A samosa is a fried South Asian pastry with a savoury filling, including ingredients such as spiced potatoes, onions, peas, meat, or fish. It is made into different shapes, including triangular, cone, or crescent, depending on the region. Samosas are often accompanied by chutney, and have origins in medieval times or earlier. Sweet versions are also made. Samosas are a popular entrée, appetizer, or snack in the cuisines of South Asia, the Middle East, Central Asia, East Africa and their South Asian diasporas.
Paneer, also known as panir, is a fresh acid-set cheese common in the cuisine of the Indian subcontinent made from full-fat buffalo milk or cow milk. It is a non-aged, non-melting soft cheese made by curdling milk with a fruit- or vegetable-derived acid, such as lemon juice.
Jalebi is a popular sweet snack in South Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Mauritius. It goes by many names, including jilapi, zelepi, jilebi, jilipi, zulbia, jerry, mushabak, z’labia, zengoula or zalabia.
Rasgulla is a syrupy dessert popular in the eastern part of South Asia. It is made from ball-shaped dumplings of chhena dough, cooked in light sugar syrup. This is done until the syrup permeates the dumplings.
South Asian cuisine, includes the traditional cuisines from the modern-day South Asian republics of Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, also sometimes including the kingdom of Bhutan and the emirate of Afghanistan. Also sometimes known as Desi cuisine, it has been influenced by and also has influenced other Asian cuisines beyond the Indian subcontinent.
Bangladeshi cuisine has been shaped by the region's history and river-line geography. Bangladesh has a tropical monsoon climate. The staple of Bangladesh is rice and fish. The majority of Bangladeshi people are ethnic Bengali, accustomed to Bengali cuisine, with a minority of non-Bengalis, many used to cuisines from different traditions and regions. Bangladeshi cooking features more meat dishes than the cuisine of neighbouring West Bengal, India.
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.
Odia cuisine is the cuisine of the Indian state of Odisha. Compared to other regional Indian cuisines, Odia cuisine uses less oil and is less spicy, while nonetheless remaining flavourful. Rice is the staple food of this region. Mustard oil is used in some dishes as the cooking medium, but ghee is preferred in temples. Odia foods traditionally served either on brass, bronze metal plates, banana leaf or disposable plates made of sal leaves.
Khoa, khoya, khowa or mawa is a dairy food widely used in the cuisines of the Indian subcontinent, encompassing India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan. It is made of either dried whole milk or milk thickened by heating in an open iron pan. It is lower in moisture than typical fresh cheeses such as ricotta. It is made up of whole milk instead of whey.
Chhena poda is a cheese dessert from the Indian state of Odisha. Chhena poda literally means Baked Cheese in Odia. It is made of well-kneaded homemade fresh cheese chhena, sugar, semolina, and is baked for several hours until it browns. Chhena poda is known as one of the Indian dessert whose flavor is predominantly derived from the caramelisation of sugar.
Pantua is a local confection from the Indian subcontinent, notable in West Bengal, Eastern India and Bangladesh. It is a traditional Bengali sweet made of deep-fried balls of semolina, chhena, milk, ghee and sugar syrup. Pantuas range in colour from pale brown to nearly black depending on how long they are fried. Rose water, cardamom or other flavourings are sometimes added to the sweet.
Rasabali is a sweet dish from Odisha, India. Rasabali is offered to Baladevjew, and originated in the Baladevjew Temple of Kendrapara. It is one of the Chapana bhoga of Jagannath temple. Kendrapara's Rasabali got GI tag on 3 October 2023.
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, Nepal and Bangladesh.
Chhena gaja is a sweet dish from Odisha, India. Unlike some other popular chhena-based Odia desserts, such as rasagola, which have spread throughout India, the chhena gaja remains largely popular within the state itself.
Chhena kheeri is a sweet dish originally from coastal Odisha in eastern India.
Chhena jhili is a popular dessert from cuisine of Odisha, India. Its birthplace is Nimapada in Puri district. It is prepared in fried cheese and sugar syrup.
Chhena or chhana is a kind of cheese originating from the Indian subcontinent that is made from water buffalo or cow milk by adding food acids such as lemon juice and calcium lactate instead of rennet and straining the whey through filtration.
Zalabiyeh is a fritter or doughnut found in several cuisines across the Arab world, West Asia and some parts of Europe influenced by the former. The fritter version is made from a semi-thin batter of wheat flour which is poured into hot oil and deep-fried. The earliest known recipe for the dish comes from a 10th-century Arabic cookbook and was originally made by pouring the batter through a coconut shell.
