Indian cuisine consists of a variety of regional and traditional cuisines native to the Indian subcontinent. Given the diversity in soil, climate, culture, ethnic groups, and occupations, these cuisines vary substantially and use locally available spices, herbs, vegetables, and fruits.
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, and Nepal With its origins in Uttar Pradesh, India, chaat has become immensely popular in the rest of South Asia.
Rajasthani cuisine is the traditional cuisine of the Rajasthan state 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.
Puri, also poori, is a type of deep-fried bread, made from unleavened whole-wheat flour, originated from the Indian subcontinent.
Mithai (sweets) are the confectionery and desserts of the Indian subcontinent. Thousands of dedicated shops in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka sell nothing but sweets.
Sindhi cuisine refers to the distinct native cuisine of the Sindhi people from Sindh, Pakistan. Sindhi cuisine has been influenced by Central Asian, Iranian, Mughal food traditions. It is mostly a non-vegetarian cuisine, with even Sindhi Hindus widely accepting of meat consumption. The daily food in most Sindhi households consists of wheat-based flat-bread (Mani) or rice accompanied by two dishes, one gravy and one dry with curd, papad or pickle. Freshwater fish and a wide variety of vegetables are usually used in Sindhi cuisine. Restaurants specializing in Sindhi cuisine are rare, although it is found at truck stops in rural areas of Sindh province, and in a few restaurants in urban Sindh.
Fiji Hindi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by Indo-Fijians. It is an Eastern Hindi and Bihari language, considered to be a koiné language based on Awadhi that has also been subject to considerable influence by Bhojpuri, other Eastern Hindi and Bihari dialects, and Standard Hindi-Urdu. It has also borrowed some vocabulary from English, Fijian, Telugu, Tamil, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, and Malayalam. Many words unique to Fiji Hindi have been created to cater for the new environment that Indo-Fijians now live in. First-generation Indians in Fiji, who used the language as a lingua franca in Fiji, referred to it as Fiji Baat, "Fiji talk". It is closely related to Caribbean Hindustani and the Bhojpuri-Hindustani spoken in Mauritius and South Africa. It is largely mutually intelligible with the languages of Awadhi and Bhojpuri, as well as with the Bihari languages of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhesh, Koshi, Bagmati, Gandaki and Lumbini, and the dialects of Eastern Hindi of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Lumbini, but differs in phonetics and vocabulary with Modern Standard Hindi and Urdu.
Luchi or lusi or luchui is a deep-fried flatbread, made of maida flour. Luchi is especially popular in the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, Odisha, West Bengal and Tripura and in the neighbouring country Bangladesh.
Peda or Pera is an Indian sweet that originated in the city of Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, India. Traditionally prepared as thick, semi-soft round balls, its main ingredients are khoa, sugar and traditional flavourings including cardamom seeds. It is brown in colour. Variant spellings and names for the dessert include pedha, penda and pera.
Bhojpuri cuisine is a style of food preparation common among the Bhojpuri people of Bihar, Jharkhand and eastern Uttar Pradesh in India, and also the Terai region of Nepal. 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.
Malpua, or sometimes shortened to pua, is a sweetened breakfast served with morning tea or as a snack with afternoon tea or as a dessert originating from the East Indian subcontinent, popular in Bhutan, India, and Nepal.
Panjiri is a Ayurvedic sweet dish from the Indian subcontinent which is specially prepared for Krishna Janmashtami festival. The sweet panjiri evolved from an Ayurvedic preparation called Panchajīraka.
Gujhia, also known as Gughara, Pedakiya, Purukiya, Karanji, Kajjikayalu, Somas, and Karjikayi, is a sweet, deep-fried pastry that is a popular dessert in the Indian subcontinent. This delicacy is made using either suji (semolina) or maida, which is stuffed with a mixture of sweetened khoa and dried fruits. The dumpling is then fried in ghee to give it a crispy texture.
Baigan bharta, also spelled bainganbharta or baigan chokha is an Indian dish prepared by mashing or mincing grilled eggplant (baigan) with tomato, onion, herbs and spices, with variations being common from chef to chef. Traditionally, cooking the eggplants over charcoals, inside of a tandoor, barbecue grill or oven, or even directly applying flame to the outside of the fruit infuses the dish with a smoky flavour; the blackened skin is then easily peeled and the eggplant may be further prepared.
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 Angika cuisine, Bhojpuri cuisine, Maithil cuisine and Magahi cuisine. Dal Puri
North Indian culture, also referred to as Hindustani culture, refers to the culture of northern Indian subcontinent formed over centuries of the region's history and has been influenced by other neighbouring cultures, notably that of Persia. Its origins date back to the Vedic era following the migrations of the Indo-Aryan peoples into India. It encompasses the Punjab, Kashmir, the Gangetic plain, Bengal, Rajasthan, Sindh, Gujarat, and the northern Deccan. The region has been historically referred to as Hindustan, and associated with the Hindustani music, the traditional North Indian clothing and North Indian cuisine.
Malaysian Indian cuisine, or the cooking of the ethnic Indian communities in Malaysia, consists of adaptations of authentic dishes from India, as well as original creations inspired by the diverse food culture of Malaysia. Because the vast majority of Malaysia's Indian community are of South Indian descent, and are mostly ethnic Tamils who are descendants of immigrants from a historical region which consists of the modern Indian state of Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka's Northern Province, much of Malaysian Indian cuisine is predominantly South Indian-inspired in character and taste. A typical Malaysian Indian dish is likely to be seasoned with curry leaves and whole and powdered spice, and to contain fresh coconut in various forms. Ghee is still widely used for cooking, although vegetable oils and refined palm oils are now commonplace in home kitchens. Before a meal it is customary to wash hands as cutlery is often not used while eating, with the exception of a serving spoon for each respective dish.
Sev is a popular Indian snack food consisting of small pieces of crunchy noodles made from chickpea flour paste, which are seasoned with turmeric, cayenne, and ajwain before being deep-fried in oil. These noodles vary in thickness. Ready-to-eat varieties of sev, including flavoured sev, are available in Indian stores.
Vada, vadai, wada, bara, or bora is a category of savoury fried snacks native to India. Vadas can be described variously as fritters, cutlets, or dumplings. Vadas are sometimes stuffed with vegetables and traditionally served with chutneys and sambar.
