely chopped garlic and mustard seeds is added.

- Lagan-nu-custard – a popular dessert served at Parsi weddings prepared by baking a mixture of eggs, milk, sugar and dry fruits and nuts.

- Ravo – sweet prepration very similar to sooji halwa/sheera, but semolina is cooked in milk and sugar to form a white coloured dropping consistency dessert, garnished with dry fruits fried in pure ghee.

- Sev – this a vermicelli that is fried to a golden brown colour and then cooked in water and sugar, garnished with fried dry fruits and nuts.

Maharashtra.

Facing the Arabian Sea, on the west coast of India is the vast state of Maharashtra.

The traditional middle-class Maharashtrian meal, whether purely vegetarian or non-vegetarian, is a well balanced diet of grains, pulses, vegetables and milk products. Naturally, there are economic and regional variations.

The traditional meal is also served in a traditional way. The floor in front of every diner is decorated with colourful rangoli. Meals are served in large metal plates or banana leaves. These are all placed in the centre of each rangoli design. The food all vegetarian, is neatly laid out in a very special, unchanging order, just inside the rim of the plate, the left side is for seasonings, relishes, savouries, the right side for vegetables, split peas/pulses and sweets.

Once the food is served, the family recites a verse to ask God to bless the food.

A typical Maharahtrian lunch for a special occasion would include:

- Varan Bhaath eaten with limbo (lime), toop (ghee) and meeth (salt).

- Spiced rice – Masale Bhaath.

- Poli (chappati) / poori.

- Amti – spicy dal.

- Batata bhaji (potato preparation).

- Usal (gravied whole lentil).

- Chutney, pickle, koshimbir (salad).

- Papad, bhajee (pakoras).

- Plain or spicd buttermilk.

- Sweet dish/desserts.

The major food regions are:-

1. Konkan – the narrow coastal strip, running along the sea; receives heavy rainfall during the monsoons. The traditional crops include rice, variety of pulses, coconuts, mangoes, cashewnuts and a great quantity of kokum – a sweet, sour fruit whose dried skin is used for adding a gentle sourness to kinkani curries. Fish is abundant and vast varieties of seafood are available. The Konkani curries are based on two basic masala pastes, first is the mixture made from fresh coconut and a variety of spices and second,

a paste of stronger spices with roasted coconut and onion. The former is used for fish curries and the latter for meat or chicken curries, but both masal mixes can be used equally effectively for vegetable curries.

2. Western Maharashtra - Home to the Peshwas and many Brahmin communities, Pune, a prominent city of western Maharashtra, is a historic city of monuments, institutions of learning ancient colleges, libraries, theatres. The food of these communities is delicate, sparsely desighned and entirely vegetarian. Puneri missal, Poori Bhaji, Thalipeeth, Dalimbi usal and fastingfoods such as Sabudana Kichdi or Vada, Rajgiri Ladoo, Wari Bhaath, Shengdanachi Amti – are not only tasty but also nutritious and inexpensive. The diet of the Marathas, headquartered in Kolhapur is rich, extravagant as well as spicy. The villagers around Kolhapur ar known to drink and enjoy the red hoe meat curries. Kolhapur is famous for meat curries which make one’s ears sing ‘rassa’ this red hot meat curry is served with chappaties, a Pandhara rassa – white gravy to dilute its pungency.

3. South Maharahtra – is the sugar bowl of the state, specially in the misty winter months, when sugarcane juice is heated to make jaggery and sugar. Coconut kernels are cooked in this syrup and eaten with peanuts and fresh green channas. Young roasted corn cobs called ‘hurda’ is also eaten along with pungent chillies and green garlic chutney. Typical milk sweets like basundi, shrikhand, kheer, masala milk are also prepared. Rough bhakris of jowar or bajra, hot meat curries, chilli spiked snacks, milk and nuts – these are the favourites of the people here.

4. Vidharba – is rich in rice, peanuts and most of all citrus fruits like oranges, sweet limes. Vidharba cuisine is spicy and the ingredients commonly used are besan, ground peanuts.

5. Khandesh – is at the north of Maharahtra. The main crops cultivated here are jowar, bajra, groundnuts, Bengal gram, moong, sugarcane, fruits such as banana and spices such as chillies.

Bhakris made of jowar are popularly eaten with every meal, along with ‘Zunka’ made of besan (Bengal gram flour), matki, moong or chawli usal. On special occasions ‘Methi Bhakri’ and chutney made of garlic, groundnut, green coriander is prepared.

‘Faujdari Dal’ – a special dal preparation made by soaking jowar, pounding it to remove the skin and cooked until very soft. This bhaat is served with kadhi which is thickened with a special combination of toor dal, chana dal and jowar flour.

‘Kheer’ is made from wheat, where the wheat is soaked, pounded and cooked unitl soft, sweetened with jaggery and served alongwith milk.

Some of the popular Maharashtrian preparations are:-

- Masale Bhaath – spicy fried rice, flavoured with ‘Goda Masala’ and vegetables such as brinjals, gherkins, capsicum.

- Kolhapuri Mutton Curry – spicy, mutton curry favourite of the Maratha community, uses a combination of spices such as spicy red chillies, dry coconut, til seeds, cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns, dagad phool, besides onions ginger, garlic.

- Malwani Crab Curry – favourite of the Konkan region, uses a masal of roasted onions and coconuts along with coriander seeds, poppy seeds, saunf, cloves, peppercorns and nutmeg.

- Aluchi Bhaji – a mixture of chopped colocassia leaves, chanadal, peanuts, cashewnuts, cooked along with tamarind and jaggery.

- Batata chi Bhaji – potatoes cooked with cumin seeds, curry leaves, green chillies, lime juice and a touch of sugar and coconut.

- Shrikhand – a dessert prepared from hung curds, sweetened with sugar flavoured with cardamom, nutmeg or saffron.

- Puran Poli – a speciality on festive occasions specially Holi, made from a ground mixture of chana dal and jaggery, stuffed inside a very pliable maida dough and baked on a hot tawa.

Goa.

Although Goa is in India, it hovers, atleast in spirit, quite outside it. This may well be because of 451 years it has had a history and a dominant culture quite apart from that of the rest of the nation.In the late 15th century Goa, while largely Hindu, was in prosperous Muslim hands with excellent dock facilities for international ships. In the early 1500, the Portuguese landed in India at Goa and gained a solid foothold there. The Portuguese were mainly interested in controlling the coastline and that is where they settled. It was here that the people, along with acquiring Catholicism and Portuguese names picked up a Latin way of life complete with afternoon siesta.

With such a mixed Hindu, Muslim and Latin – Catholic heritage, what happened to Goa’s culinary traditions? There is a strong influence of the fish and rice eating Konkan farmers and fishermen; of the vegetarian Maharashtrians; of the pilaf eating Muslims and of the olive oil, beef, seafood and pork eating Portuguese.

Today, the most surprising aspect of Goan food is that for so small a state, it offers a variety of food, each one as colourful and full of zest as its people. There is the Christian food and Hindu food the Brahmin food and the Non Brahmin food. Then there are the influences of the Muslims and the Portuguese. The result is an exquisite cuisine, one which is rich in culinary style and each style boasting of a distinct flavour.

Rice, for example, is eaten by all and at both meals; but the gravies of each time and type are at a complete variance. They use the same name and at times the same ingredients for a delicacy and yet the aroma, flavour, taste, texture and colour can be completely different. The Christians use vinegar whereas the Hindus prefer cocum to provide the tang in their curries. The Northern Goans grind their masala and coconut separately, while the southern prefer to grind them together. Hindus like lamb and chicken, the Christians pork. Both however, prefer fish to any meat. The food is rich and spicy, usually with a coconut base – grated coconut or coconut milk is used to thicken the gravies.

Rice and bread are the traditional accompaniments to meals. A special, slightly hard kind of bread, called ‘pao’ or ‘pav’ is eaten with many dishes. Vegetables are used only in side dishes, since the Goans have such a variety items to choose from.

Speciality dishes are:-

- Vindaloo - treated as a festive dish; prepared several days in advance. The meat used is pork cooked alongwith ginger, garlic, red chillies, cumin, peppercorns, cloves and vinegar. The vinegar acts as a preservative.

-Sorpotel – a pork stew using pork meat and liver, cooked with sautéed onions,ginger, garlic and masala paste of red chillies, cumin seeds, turmeric, cloves, cinnamon and peppercorns. Sorpotel is eaten with ‘Sannas’.

- Sannas springy, crumpet shaped steamed breads, made in mouls, with a batter of ground rice, coconut, salt, a little sugar and ‘Toddy’.

- Xacuti generally made with chicken, roasted and ground spices such as coriander seeds, peppercorns, red chillies, mace, poppy seeds, roasted and ground coconut paste, all cooked together with onions and coconut milk.

- Beef Assado – beef pot roast. Beef is marinated in a mixture of chillies, ginger, garlic, cumin, cinnamon, pepper, vinegar, salt and turmeric and cooked along with fried onions, some water and later some potatoes.

- Fish Fried in rechad spice paste. The paste includes red chillies, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, peppercorns, onions, garlic and ginger, ground in vinegar. This paste is applied to the fish (pomfret) and then fried.

- Caldi prepared with fish (prawns) a slightly sweet (from coconut milk) ans slightly sour (from tamarind) dish; uses hot green chillies fresh green coriander, freshly ground pepper; generally eaten with rice.

- Feijoada – beans (rajma, haricot) cooked with spicy goan sausages.

- Chanyacho ros – dried peas cooked with mustard seeds, curry leaves and roasted coconut.

- Tamari bhaji – a dish of red spinach, flavoured with onions, green chillies, freshly grated coconut and kokum.

- Osanay Samaray – red beans cooked with coconut and sour mango seeds.

- Bebinca – a ‘cake’ of layered pancakes. The batter is made up of flour, eggs, sugar, essence and coconut milk. A thin layer of the batter is poured into a cake tin and allowed to cook and set on a slow flame. A second layer of batter is poured over the first and then cooked. Pure ghee is used in between the layers of the batter. Similarly, layer upon layer is allowed to cook; now with some live coal over the lid of the cake tin. The resulting product is a ‘cake’ of layered pancakes.

- Btica – coconut cake.

- Alebele – coconut stuffed pancakes.

Karnataka.Karnataka historically is one of the richest State of India. Rich in culture and rregal splendour, this central peninsular state is kept lush and green by several rivers. Naturally the basins of these rivers are thick tropical forests where sandalwood, deodar and other valuable trees grow.

As in the case of several other states, this state too is a gourmet’s dream. Its first class vegetarian cuisine includes a vast variety of rice dishes. Sambhars and fragrant ghee – topped over dosas and bondas, crispy savouries like murukkas and famous sweets like Mysore Pak.

Karnataka is renowned for its:- - Bisi bela huli anna – rice, dla and vegetables cooked together with hot and tart spices.- Anay pad wade – large ‘elephant foot’ wadas brown on the outside and yellow with turmeric inside.- Soppu Pallya – steamed spinach enriched with thick milk and flavoured with mustard and cumin seeds.- Kosimbir – salad of cucumbers, raw but well soaked moong dal.

A typical Karnataki meal has dishes based on rice, pulses, peanuts, coconuts, vegetables and a variety of spices.

The order and arrangement of food items on the banana leaf, used for eating, is similar in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

In Karnataka, after the rice is served, tiny mouthfuls of it are tasted mixed with kosimbir, vegetables or pallya, cooked in many ways and tovve (a yellow, almost unseasoned dal). The rice is then eaten with pure ghee and huli (sambhar in Tamil Nadu) and other mixed vegetables, followed by more rice eaten with a spicy thin dal extract (rasam).

Substitutes for rice and huli could be one of several pre-spiced rice dishes like chitrana (lime rice) or bisi bele- huli-anna (smabhar rice).

Sweets could be payasam, Kesari-bhat (sweet flavoured rice), Mysore Pak or Jallebi. Salty snacks such as vade, boda or even idli are served as accompaniments during the meal.

And finally to soothe the palate, rice with curds or butter-milk is served, either separately or sometimes as a pre-mixed preparation.

Coorg is one of the hill-regions of Karnataka. Here live the warrior community whose meat and chicken curries are tasty and rich. All along the coorg hills lie coffee and spice plantations. Some of the well known dishes are:-- Pandi curry – a hot and sour almost pickled like pork stew, served with kadambutte.

- Kadam butte – coarse semolina textured pounded rice, cooked with water and coconut milk until it turns to a sticky dough, which is then rolled into balls and steamed.- Mangay Pajji – a slad of yogurt and ripe mangoes.

Mangalore. Mangalore is situated in the coastal region of South Karnataka. Mangalore and its surrounding villages along the coast, have a pleasant climate all year round. The location and climate help the growth of rice, coconut, coffee, tamarind, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, etc.

Rice and coconut, therefore feature in all meals. Fresh fruits like mango and jackfruit, which also are abundant in the region, is used in wide range of dishes from the tangy chutney or rasam to appa or adye. Come summer, the women of the typical Mangalorean household get busy with store-aways like papads, pickles and dried wafers. As situated on the coast , sea food cannot be neglected. Fish like pomfret, seer, mackerel and Mangalorean non-vegetarian menu.

-Bangude puli munchi – mackerels, rubbed with a mixture of tamarind paste, red chillies, ginger, garlic and salt and then slowly fried in oil.

-Bangda Ghashi – pieces of mackerel marinated in tamarind, coconut and masala paste, fried.

-Red prawn curry – prawn curry cooked with tamarind, coconut, red chillies.

-Sungata chutney – fried prawns, garlic, red chillies and onions pounded together to make a chutney.

- Kori Ghasi – chicken sautéed in a spicy masala and simmered in coconut milk.

- Vaingya Ambot – toordal and brinjals cooked in a coconut and chilli paste.

- Bitter Gourd Ghashi – bitter gourd sautéed with spices, tamarind and jaggery seasoned with mustard and curry leaves resulting in a sweet and sour dish.

- Gujje Ajadina – raw jackfruit, cut into dices, boile in slated water, alongwith a masala of coconut, red chillies, coriander and cumin seeds, tamarind, tempered with coconut oil, mustard seeds, urad dal, curry leaves and chopped onions.

The Mangalorians are famed for their sweet delicacies made almost entirely based on rice, jaggery, coconut and cardamom. Their variety and taste is amazing. A notable point is that, being quite often steamed they have a tendency to be light on the palate and on the heart. A few of them are.

- Patoli – rice paste, stuffed with sugar, cashewnuts, raisins, coconut,steamed until done.

- Maandas – ground rice and cucumber with coconut, jaggery, dry fruits and cardamom, steamed until done. - Mannini – rice paste with coconut milk and jaggery thickened, cooled and cut into pieces.

- Vorn – payasam made from moongdal and jaggery.

- Khiri – rice and coconut dumplings, simmered in jaggery and coconut milk, flavoured with cardamom.

Kerala.

Kearla is a story book tropical country. Legend says that Lord Parshuram created Kearala and handed it over to the Hindu Brahmins. Hence the original cuisine was totally vegetarian. Later, in early 40 A.D, St. Thomas an apostle of Christ touched Calicut on the coast of Kerala. Many of the Kings and the high caste Hindus who were the inhabitants of Kerala over the years, converted to Christianity. The Malayam speaking Muslims of Kerala, particularly the northern part of the state are known as ‘Maplahs’.

Thus the cuisine can be divided on the basis of religion as Hindus, Muslims, Christians and Jews.

Being in the south, the staple diet of Kerala falls in the rice category. Rice is had in various forms like boiled rice, ghee rice, coconut rice. Sometimes rice is had in the form of Kanji accompanied by roasted papad and pickle. Coconuts are used in the most astonishing ways- coconut is ground with red chillies, coriander and small onions and a few peppercorns for a simple gravy. The same masal may be stir fried and then ground for a more aromatic gravy. For all pachadis, coconut paste is flavoured with coarsely ground mustard. Small mangoes are peeled and cooked with coconut chilli paste and curds. In the coastal areas, fish predominates. These are cooked in a variety of ways:

- Meen moilee – fish cooked with onions, tomatoes and coconut.

- Meen Kootan – or fish in coconut sauce- fish cooked along with ground coconut, ginger, green chillies, curry leaves, bits of tart green mango. The fish is not stirred but the vessel is just shaken.

- Sardines are cooked very simply with lots of red chilly powder and kodampoli.

- Chicken and mutton and lof late beef are used for cooking. Popular way of cooking meat is: chunks of meat cooked dry, sautéed golden, covered in masala; or meat curry where extractions of coconut milk adds richness to the gravy. Then there is the classic meat/chicken stew, where meat/chicken and potatoes are simmered gently in a white sauce flavoured with black pepper, cinnamon, cloves, green chillies, lime juice, shallots and coconut milk. This stew is eaten with Appams – rice flour pancakes with a soft thick spongy centre and thin goden crisp lacelike edges.

- Erachi Olarthiatu – beef is boiled with roasted coriander seeds, red chillies, cloves, cumin, onions, garlic, ginger, fried coconut chips and little vinegar.

A typical festive vegetarian menu would consist of the following items:Plain boiled rice, Parippu, Nai, Sambhar, Rasam, Avial, Olan, Kalan, Pumpkin Erussery, Vendakkai Kichedi, Thoran, Mezhukku – Puratti, Upperi, Shakarapuratti Upperi. Pazham, Inji curry, Manga curry, Pappadam and Payasam. Traditionally served on banana leaves.

- Parippu – roasted moongdal, boiled and seasoned with salt.

- Nai – clarified butter or pure ghee.

- Sambhar – toordal cooked with a mixture of diced vegetables like brinjals, potatoes, ladies fingers, drumsticks, tomatoes flavoured with sambhar masala, tamarind pulp, coconut paste, tempered with mustard seeds, curry leaves, red chillies and asafetida.

- Avial – raw banana, snake gourd, madras cucumber, raw mangoes, drumstick, yam (suran), fresh chawli beans, potatoes all cut into tick batons, boiled with salt and turmeric, bound with a thick paste of ground coconut, green chillies, cumin seeds, moistened with curds, flavoured with coconut oil and curry leaves.

- Olan – ash gourd, arvi, pumpkin cut into thick bread slices, cooked with green chillies, mixed with cooked dry beans seasoned with salt and flavoured with thick coconut extract.

-Kalan – dices of raw banana and yam (suran) cooked with turmeric, peppercorns, chilly powder, mixed with a thick paste of ground paste – red chillies and peppercorns, moistened with curds, tempered with curry leaves, mustard seeds, methi seeds and red chillies.

- Pumpkin Erussery – boiled and mashed red pumpkin, flavoured with sliced shallots and grated coconut fried to a light brown colour and coconut and green chilly paste, tempered with coconut oil, mustard seeds, curry leaves, red chillies.

- Thoran – finely chopped vegetables such as cabbage or fresh beans or fresh chawli beans, cooked dry, flavoured with ground coconut, green chillies and cumin seeds.

- Mezhukkupuratti – boiled vegetables, stir fried in coconut oil until crisp and brown.

- Upperi – banana wafers.

- Sarkara puratti upperi – jaggery coated banana wafers.

- Pazham – ripe small yellow bananas.

- Inji curry – finely chopped, deep fried ginger and coconut, made into a pickle, mixed with tamarind pulp, jaggery, seasonings, tempered with mustard seeds, red chillies, curry leaves.- Pappadum – papad, served deep fried.

- Payasam – sweet prepared from rice, or moongdal cooked in milk or coconut milk, sweetened with jaggery or sugar, garnished with fried cashewnuts and chopped coconut.

Tamil Nadu.

Tamil Nadu literally means ‘Land of Tamils’. The state as we know of today, was formed in 1956. Tamil Nadu is well known for its tourist places like Ooty, the temples of Mdurai and Trichnapalli, the pilgrim centre of Rameshwaram, Kodaikanal, etc.

The majority of the people here are Hindus and hence the cuisine is mainly vegetarian with rice and lentils dominating the cuisine. In ancient times, Tanjore was known as the rice bowl of the South. As Tamil Nadu is bordered by sea and ocean on two sides, it has a vast coastline and hence we find a lot of influence of seafood in the cuisine. The cuisine of Kerala, Andhra and Karnataka also affect the cuisine of Tamil Nadu to a greate extent.

The most common and well known Tamilian breakfasts are Idli, Dosai, Adai, Oothappam and sambhar. As rice plays a major role, it also dominates the breakfast dishes of Tamil Nadu which have rice as the main ingredient.

- Dosais are made up of a batter of ground rice and urad dal, bit of fenugreek. The batter is fermented overnight. It is the flattened into pancakes on a hot tawa, using a little oil to prevent it from sticking to the tawa. It is cooked on both the sides. It is eaten with coconut chutney and sambhar.

- Masala Dosais are dosais with a stuffing of potato bhaji.

- Rawa Dosai is a variation of the original dosai where rawa (semolina), curds, maida, chillies, ginger are added to the batter.

- Idlis are another breakfast item prepared from the same batter as dosais, but the batter is thicker and it is poured into moulds which are then steamed in a closed vessel. Idlis are also eaten with chutney and sambhar. Another accompaniment for idlis is special chutney powder made with chana dal, urad dal, toor dal, chillies, hing. This powder is mixed with oil and had with idlis and dosais.

- Adai, similar to dosai in preparation has additional ingredients of chana dal, toor dal, grated coconut, red chillies, onions and hing in the batter. Adais are also cooked on hot greased tawa and eaten with sambhar and chutney.

- Oothappams are prepared from a batter similar to dosai, but the pancake is thicker, and the texture a bit softer than dosai.

- Kanchipuram idli is prepared from the idli batter flavoured with cumin, peppercorns, ginger and asafoetida.

A traditional Tamil Nadu lunch is had sitiing crosslegged on the ground, the food being served on a banana leaf. The meal consists of first the rice course, which is plain boiled rice. This is had with large amounts of pure ghee flavoured with turmeric roots and leaves. The second course would be flavoured rice – tamarind rice, lime rice. The next course is rice with one of the most well known South Idian dishes – the Sambhar. Sambhar is prepared with toordal boiled with dices of vegetables like potatoes, brinjals, white pumpkin, tomatoes, flavoured with sambhar masala and coconut and tamarind pulp, finished with a tempering of oil, mustard seeds, red chillies, curry leaves and asafetida. The other accompaniments are vegetable preparations like poriyal (finely chopped vegetables seasoned with mustard topped with freshly grated coconut), pachadi (yogurt preparation with vegetables, coconut and mustard seeds paste and a tempering of mustard seeds, shallots, green chillies and curry leaves), rasam – an appetizer cum digestive cum accompaniment. It comes in several flavours such as tomato and lime or pepper. Pappadums, as accompaniments are served throughout the meal.

The other popular accompaniments are- Rasavangi – sambhar with tiny egg-shaped brinjals-.

- Vendaka curry – crisp thin fritters of Okra (lady fingers) dipped in besan batter and deep fried. (In Tamil Nadu, the word ‘curry’ seems to indicate a dry preparation).

- Keerai Poricha Kootu – toordal and spinach thickened with a fresh coconut paste.

- Rasavade – urad dal vadas. Soaked in rasam.

The third course is rice, curds, pickle and pappadums. The last course is the sweet. This mainly consists of payasams made of rice or dal as the main ingredient, milk and coconut milk (extract) for liquid and sugar or jaggery or both for sweetening. Payasams are flavoured with crushed or powdered cardamom and further enriched with dry fruits – cashewnuts, raisins and fresh chopped coconut pieces, fried in pure ghee. The meal tends to end this way, hot fiery courses followed by bland, soothing ones.

The non-vegetarian dishes of Tamil Nadu mainly consist of chicken, mutton, fish and rarely beef or pork. The Chettiyar community of Chettinad, traders, merchants and money lenders by profession have a cuisine of their own.

- Meer Varuval – fried fish.

- Varuval Kola – fried meatballs made with a creamy paste of meat, cshews, poppy seeds, coconut and fennel seeds.

- Koli Kulambu – chicken cooked in a spicy tamarind water.

- Idi Appam – freshly made with vermicelli seasoned with mustard seeds and urad dal.

- Chettinad fried chicken – chicken cut up into small pieces, rubbed with salt and turmeric, stir fried into a tempering of little oil with mustard seeds, urad dal, fennel seeds, red chillies and chopped onions, sprinkled with salted water to help cook the chicken to a golden brown colour.

Andhra Pradesh.

Andhra Pradesh, the largest state of South India, touches the Bay of Bengal on the east and is washed by the rivers – Godavari, Krishna and Tungabhadra. It covers the black plateau of northern Deccan hills. Here’s the land which gives Andhra a rich crop of peanuts, pulses, rice, tobacco, cotton and the famous Guntur red chillies.

The people of Andhra are basically vegetarian but in the coastal areas and river basins, a lot of non-vegetarian cuisine comprises of idlis, dosas, rice, dals and delicacies made from urad, moong, toor and rice.

A traditional Andhra meal consists of rice as the main dish. The rice may be eaten with a chutney powder or pickle followed by a cereal, a curry and then a ‘pulusu’ ( a stew like curry made of vegetables such as spinach , fenugreek or mixed vegetables). The last serving of rice is eaten with curds, an ideal cooling after all the exciting spicy flavours before it.

Rice is eaten in various forms in an Andhra household.1. Rice plain boiled.2. Rice mixed with buttermilk and tempered with green chillies, urad dal,

lentil, curry leaves. It is known as ‘Daddojanam’.3. Chilranamu – similar to lime rice.4. Rice and urad dal batter to make dosas and idlis.5. Rice flour is used as a thickening for soups which are traditionally called

‘Pulusus’. Unlike other soups, these are not eaten by themselves but mixed with rice and consumed.

The other popular dishes are:-- Pesarettu – a thick pancake made out of a batter of green gram served with chutney.

- Pulihara – boiled rice, flavoured with tamarind pulp, roasted and crushed urad dal and chana dal and tempered with mustard seeds and curry leaves.

- Chaaru- a light digestive soup, using water, tamarind, tomatoes, peppercorns, fenugreek seeds, tempered with mustard, cumin and asafoetida.

- Kootu – vegetables in a thick gravy.

- Chakkana Pongal – sweet dish made from roasted rice and green gram, milk, sugar, cardamom, garnished with cashewnuts and raisins.

Hyderabad.

Hyderabad is the capital of the state of Andhra Pradesh. This tiny pocket in the heart of South India is a land of the volcanic deccan plateau famous for the diamonds of Golconda. The city still retains the atmosphereof royalty with temples, shrines and tombs, domes and minarets spread all over the land.The original name of Hyderabad was “Bhagganagar” which literally means ‘The city of fortune’. The city was built in the year 1591 and is of great historical importance. It was the capital of the state of Hyderabad which was the largest semi autonomous state, ruled by the Nizam, till it was merged with the independent country in 1948. the Nizam was reputed to be the richest man in the world during his times. Though the mughal rule ended they left behind precious fights namely their culture and cuisine. Over the years, their culture and cuisine has harmonized with that of India. Hyderabad cuisine has its own uniqueness.

Hyderabadi cuisine is rich and lots of spices and aromatic ingredients are used in the preparations. The mouth watering Kababs have rich flavour of spices and juiciness of the meat Biryanis. Pulao made with equal portions of rice and saffron Kacchi Biryani is a well known dish. Khorma – a rich meat curry fills the palate when eaten with roti or sheermal. Since majority of the population of the city is Muslim, delicacies are generally made from beef, mutton, duck, chicken and partridges and meat is consumed from breakfast to dinner. Tamarind and curd is used to cut down the spiciness.

Rice is the staple diet of Hyderabad, but wheat is also consumed and meat is usually used in all the meals.

The day begins with sumptuous Nahari for the breakfast. Nahari is a soup made with trotters of a lamb. The stock is allowed to simmer throughout the night. Early in the morning it is seasoned with “Potli ka masala”, which includes spices, khus dried rose petals, pathar ka phool, dhania, bayleaf etc (it is very similar to Bouquet Garni). The flavour of rising steam engulfs the morning air. This preparation is generally eaten with sheermail.

Khichtdi another popular breakfast item is eaten with kheema, ghee, papad and achaar. Khichtdi is made up of rice, lentils and ghee. Kheema is made out of minced meat, onions, ginger garlic, red chillies and potatoes. Sometimes parathas are also consumed with kheema and khingena or scrambled egg.

In lunch time, ambade-ki-bhaji, which is a dish of sour greens, is consumed with jowar ki roti.

- Baghara baingan - is made with small whole aubergines slit, and cooked gently in a nutty sauce of sesame seeds, groudnuts, coconut and tamarind. This is one of the most popular vegetarian dishes of Hyderabad.

- Tomato Kut - is an aromatic puree of fresh tomatoes, roasted channas, potli ka masala, onion, ginger, garlic tempered thrice at different stages with red chillies, whole garlic and jeera. It is deep red in colour and is often garnished with boiled eggs.

- Dalcha - is a preparation wherein dried beans and lamb are perked up with tamarind, cumin, red chillies and curry leaves. This delectable dalcha is very similar to a Persian preparation in which dal and meat are cooked together.

- Chippe ka gosht - are chunks of meat marinated in pastes of onion, green chillies, coconut, garlic, green masala and curd and then cooked very slowly in a clay pot so that the meat gets the flavour of earth. The name of the dish from ‘chippa’ meaning ‘earthernware’ in which it is served.

- Kacche kofta ki kadhi - is prepared with minced mutton, spices and roasted channa, formed into dumplings and added to curd gravy. Amras kofta is another preparation wherein mutton koftas are cooked in a mango gravy.

- Bagara gosht - is meat cooked in a tomato gravy. The other main ingredients used in the preparation of this are curd, giger, garlic and chilli powder. This preparation is served hot with chappati.

- Safed mass - is another popular meat preparation. The meat is cooked in the white gravy which is made out of curd, khuskhus, cashewnut paste, onions and ginger garlic paste, fresh cream and garam masala. This preparation is garnished with fresh cream.

- Dum ke pasinde – is meat and potatoes cooked in dum. The meat is without bones and the gravy is made up of curd and ginger garlic and khuskhus paste.

- Shammi kababs – are most popular of the kababs. Minced meat, along with minced onions, ginger garlic, chillies and herbs is cooked well (with a bit of channa dal) and mashed and shaped into rissoles of desired shapes. The rissoles are batter fried. These crisp and brown kababs are usually served at dinner time and are delicious with chutney or a piece of lemon. A sauce of ground sesame seeds is mixed with green chillies and tamarind paste to become a til chutney.

- Shikampuri kababs – are also popular. Minced meat. Roasted channa, onions, ginger garlic, herbs, peppercorns, bayleaf, green chillies are cooked together, ground and shaped into cutlets which are then fried.

- Halem is the outstanding dish of Hyderabad and comes originally from Middle Eastern countries. It is made out of pounded wheat cooked well with mutton. A very smooth paste of wheat kernels and cooked and mashed meat are simmered for a long time. It is a very difficult and time consuming process but the outcome is excellent. It has to be eaten with a squeeze of lemon, fried onions and hard boiled eggs.

- Kachhi Biryani – of Hyderabad is probably the most known item and there is apopular belief that whoever eats Hyderabad Biryani once will return to the city. The meat is marinated with curd, spices, ginger garlic paste and cooked. Khoya, lime juice, mint leaves and par boiled rice are arranged in layers and saffron is sprinkled on top. It is allowed to cook after covering it with a tight fitting lid sealed with dough.

- Sheermal – is a Hydearabadi bread made out of fermented dough which is flavoured with saffron. This is a very spongy bread. Mirchi ka salan, kofte ka salan and khatti dal are other items.

- Lukmi – is ravioli like square pastry dough filled in the centre with spiced minced meat and deep fried. Methi murgh is chicken cooked with freshly sprouted greens.

The sweets of Hyderabad are delicious and rich. “Badam ki Jali” is a famous royal sweet made with almonds, is light, round marzipan sandwiches where the top layer reveals silver waran and colour sprinkled.

- Double ka Meetha – is a glorious bread pudding prepared with fried bread slices, sugar syrup, khoys, cardamom, pistas, raisins and is covered with cream. This sweet is rich and delicious.

- Ashrafi – are coins made with khoya and had a print of Nizam’s gold coin.

- Kurmani ka Metha – is a sweet made from apricots, sugar and cream. It is decorated with almonds and is served chilled.

- Gille Firdose – meaning sweet from heaven is made with doodhi, rice, milk, khoya, sugar and nuts.

- Egg Pyosi – is baked preparation made up of eggs, khoya, fat and sugar and sprinkled with powdered cardamom and chopped pistas.

- Sheerka Korma or Sevaiyan – is served on the Id day. It is prepared with vermicelli, milk, sugar, khoya, almonds, cashews, dates etc.

Hyderabadi cuisine is rich and varied. It is unique and should not be confuse with cuisine of the Mughals though it has been largely influenced by the mughal cuisine. Hyderabadi cuisine is certainly an asset to the country.

Bengali Cuisine.

Whenever we think of Bengali food, the first thought that comes to mind is fish. Bengalis are extremely fond of fish and as a result of this, it plays a very predominant role in their cuisine. Even the Brahmin caste of Bengal eat fish as their staple diet. However, there is much more to their cuisine than fish. Originally, the state of Bengal covered a very large area and included modern day Bangladesh. The influences also cover areas of Bihar, Orissa and Assam. The food of Bangladesh is similar to that of Bengal but differs in its rich Muslim heritage. Some traditional Indian dishes like ‘Dhakai parathas’ trace their origin around Dhaka.

Cooking among the Bengalis is considered and act rather than a necessity. Bengali cuisine is very versatile and besides fish a large range of other raw materials are used, a variety of cooking methods are also used by steming, boiling and frying which predominate. Mustard oil is a must and permeates and flavours almost all the food. Mustard is not only used as an oil, but in the form of a paste and even as a tempering.

Rice grows abundantly in the plains and no meal is complete without a generous helping of boiled rice. The Bengalis prefer river/sweet water fish to the slat water/sea variety. ‘Hisla’ or ‘Elish’ is a perennial favourite. Fish can be served steamed, fried, smoked, made into patties or cutlets and at times even stuffed and baked. Not only is it eaten as a main course but can also be added to vegetables and dals (usually the head is used, after cleaning to flavour the dal). Small fish are usually fried whole until crisp while big fish are first cut into darne, seared first in oil and then simmered in a gravy. Other favourites among the fish are ‘Rohu’ (rui) ‘Bekti’ and shell fish like crabs, prawvs are eaten in large quantities. Popular Bengali fish preparations include Macher Jal , Doi Mach, Macher Kalia, Elichi Macher Paturi (similar to patrani macchi), Sarsee Mach and Chingri Macher Malai Kari.

Vegetables play a subsidiary role to rice and fish. There is a definite style for cutting vegetables to a size and thickness of a French fry inclined to a half moon shape. Vegetables are eaten on their own or can be added to egg and mutton curries. Sugar is added to all preparations, although in minute quantities, whether meat, fish or vegetables.

Unlike other cuisines Bengali food is not served altogether on a plate, but like a traditional French menu, course by course. You begin with something bitter, to clear the palate for the good food to follow. This is generally SHUKTO or vegetable curry of bitter gourd and other vegeatables. Next comes the rice, normally served with dal and a fried vegetable like aubergine cut into slices or quarters of fish, marinated in salt and turmeric and fried crisp. After this, comes a dry or gravied vegetable dish. The fish course follows and if two types are featured, one eats the lighter on e before the richer. Rice features constantly and

just as wine glasses are never allowed to remain empty in a French reataurant, the rice plate must be constantly refilled during a Bengali meal. If meat is being served, it follows the fish. Next comes a sweet and sour chutney to clear away the grease and fishy smell from the mouth and to prepare for the sweet meats curds. Finally ‘Paan’ is served at the end of the meal. Breads like rotis and Lunchies are often served. Plain parathas are also popular. Mostly these breads are eaten for breakfast along with jaggery and dry vegetable preparations (bhaji).

No account of Bengali cuisine is complete without a mention of their sweets. These have traveled throughout the world and are popular wherever Indians have migrated. “Misti Doi” or sweet curd a hot or rather a cold favourite. Milk is condensed to half its volume before sweetening and setting into curd in flat mud/clay vessels. “Gulab Jamun” and “Rossogullas” (made out of cow’s milk only) are perennial favourites. “Sandesh” forms the base for other sweets and “Chum Chum” malai sandwich are popular. Payesh is thicker version of the rice kheer/payasam and illustrates the role of rice on a Bengali menu.

Some most popular/favourite preparations are :-

- Macher Jhal – this is bengali’s everyday fish dish. It is eaten with plain rice with any other vegetables and dal maybe served along with it. Fish is lightly smeared with salt and turmeric, cooked in a gravy of onions and ginger paste, powdered spices and crushed garam masala.

- Doi Mach – lightly seared fish, cooked in acurd gravy along with onions, ginger and cumin seeds.

- Elish Bhapa – cut pieces of Hilsa are mixed with a paste of mustard seeds, mustard oil and red chillies, green chillies, turmeric and salt. The fish is then wrapped in banana leaves and then steamed, sometimes along with rice.

- Manghor Jhol – simple lamb and potato dish, cooked in musatard oil with lots of black pepper, cumin, coriander, green chillies and a touch of sugar.

- Sorse Murgi – very typical Bengali chicken curry, using mustard green chilli and turmeric paste, cooked in mustard oil.

- Chingri Maacher Jhol – (prawn malai curry) Prawns/Shrimps, cooked in mustard oil with a masala of black and yellow mustard seeds, red chilli powder and a tempering of Kalonji.

- Timatar chutney – In Bengal, sweet or sour chutneys are served after all the mani courses just before dessert as palate cleaners. This chutney is made with tomatoes, bits of dried mango, red chilli powder and a tempering of panchphooran.

- Bhajas – can be made out of most vegetables such as brinjals, potatoes with skin, pumpkin, onions, cauliflower, sweet potatoes. The sliced vegetables maybe rubbed with salt and turmeric and deep fried or, dipped into a besan batter before frying.

- Shukto – a staple starter at lunch time, lightly bitter in flavour (this bitterness comes from bitter greens or any other bitter vegetable) cooked with ginger and ground mustard seeds, spiced with the traditional panchphooran combination.

-Misti Doi – or sweetened curd, made with thickened milk and well set, it is a delicacy and most popularly eaten with Sandesh.

- Sandesh – made from very fresh cheese (chhana) that is squeezed of all the whey, kneaded into a dough and then pressed into a mould. Sandesh is made with saffron, (very traditional and expensive). Sandesh sandwiches are also filled with reduced milk.

- Rassogolla – Chhana dough (cheese dough) rolled into balls and boiled in sugar syraup until it puffs up and becomes spongy.

- Chum Chum – chhana dough, shaped into diamonds, boiled in syrup and served with dollops of reduced milk.

- Lady Kenny – named after Lady Canning, the wife of the 19th century governor general of India. This sweet is prepared by mixing chhana with rice flour, reduced milk and rose essence, then fried and put into syrup.

- Payesh – rice cooked in milk, thickened, flavoured with cardamom, enriched with cashewnuts, pista and raisins.

The mid-morning and late afternoon snacks are known as ‘Jalkhasbar’. They could comprise of a simple cold coffee served with a singhara – a kind of samosa/savoury pastry filled with minced meat or potatoes and peas, or Luchi or Radhaballobi with Allodum.

Bihar.

Bihar has been sandwiched between two progressive and dominating states of Bengal and U.P. Bihari eating styles have assimilated a little of the two. The majority of the Bihari’s are vegetarians.

In north Bihar, ‘chana’ or pressed rice and dahi are popular, whereas ‘sattu’ or powdered gram dal is eaten in South Bihar.

Just a quick washing of the pressed rice (chuna) makes it soft and mixed with curds and sugar or jaggery, it becomes an instant health food, particularly suited to the humid North Bihar climate.

Sattu (roasted, powdered gramdal) is mixed with water and salt made into a dough and eaten with onions and green chillies or it is sweetened with sugar or jaggery or turned into a sherbet with cardamom and cloves and made into a drink with milk and water.

No dicussionon Bihari cuisine would be complete without the mention of ‘Littis’. Littis are circular mounds of wheat dough, baked on a griddle or they can be baked in an oven. Littis are stuffed with a mixture of roasted sattu, onion, ginger, garlic, grren chillies, kalonji and ajwain. The thinner the crust of the littis, the better. The stuffing is substantial and not a drop of oil is used and this is where it differs from the Baati of Rajasthan, which is drenched in pure ghee. Littis are baked till black spots appear on the surface. They are served with a fiery chutney made of coriander leaves, green chillies, tamarind, ginger and garlic.

A flatter and thicker paratha, made the same way as littis, again using sattu stuffing is called ‘Mani’. A few drops of mustard oil and amchoor form part of the filling. The dough is softer and baked without oil. All this is washed down with sattu sherbet, which is prepared by mixing sattu with water, lime juice, black salt, pinches of roasted and powdered coriander, cumin and ajwain. This helps in digestion.

Bihari cuisine does not end here. Khichdi is a favourite food eaten with alu bharta (boiled, mashed potatoes, sautéed onions and spices), baingan bhurta (roasted brinjals, treated the same way), tomato chutney, pickles, papad and ghee. Mixed dals and potato dishes are a must at each meal. Totis are also made in various ways. Poories and stuffed Kachories are some of the delicacies. The food is traditionally cooked in ghee and mustard oil.