We always say it: the cuisine of each country is a trip within the trip. And if you are in a country as immense and as different as India, then surprises are guaranteed!
During this first month in northern India (the south is another issue!) We could only poke our heads in the great variety of Indian cuisine, but 5 things have been very clear ...
- Food hot spicy, here is really spicy.
- If you ask not spicy, they will bring you equally spicy In most cases.
- There is a lot of food vegetarian (But the carnivores are not going to die ... meat is found!)
- In general the food is very rich.
- There is less street food than in the rest of Asia ... but there is, and the fritangosa!
But it is worth a preamble and we go to the chicha ...what do you eat in india? What have we eaten since we arrived and what are the best dishes of Indian cuisine? Well keep reading man!
| CURRY & CO
Let's break a myth: Curry is not curry. I explain: the word curry comes from the word kari which means pepper, which the English "adopted" to Define any dish with spicy sauces, which are called masala here.
And what about the curry you buy at the supermarket? Well, it was "invented" by English settlers who returned home after having lived (and eaten) in India ... they missed the taste of that exotic land and sought a remedy for it!
But in India it is different: there are many types of different masalas. For example, garam masala is made with cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg and black pepper. Spices here are a world!
PAN VS RICE
Wheat is the basis of food in the north of the country, and rice in the south. Although both sides meet each other.
Muffins There are many, the most famous are:
- NAN:Baked flour cakes, can be with cheese, garlic, butter or simple.
- CHAPATI:Wholemeal cakes cooked in the tandoori oven or on the tawa plate.
- PAPPADAM:Crunchy lentil flour crepes, we don't especially like it but its flavor is unique!
- PARATHA:It is a kind of naan stuffed with different ingredients: there are cheese, potatoes, cauliflower ...
Rice there is less, yet there are different:
- PLAIN RICE:White rice.
- JEERA RICE:cooked with cumin seeds.
- BUTTER RICE:Spiced with ghee, Indian butter.
- BIRYANI:It is a very rich type of flavored rice: it can be vegetable or meaty.
| MAIN DISHES (VEGETARIANS)
You will be surprised to see the large number of vegetarian dishes that appear on the restaurant menu. Some of our favorite VEGETARIAN dishes that you would have what to try in India They are:
- PALAK PANEER:A spinach masala curry with fresh cheese.
- PALAK MUTTER:Spinach and pea masala.
- MALAI KOFTA:Meatballs made of potatoes and fresh cheese dipped in sauce.
- ALOO JEERA:Sauteed potatoes with cumin seeds.
- ALOO PALAK:Potato and spinach masala.
- ALOO PALAK:Potato and spinach masala.
- ALOO GOBI:Potato and cauliflower masala.
- CHANNA MASALA:Chickpea masala.
- DAHL: Dahl generally means lentils. In India there are hundreds of lentil-based dishes, each different from the other! Just try and try and try and ...
- MATTAR PANEER:Pea masala with cheese.
- PANEER MASALA:masala with paneer.
Jeera aloo
Malai Kofta
Paneer masala
| THALI
The thali It is a great invention. If you do not know what to eat, ask for thali: it is a metal tray where you will put different dishes, in a cover plan. There are vegetarians and meat. They usually come with rice, nan, raita (yogurt sauce and vegetables), dhal (lentils), palak paneer (spinach with cheese).
Thali Pijo
Prices vary greatly depending on where you eat it: if it is in dhabhas (cheap street restaurants) it costs between 30-50 INR, until 150 INR if you eat in restaurants. In both cases, as soon as you finish something on the plate, in many places the waiters will come and put you more until you ask them to stop ... they are worse than the grandmothers!
Thali in hospital plan (in the temple of Amritsar)
| MAIN DISHES (NON-VEGETARIAN)
The great king of Indian "carnivorous" food is the chicken. The lamb is following closely and until now we did not see pig, good mentirosilla: we ate a carbonara with bacon :-p And although it seems weird, being a sacred animal, we did see and ate veal just outside a mosque in Mumbai.
There are many types of meat dishes with sauces (and in most cases they are quite spicy, so remember to ask the waiter for mercy!) Our favorites are:
- BUTTER CHICKEN / MURGH MAKHANI:Chicken with tomato sauce and butter ... incredibly good!
- CHICKEN KEBAB:Nothing to do with our kebabs: they are chicken skewers marinated in yogurt and spice sauce and cooked in tandori chicken.
- CHICKEN TANDORI:Very good: the chicken is macerated in spiced yogurt, a red dye is added that gives it a very characteristic color and is cooked in the tandori oven. It is eaten with lime. There are also fish made this way.
- CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA:boneless chicken in masala sauce.
Butter chicken
| FRIED RICE
In virtually all restaurants there are options to eat fried rice (veg- non veg) and fried noodles (veg- non veg). It is fine to take a break, especially since they are usually not spicy: it will hurry!
You can't stop trying the famous BIRYANI: rice flavored with vegetables or chicken, it is really delicious, although eye to spicy ... in this case sometimes they pass!
| WHAT IF I TIRED OF THE INDIAN FOOD?
Then ask for something else: in almost all menus of hostels and tourist restaurants there are italian, chinese, hamburger dishesWe even saw Mexican dishes and wiener-shnitzel! If you get tired of curry & co, there are alternatives!
| SNACKS AND STREET FOOD
Ok, Indian street food is not as varied as in Thailand or Malaysia, but there are delicious things, especially if you don't mind the fritanga!
The most common snacks are:
- SAMOSA: they are fried dough triangles (type empanadillas). They are usually vegetarian (potatoes and peas) but there is also a meat version. They bite but not very, so free way! 2 cost 10-20 INR.
- PAKORA: They are chickpea flour fritters stuffed with vegetables (there is also a version of potatoes, cheese, prawns, chicken).
- ALOO TIKKA: They are a kind of hamburger / meatloaf of potatoes.
- KACHORI: It is a kind of crushed dumplings filled with green soybeans, chickpeas and lentils.
- PANI PURI: They are a kind of round potato chips, which the seller breaks in the center and stuffed with a dough of potatoes, chickpeas and coriander. Then they bathe it with chili and a green sauce. It stings a lot. It costs 5 INR
- BHEL PURI: A very rare snack: it is a mix of puffed rice, onion, potatoes, lentils and sauces!
If you want advice on how to enjoy street food, without messing up, check out this post
| DRINKS
It is impossible to travel through India without falling in love with CHAI, delicious Indian tea, which is almost a religion in itself! It is quite a sight to see how they prepare it. If you dare (and you have to cheer up) try the CHAI MASALA (spicy slightly spicy).
Other rich drinks are:
- LASSI:a smooth yogurt smoothie that can be alone or with fruit such as mango, banana ... there is also a salty version :-p
- LEMON SODA:sparkling mineral water with sugar and lemon juice.
- BADAM MILK:Saffron milk, almonds, cashews, nuts ... very rich but not very light!
- And as… Beer: The Kingfisher is very rich and fresh (the 660 bottle costs around € 1.5).
| THE PAAN
The Indians are crazy about him Paan... but it is not bread, it is a betel leaf full of lime, spices, and betel nut (the reason why many have their teeth stained red!). There is sweet and salty version. We did not dare to try either…
The betel has a narcotic effect, so don't be surprised if more than one Indian looks at you with an amazing face!
| AND FOR DESSERT?
Here they are very sweet ... literally: They freak out desserts (mithai) , and the more sugary the better!
In each street there is a bakery and we, after a rigorous selection, have our favorite: GULAB JAMUN! They are balls of flour dough fried and bathed with liquor of roses ... delicious!
We also advise to try other cupcakes like:
- SCRATCH:Cheese balls dipped in rose syrup.
- JALEBI:fried doughs and bathed in sugar syrup
- Y PASTELITOS of pistachio, coconut, almond, nuts, honey and more ...
- But to cool off nothing better than ice cream (KULFI) there are mango, pistachio, chocolate ... mmm!
If you liked this gastronomic trip and want to continue gaining weight, you may want to know more about food from other parts of the world.
