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Indian Vegetarian Food

Many Indian recipes were developed according to the laws and principles of nature, or dharma. These principles state that we are basically what we eat, as different foods affect our bodies in different ways. We eat to live, not live to eat, and there is both a right way and a wrong way to go about it.

Northern Indian cuisine is typically from the Punjab region of the country, otherwise known as the land of five rivers. The region has very fertile soil and ample means for irrigation. As a result, it is very rich in agriculture and is known as the “bread basket of India”. Punjab was partitioned into two provinces in 1947 when Pakistan was carved out of India. Hence the western portion is now an eastern province of Pakistan. Hence, the cuisine has quite the diversity when it comes to the way food is prepared. Sometimes the spices in each dish vary from one region to another, depending on migration and family tradition.

Restaurant food tends to be heavier and richer due to the generous use of fats such as oil and clarified butter, or ghee, whereas home-cooked meals are simpler and have more flavour. Local specialties to the Punjab region are a food lover’s dream. For example, makki di roti, a thick tortilla-like bread made of corn flour, or sarson da saag, a vegetable dish made of dark rapini-like leafy greens often served with the corn roti.

1. Indian Vegetarian Diet

The practice of a mainly vegetarian diet in Indian culture began thousands of years ago. It was evident in the sacred Vedic texts, which are ancient books of wisdom passed down through the ages. These texts support a meatless lifestyle, and are seen in Hindu tradition to be the first rule in obeying the will of a higher power.

In Hinduism, cows are considered to be a sacred animal. The slaughter of cows and the eating of their flesh is seen as taboo. The Rigveda text refers to the cow as a goddess. But there are other reasons behind a mainly vegetarian diet in Indian culture besides these religious principles.

Karma is defined as “the sum of a person’s actions in this and previous states of existence” and is viewed as “deciding their fate in future lifetimes.” In other words, what goes around comes around. Eating the flesh of another animal is seen as inflicting unnecessary pain and cruelty for your own gain, and has consequences for your life after this one.

Even though religion is the most prevalent reason for eating a vegetarian diet across India, there are other more practical reasons as well. A diet that restricts meat and is rich in fruits, vegetables and grains has been shown to lower the risk of certain ailments such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and dental problems. It has also been shown to reduce or prevent certain cancers. In addition, the foods from this type of vegetarian diet are digested more quickly than meats, therefore providing the body with more energy.

2. Some key components of the Indian vegetarian diet

  • Bread – Naan and roti are both traditional Indian breads made with wheat or flour, then cooked on a stove or in a tandoor.
  • Rice – Rice has been a staple of vegetarian cuisine for centuries and can be flavored in a number of ways. Rice pilaf, biryani and kheer.
  • Curries – Refers to gravies and vegetable dishes cooked in spices, and can vary by region.
  • Fried – Savoury and sweet delicacies such as pakoras, samosas, poori, gulab jamun.
  • Sweets – Typically made with milk, nuts, dried fruits and certain grain and bean flours.
The only thing i like more than talking about food is eating.

3. Preparation Methods

One thing that makes Indian food so delightfully fresh and tasty is simply how it’s prepared. Below are some of the more common and traditional ways of cooking Indian food.

  • Tandoori ­­- While most people associate tandoori with spicy roasted dishes, tandoori simply refers to cooking in a tandoor, a metal or clay oven that is heated with wood or charcoal. It allows for slow heating and the long roasting times are essential to creating savoury vegetable or meat dishes, as well as breads such as naan and tandoori roti.
  • Tawa – This is a large, flat metal pan used like a griddle for making flatbreads like roti, and can also be curved on the edges to hold meats or vegetables, quite similar to a wok.
  • Fried – Foods fried in oils or clarified butter add a crispy crunch to vegetables, fish or meats which are first dipped in a spiced batter.

When it comes to Indian cooking, there is no right or wrong way to cook your meal. It is just a matter of becoming familiar with the spices and other ingredients, as well as the basic preparation methods. If you have the inclination to learn, we can help you to add some spice and sizzle by introducing you to a whole new selection of meal ideas for your culinary repertoire.

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Chinese Home-Made Noodles

Varieties of Chinese Noodles

The most famous way of making noodles in China is ‘la main (or ‘chen mian). Noodles are made by simply stretching the dough with both hands. This type of noodle dish is typical from Northwestern and central China. There is another famous way of making Chinese noodles, called ‘dao xiao mian. In this case, the chef holds a well-kneaded dough in one hand, and a knife in another. The desired shape of the noodles is achieved by ‘slicing’ the dough. There is a third variety of Chinese noodles, which is the one that I am going to discuss next in more detail. This third variety is called ‘shou gan mian’, which can be translated as hand-made noodles by using a rolling pin. The reader may have already guessed that ‘mian’ means ‘noodles’ in Chinese (it also means ‘flour’, depending on the context).

Typical Northeast Chinese noodles are really light, even if they are cooked with meat. They are very different from the ones that can be found in restaurants in Western Europe. The concrete recipe I will be described in detail is called ‘da lu main. It is a very suitable dish for spring or summer, and very home-made, almost impossible to find in restaurants in China.

Please understand the reason why Chinese vegetables taste so good. It is simple. The Chinese do not cook them, they just threaten them!

Making the Noodles

Making the good dough is the first step towards making good noodles. Firstly, the dough cannot be too soft, so one should be careful with the amount of water being used. To make the noodles more stretchable, it is a good idea to add salt and eggs to the flour when making the dough. The use of eggs, however, is not a must.

After making the dough, trying to roll it as thin as possible needs patience and determination. A useful device is the ‘pasta maker’ (in China it is obviously called ‘noodle maker’). The noodle maker is very helpful for cutting the noodles into even strips, as well as for saving a lot of energy. The disadvantage is that it is not easy to clean afterward. Here, I will describe how to make the noodles by hand. To prepare the noodles by hand, follow the steps given next (the ingredients given are for three or four people).

  • Mix three cups of plain flour with three-quarters of a cup of water, one big egg, and one tablespoon of salt. Knead the dough well.
  • Roll the dough into a thin sheet.
  • Fold the dough sheet twice, make sure that you dust plenty of flour on the surface before folding.
  • Chop the folded sheet into thin strips.
  • Loosen the strips, dust more flour if needed.

Then, boil the prepared noodles in water (you can add salt to avoid the noodles getting stuck together). And, after removing the noodles from the saucepan, rinse them well in cold water. The noodles are cold now and ready to be served.

The Sauce

There are many different noodle sauces. Here, I describe one of the most popular ones, consisting of eggs and tomatoes.

  • Chop the tomatoes into pieces and whisk two eggs.
  • In a heated wok, pour around 5 tablespoons of oil and then add the tomato pieces in.
  • When the tomato becomes softer, pour in 1.5L of water and bring the water to a boil.
  • Pour the whisked eggs into the boiling water. Use a spoon to stir the soup.
  • Add two tablespoons of salt, one tablespoon of light soy sauce, and a tablespoon of mushroom essence.

To prepare the sesame paste, first, put 3 tablespoons of sesame paste in a rice bowl; then, gradually pour in water while whisking it, until the paste becomes thinner, and add some salt in (this sesame sauce is supposed to be a bit salty).

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Delicious Desserts

A “Dessert” is a meal course that usually comes after dinner. Most often Dessert foods are of sweet food but can also be of a strongly flavored food, such as cheese, like cheesecake. The world dessert comes from the Old French word “desservir”, which means ‘to clear the table’. Oftentimes in the English language dessert is confused with the word desert(note only one “s”), which is a barren piece of land normally with sand as soil.

I want to have a good body, but not as much as I want dessert.

It wasn’t until after the 19th-century where the rise of the middle class, and the mechanization of the sugar industry, brought the privilege of sweets into the general public and unreserved it exclusively for the aristocracy or as a rare holiday treat. This was because sugar became cheaper and more readily available to the general public. As sugar was widely spread, so was the development and popularity of desserts.

In today’s culture dessert recipes have become a popular item for discussion, as they are a winning way to win people over at the end of any meal. This is partly because if you serve a mediocre meal, with an excellent dessert, people will remember you for the dessert and forget about the meal.

Most cultures have a separate final distinction between the main course, and the sweet course. This is not true however in some cultures such as Chinese, who will mix in sweet and savory dishes throughout the entire meal. Dessert is, oftentimes seen as a separate meal or snack, rather than a course, and can be eaten sometime after the meal by many individuals. Because of its widespread popularity, there are even some restaurants that specialize in desserts.

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Popular Indian Street Foods

If you have ever been to India, you know that eating out on the streets will be a treat to your taste buds. Street food is a passion in India. It is common to find groups of friends and families going out for their daily dose of street food during evenings on Indian roads. The hygiene may not be the top most priority for the street food vendors, but taste surely is. Cheap and tasty food is what you get when you eat out on the streets. Here are a few of the well-loved street foods available in the country.

1. Chaat

Now this is a street food specialty that is popular throughout the length and breadth of the country. The ‘chaat’ is available in a huge number of varieties according to the location it is found in. Golgappas, Alu Chaat, Papri Chaat, Dahi Bhalla, Faluda and Panipuri are just a few of the chaats found here. Each region has its own specialties. While Calcutta is famous for its Phuchka and Jhaalmuri, Delhi is famous for its Alu and Chana Chat. Most people will usually have their favorite places for a quick chaat in their neighborhood where they will go down to almost every evening for a snack!

2. Dosa

The dosa is something that one can find in almost every part of the world these days but it is actually a very healthy south Indian dish. Because of the easy availability of rice everywhere, one can find dosa-makers at every region. Dosa is something that is easy to prepare in roadside stalls. It is healthy, filling and quick to eat, making it an ever-popular street food.

3. Pav

Now the ‘pav’ is something that means a lot of things in India. It may be used to denote a piece of bread, or it may mean dishes like the Pav Bhaji or Vada Pav. All the dishes use bread drenched in a lot of butter and are very popular foods in the western part of the country. Bombay has its share of pav-aficionados with most people going down for an evening at a beach and eating their favorite street foods there.

I love Indian food – it’s my favorite cuisine. I love the mixture of spices and the subtle flavors. It’s really erotic; the spices are so sensuous.

 

4. Rolls

The word ‘roll’ may not be something that evokes a lot of culinary excitement in people’s hearts, but it is definitely a favorite streetfood of the country. There are a variety of rolls available here. A roll is actually a meat or vegetable filling stuffed into a piece of Indian ‘Paratha’. Kolkata is the place where the roll originated and it has an array of amazing varieties available on its streets. There is the Chicken Roll, the Egg Roll, the Chicken Tikka Roll, the Vegetable Roll, the Paneer Roll, and so no. Take your pick!

5. Indian Chinese

This is a street food specialty that will not be found in China. ”Indian Chinese’ is a creation of Indians and we can only say that it is delicious. You can find Chowmein, Chinese Fried Rice and Chilli Chicken in every street corner of the country which bearS no resemblance to actual Chinese dishes!

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Fresh Juice Health Benefits

The human body needs live foods to maintain a healthy body. Live food means uncooked fruits and vegetables. When we eat fresh fruits and vegetables, our bodies extract what they need from the fiber as a liquid. This extracted liquid is juice which contains the same nutrient as the juice you make in your kitchen with the juicer. The good thing in drinking juice is you are eliminating a digestive process (extracting the liquid from the fiber) therefore the nutrients are released instantly in the body through the bloodstream.

Passion is taking such a bite out of life that when the juices run down your face, everyone licks their lips!

Difference of Vegetable and Fruit Juice

Vegetables are the building blocks of life, responsible for strong, healthy muscles, tissues, glands, and organs. By consuming vegetables in juice form, you are assured that you get nearly 100 percent of the available nutrients, particularly minerals. Fruits are the revitalizer and cleansers of the body.

How did juicer work?

The juicer separates the juice from the fiber so that what you drink is pulp-free and your body receives the maximum amount of nutrients in minutes.

What is the difference between the fresh bottled juice in the market and the juice you make using your own juicer?

The juice from the juicer is different from bottled, canned, or concentrated juices sold in the supermarket.

  • First, it is absolutely fresh-which is important because nutrients lose a lot of value soon after juicing.
  • Second, juice from the juicer is not pasteurized, which means “cooked or heated” and so is bursting with the living cells which is important to good health.
  • Finally, fresh juice is absolutely pure, free of additives and preservatives.

Fresh Juice Health Benefits

  • It flushes out body toxins, leaving you feeling refreshed, energized, and relaxed.
  • It will make your skin glow, your hair shine, and your breath fresh.
  • Individuals who drink three or four glasses of different juice combinations a day report that they have more energy and fewer colds and other infections.
  • You will experience that your joint will become flexible again.
  • Your teeth and gums will be less prone to bleeding and cavities.
  • If you are already suffering from chronic disease you will feel that drinking more glasses of fresh juice especially green vegetable juice which contains chlorophyll will make you feel better and might even cure you. Chlorophyll which is found only in plants appears to combat tumor growth. There are numerous health problems that are helped or sometimes prevented simply through a healthful diet of juice and raw vegetables.
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The Magic of Indian Food

Indian food/cuisine and the variety in it is a true reflection of the country’s essence of being and its unity in diversity. Its cuisine (comprising curry, dessert dishes and the like) is therefore an amalgamation of a number of regional cuisines which are known for their respective gharanas with distinctive flavors and style of cooking.

  • Most of these Indian curries have the reputation of being spicy and rich, and are famous all over the world for their unique taste. This is so because these various types of curry and dessert dishes incorporate the use of curry powder (mixture of spices belonging to South Asian cuisine) and a list of exotic ingredients to infuse the delicacies with piquancy that is way above the ordinary and exclusively Indian.
  • The curries and dessert dishes can be enjoyed at several restaurants, food joints, eateries and roadside ‘dhabas’ that promise to offer the real taste of Indian cuisine. You can even prepare the various types of curry or dessert dishes at home with the careful use of ingredients sauteed/ simmered/ roasted with the choicest curry powder renditions to help you bask in the glory of the ultimate culinary delight.
  • Or you can simply get the dishes on the internet and desserts online. For, with the advent of the digital revolution and a mushrooming number of online stores, you can buy the various types of curry, curry powder or paste and dessert dishes online without having to cover the extra mile or run to the store in the middle of a busy schedule and savour that quintessential taste that the world is fond of. You can order several types of curry or desserts online from the comfort of your home or office and give your family an evening to cherish.
  • This may include delicacies like dal bukhara, paneer darbari, mirch ka salan, mughlai paneer, paneer malai, chicken darbari, murgh methi, chicken chettinad, malabari chicken stew; butter chicken curry, fish curry, Hyderabadi Biryani and other such pastes; and Jodhpuri moong dal halwa, hazoori petha halwa, white pumpkin & milk pudding, gajar ka halwa, etc.

So book your date with the great Indian cuisine and get ready to indulge. Bring home a basket full of curry powder, condiments, chutneys and conserves to add a twist to your daily meals or the ‘ready to eat meal’ versions of the various types of curry and dessert dishes online and enjoy the extravagance.

A discussion on the legacies of Indian food cuisine the form of some of the best curry dishes and exquisite Indian desserts that have made their way into your heart.