Indian cuisine consists of a variety of regional and traditional cuisines native to India. Given the diversity in soil, climate, culture, ethnic groups, and occupations, these cuisines vary substantially and use locally available spices, herbs, vegetables, and fruits.
Punjabi cuisine is a culinary style originating in the Punjab, a region in the northern part of South Asia, which is now divided in an Indian part to the east and a Pakistani part to the west. This cuisine has a rich tradition of many distinct and local ways of cooking.
Raita is a side dish in Indian cuisine made of dahi together with raw or cooked vegetables, more seldom fruit, or in the case of boondi raita, with fried droplets of batter made from besan.
Chaat, or chāt is a family of savoury snacks that originated in India, typically served as an hors d'oeuvre or at roadside tracks from stalls or food carts across South Asia in India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh. With its origins in Uttar Pradesh, India, chaat has become immensely popular in the rest of South Asia.
Rajasthani cuisine is the cuisine of the Rajasthan region in North West India. It was influenced by various factors like the warlike lifestyles of its inhabitants, the availability of ingredients in an arid region and by Hindu temple traditions of sampradayas like Pushtimarg and Ramanandi. Food that could last for several days and could be eaten without heating was preferred. Scarcity of water and fresh green vegetables have also affected their cooking. Signature Rajasthani dishes include Dal Baati Churma, Panchratna Dal, Papad ro Saag, Gatte ro Saag, Ker Sangri. It is also known for its snacks like Bikaneri bhujia, Mirchi bada and Kanda kachauri. Other famous dishes include Dal Baati, malaidar special lassi (lassi) and Lashun ki chutney, Mawa lassi from Jodhpur, Alwar ka mawa, Malpauas from Pushkar and rasgulla from Bikaner, "paniya"and "gheriya" from Mewar. Originating for the Marwar region of the state is the concept Marwari Bhojnalaya, or vegetarian restaurants, today found in many parts of India, which offer vegetarian food of the Marwari people. The history also has its effect on the diet as the Rajputs preferred majorly a non-vegetarian diet while the Brahmin, Jains, and others preferred a vegetarian diet. So, the state has a myriad of both types of delicacies.
Maharashtrian or Marathicuisine is the cuisine of the Marathi people from the Indian state of Maharashtra. It has distinctive attributes, while sharing much with other Indian cuisines. Traditionally, Maharashtrians have considered their food to be more austere than others.
Baati is a hard, unleavened bread cooked in most of areas of Rajasthan, and in some parts of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat states of India. It is prized for its long shelf life and high nutritional content, and, in desert areas, for the minimal quantity of water required for its preparation. Baati is commonly eaten with dal, hence also referred to as dal baati. In some regions, especially Madhya Pradesh, it is also paired with a roasted aubergine mash called bharta. Baati is also closely related to Litti (cuisine), popular in eastern Uttar Pradesh (Varanasi) and western Bihar. Litti is eaten with potato, tomato and roasted aubergine.
Kadhi, or karhi, is a popular dish mainly consumed in South Asia. It consists of a thick gravy or soup based on gram flour, and it may contain vegetable fritters called pakora, which include dahi (yogurt) for a sour taste. It is often eaten with cooked rice or roti. Varieties of kadhi include those from Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, and Sindh, all of which are located in present-day India and Pakistan.
Bhojpuri cuisine is a style of food preparation common among the Bhojpuri people of the Indian subcontinent. Bhojpuri foods are mostly mild and tend to be less hot in terms of spices used. The cuisine consists of both vegetable and meat dishes.
Churma wahi wala is a popular Haryanvi, Rajasthani, Bihari, Uttar Pradesi, and Awadhi delicacy from India. In Punjab, the dish is called churi. It is coarsely ground wheat crushed and cooked with ghee and sugar.
Ghugni or ghuguni or guguni is a curry made of peas or chickpeas. Different variations of the dish use different types of peas or chickpeas, such as black gram, green peas, or white peas. It is a snack native to the Indian subcontinent, especially popular in Eastern India, Northeast India and in Bangladesh.
Baingan bharta or Baigan Chokha is an Indian dish prepared by mincing grilled eggplant (baingan) and mixing it with tomato, onion, herbs and spices. Grilling the eggplant over charcoal or direct fire infuses the dish with a smoky flavour. Mashed eggplant is then mixed with cooked chopped tomato, browned onion, ginger, garlic, cumin, fresh cilantro, chili pepper, and mustard oil or a neutral vegetable oil. Traditionally, the dish is often eaten with flatbread and is also served with rice or raita, a yogurt salad. In Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, it is served hot with litti or baati.
Bihari cuisine is eaten mainly in the eastern Indian state of Bihar, as well as in the places where people originating from the state of Bihar have settled: Jharkhand, Eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bangladesh, Nepal, Mauritius, South Africa, Fiji, some cities of Pakistan, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, Jamaica, and the Caribbean. Bihari cuisine includes Bhojpuri cuisine, Maithil cuisine and Magahi cuisine.
Litti, sometimes, along with chokha, is a complete meal that originated from the Bhojpuri region of the Indian states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. It is a dough ball made up of whole wheat flour and stuffed with gram flour, pulses and mixed with herbs and spices. It is baked over coal or wood and tossed with large amounts of ghee. Although very often confused with the closely related Rajasthani dish, baati, it is a completely different dish in terms of taste, texture and preparation. It may be eaten with curd, brinjal chokha, potato chokha, and papad. The litti are traditionally baked over a wood fire, but in the modern days, a new fried version has been developed.
Gujarati kadhi is a Gujarati version of kadhi. It is a very popular Gujarati dish made from buttermilk or dahi (yogurt) and gram flour. Kadhi is an essential part of Gujarati cuisine.
Gram flour or besan is a pulse flour made from chana daal or brown/kaala chana, a chickpea. It is a staple ingredient in the cuisine of the Indian subcontinent, including in Indian, Bangladeshi, Burmese, Nepali, Pakistani, Sri Lankan and Caribbean cuisines.
Maithil cuisine, also known as Mithila cuisine, is a part of Indian and Nepalese cuisine. It is the traditional cooking style of Maithils residing in the Mithila region of India and Nepal.
Kanji is a rice water based dish traditionally prepared in Odisha. Depending on how it is prepared, it is eaten as a porridge, soup or curry. It is one of the Chappan Bhog offered to Lord Jagannath of Puri as part of the last meal of the day. During the Odia festival of Kanji Anla Osha, kanji is offered to Goddesses Sathi.
