India is a country which is famous for its culture and cuisine. Indian cuisine consist a variety of food recipes ranging from historic era’s famous foods to newly discovered food items with few twist and turns. It also provides the best vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes found around the world.
Each region in India boasts of its specific flavor and every state has one or more dish to endorse. With region, changes taste, cuisine, ingredients, specialties and history of food. Following are the few best Indian vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes.
Indian Food Recipes:
1. Pulao:
Pulao is a famous vegetarian food which is cooked very often in every house. It is basically a North Indian dish but it is famous all around the country as it’s much easier to cook with very less ingredients. It requires basic ingredients like basmati rice, few spices, cashews and raisins. There are many ways to make and customize a simple vegetable pulao like you can add chopped vegetables in it or soya beans in it or add egg, chicken, mutton to turn it into a non-vegetarian dish.
2. Biryani:
The most popular dish in India is biryani. It is also a rice based dish cooked with spices, rice (basmati), and chicken/mutton/fish/egg or simply with potato. It was invented by the Mughal emperors. The spices and other ingredients used in biryani include ghee (clarified butter), nutmeg, mace, pepper, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaves, coriander, ginger, onions and garlic. For garnish ingredients like raisins, cashew nuts and even caramelized onion are also used. Biryani is a delicacy, savory, and a must try indeed!!
3. Daal baati :
Rajasthani food is incomplete without the mention of daal baati. The daal is served along with baati which is made of wheat flour, yoghurt, salt and oil. For preparing baati it is important to make the dough first. Then small balls are made from the dough and are boiled in water later baked or can be fried for richer version. For making daal, rajma (kidney beans) and urad daal are used. It is cooked separately and later served along with the baatis.
4. Chili butter prawn:
It is a simple recipe for prawns in a garlicky sauce which makes it a delicious dish as an starter or side-dish. Prawns cooked in butter, garlic, lemon juice and parsley tastes even better with the help of mustard. Serve with fresh crusty bread.
5. Aloo poha:
Poha is the Indian name of beaten rice. It is cooked in various ways along with different ingredients. It include ingredients like soaked poha (beaten rice), potato and onion finely chopped, mustard seeds, curry leaves, split black lentils and chana daal, peanuts and coriander leaves for garnishing. It is a complete vegetarian dish which is mainly taken as breakfast or as evening snacks.
6. Tandoori Chicken:
Foods cooked on tandoor have a different flavor of its own. Tandoori chicken makes a regular appearance in all the Indian restaurants. An authentic tandoori chicken is marinated in yogurt, lemon juice and plenty spices for at least 8 hours or overnight then are grilled in tandoor or oven. It is served by sprinkling some chaat masala powder on it and with slices of cucumber, onion rings and lemon wedges. This chicken recipe is easy and delicious!
7. Paratha:
Paratha (flat bread) is one of the most used/known flat breads in the western part of the Indian subcontinent and is simple to make too. It is often stuffed with potatoes, leafy vegetables, radishes, cauliflower, and paneer (cottage cheese) or can be eaten simply with a part of butter spread on top/ chutney/ pickles or with yoghurt/meat/vegetable curries.
8. Chappali Kebab:
Kebab are mainly made using minced meats like chicken, mutton, lamb, pork even with fish but now a days various vegetarian kebabs are also made using different chopped vegetables. First chop the meat, boiled eggs, chilies, ginger, garlic, onion, coriander leaves and mint. Mix all the chopped ingredients along with salt, crushed black pepper and green chilies. Make small patties of the dough and shallow fry on medium heat with ghee or oil in a pan.
9. Navratna Korma (nine-gem curry):
This is a delicious dish which got its name Navratan (meaning nine gems) from the nine different vegetables, fruits and nuts used in it. Serve it with hot naans and you’re sure to impress.
10. Mutton Haleem:
It is a stew popular in the Middle East, central Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Although the dish varies from region to region it always includes wheat, barley, lentils, spices and meat (usually mutton). This dish is slow cooked for 7-8hours which results in a paste like consistency, blending the flavors of spices, meat, barley and wheat.
11. Dum Aloo:
The potatoes used in this dish are usually smaller ones which are first deep fried then cooked slowly at low flame in gravy with spices. It is generally eaten up as a side dish along with parathas or naans or rice.
12. Fish Curry/Macher Jhol/Macher Ghonta:
It is a traditional Bengali and Oriya fish curry. Since fish is quite regular in these cuisines, making curry is the easiest way to cook the fish. Generally this curry is made of fish head and that’s the very reason it is known as ghonta which means the head of the fish.
13. Malai Kofta:
Malai kofta is a popular classic north Indian dish originated from the mughlai cuisine. Malai refers to the cream and koftas are fried paneer balls floating in it. It is the vegetarian alternative to meatballs where the balls are made up of grated paneer, mashed tomato, chopped green chilies, chili and cumin powder, chopped coriander leaves and salt. The gravy is made of ginger garlic paste, sahi jeera, tomato onion paste and cream. This dish is best served hot with chapatti, naan, all pulaos and parathas.
14. Egg Curry:
There are several different styles for making egg curry. It is a main course dish cooked with egg and with other spices. First boil the eggs and potato pieces. In a hot pan fry the spices in the oil first, then add chopped tomatoes and stir it till thick gravy is formed. Add the boiled eggs and potatoes in it. Cook for few more minutes and they are ready to serve hot.
15. Stuffed Naan:
Other main course dish after rice comes the rotis, chappatis, parathas or naans. Basically these are the Indian version of breads which are eaten along with other gravy or dishes. It is made in the same way like the normal plain naans. But in case of stuffed naans, it is stuffed with various vegetables like boiled and mashed potatoes, grated onions, chilies, coriander and salt. It is served hot and fresh along with butter.
16. Indian Steamed Momo:
These are the Indian meat dumplings famous in North East India. They are even made with using vegetables instead of meat. This appetizer is delicious and is easily cooked on steamers. It is filled with minced meat of any choice or chopped vegetables served with tomato chutney/sauce and a clear soup called Thupka.
17. Pudina Paneer:
Paneer/ cottage cheese are one of the favorites of many vegetarians. One of the best paneer dish is pudina (mint) paneer. For preparing these recipes we just need to fry the sliced onions till they turn brown in color. Then add turmeric powder, chili powder, salt, tomato pulp and cook it till it dries. Then add paneer, pudina and tomato slices, garam masala. Cook it for just 2minutes and they are ready to be served.
18. Kaaju Paneer Masala:
After paneer pudina, there is another dish using paneer which is similarly hit in restaurants is kaaju paneer masala. Use of kaaju or cashew and watermelon seeds made this dish very rich, exotic and creamy dish. It is basically as side dish for rotis, naans and parathas. Cashew and poppy seeds combine with the staple onions and tomato to form the base of this curry. Cream and full fat milk along with paneer, simmered in aromatic spices like garam masala and kasuri methi make it fit to be fed. This is a wonderfully recipe to impress your Indian guests at dinner.
19. Potato in curd gravy:
Potato in curd gravy is a famous dish which is eaten along with plain rice. To make this recipe we need to cut the potatoes in big pieces, boil it and mash few pieces with hand. Mix red chili powder, dhania powder, turmeric powder and garam masala powder in ¼ cup water. Heat the oil and add cumin and mustard seeds. When they splutter, add ginger-garlic, chili and curry leaves. Add the masala mixture and fry for 2 minutes then add beaten curd in it. Fry it till the curd loses its whiteness then add water, potato and flour and stir well. Boil and simmer for 10 minutes till the gravy thickens. Garnish it with chopped coriander and serve hot with chapattis and rice.
20. Bharwa Machli (promfret):
In rice flour add chopped green coriander, ginger-garlic paste, jeera, tamarind puree, and green chili paste. Mix them well and marinate the clean-washed prom fret fish with it. Make few incisions on the fish and store some of the paste inside it. Keep the fish aside for 20-25 minutes then fry it in a pan and serve hot with few lemon juice squeezed on top of it.
21. Dhokla:
This nutritious snack from Gujarat is popular all over the country. It is a healthy snack which is way too easy and delicious too! It can be eaten as breakfast, side dish or even in main course. It is made with fermented batter derived from rice and chickpea splits (chana daal). This is made with chili pepper, coriander, ginger and baking soda. There are different kinds of dhokla prepared with different ingredients and ratios of chickpeas. Some of the popular kinds of dhoklas are khatta dhokla, rasia dhokla, khandhavi, cheese, toor daal, rawa, mixed daal.green peas and sandwich dhokla.
22. Roasted crab:
Crab is very delicious to eat. Since it has a hard shell cover it takes much long time to clean. This dish is used as either side dish or main course dish. To prepare roasted crab we first need to fry the ingredients like grounded coconut, red chilies, onion paste, ginger paste, salt, chopped cashew, , in a pan and make a paste of it. Cut and clean the crabs and cook it with this prepared paste. In a pan heat the ghee (clarified ghee) and add chopped onion, mustard seeds, chopped cashew and fry them well. Add these fried ingredients in the crab paste and cook for a while. Garnish it with ringlets of onion and serve hot.
23. Dosa (crispy savory pancakes):
Dosa is a famous South Indian staple food made in every home on a regular basis. It is a thin, spicy, crispy crepe-like food made from fermented rice. It is very popular in the rest of the country too, dosas are hugely popular and udipi restaurants serving them and other south Indian foods can be found in almost every suburb. Many types of dosas are now made using different stuffings in it like sambar dosa, rava dosa, masala dosa, omelet dosa etc. It may be served plain with sambar and chutney such as coconut chutney or other curry and gravy.
24. Gajer Halwa:
It is a traditional Punjabi dish made with carrots and milk. First in a pan fry the spices like cardamom and bay leafs in ghee, then add chopped carrots. Fry them till they lose all its water then add sugar and milk. Cook it stirring for a while. When done serve it hot garnishing with chopped cashew on top of it. It can be refrigerated for up to 2months. Just warm it before serving.
25. Motichoor Laddo:
These are made with very small sized boondi, almost like little rice pearls. It is made in any occasions be it a wedding, births or given as Prasad in Hindu temples. Besan(chickpea flour) is used to make laddu, rava (wheat semolina) and ground coconut. These are combined with sugar and other flavorings, cooked in ghee (clarified butter) and molded into a ball-shape.
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