Indian food

It's good to know you like Indian food. There are many Indian desserts out there you can try..like "kheer" which is a milk based dessert, which has semolina,dry fruits and sugar. It is served hot as well as cold. If you are going to an Indian restaurant you will most commonly find these..Gulab Jamun (fried balls in sweet sugar syrup), Rasmalai(another milk based dish), Gajjar ka Halwa( a sweet dish made from carrots) That's just some of them and it varies from restaurant to restaurant. If you are up to some Indian cooking, I can give you some easy to make recipes :)

i too like indian food (i have'nt eaten any other :) ) btw india is a land of diversities and the food differ in various states (or provices as u may like to call).

Some of my favorites would be chicken biryani, chicken tikka masala, lamb vindaloo... and also those breads, nan and poori.

I love it, too! I love Baingan Bharta- an eggplant, tomato, and pea dish. And make it spicy!!! Oh, chicken khorma and vegetable samosas...mmmm. It's close to lunch time. Too bad I can't recommend any dessert (I don't like sweets at all). Besides, when I polish off the Bharta, there's never room for dessert.

I have not been exposed to much Indian food, but it has an exotic aroma. My problem is I don't like hot food at all, and it all seems to be hot. Once I bought a packaged dish to prepare at home because it said that Indian food is not neccesarily hot, that it is a complex blend of different spices. I thought that sounded perfect... It was so hot I could only eat it by adding it to huge quantities of rice. Unless it actually takes the skin off your lips,people who like hot food will never tell you that food is hot; they always say it is "spicy." Well, are they hot spices? Just say it is hot!

Indian Food is GREAT INDIAN FOOD ROCKSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

I've never tried it.

Indian cuisine is distinguished by its sophisticated use of spices and herbs and the influence of the longstanding and widespread practice of vegetarianism in Indian society. Food is an integral part of India's culture, with cuisines differing according to community, region, and state. Indian cuisine is characterized by a great variety of foods, spices, and cooking techniques. Furthermore, each religion, region, and caste has left its own influence on Indian food. Many recipes first emerged when India was inhabited by Vedic Hindus. Later, Christians, British, Buddhists, Portuguese, most importantly Muslims from Turks, Arabs, Mughals,Sindhis and Persians settlers and others had their influence. Vegetarianism came to prominence during the rule of Ashoka, one of the greatest of South Asian rulers who was a promoter of Buddhism. In India, food, culture, religion, and regional festivals are all closely related. Indian meat and fish cuisine is mostly influenced by the Muslim population In Vedic times, a normal diet consisted of fruit, vegetables, grain, meat, fish, dairy products and honey.[citation needed] Over time, the priestly Brahmin caste embraced vegetarianism,[citation needed] which is facilitated by a cooperative climate where a variety of fruits and vegetables can easily be grown throughout the year. According to the traditional Indian medical system Ayurveda, food is either satvic, rajasic or tamasic depending on its character and effect upon the body and the mind.[1] Over the centuries Indian cuisine has been influenced by traders such as the Arabs and Chinese, and invaders such as the Persians, Mongols, Turks, British and Portuguese. The tomato, chilli, and potato, which are staple components of today's Indian cuisine, are relatively recent additions. They came to India from America through Europe. Islamic rule introduced rich gravies, pilafs and non-vegetarian fare such as kebabs, resulting in Mughlai cuisine (Mughal in origin), as well as such fruits as apricots, melons, peaches and plums. The Mughals were great patrons of cooking. Lavish dishes were prepared during the reigns of Jahangir and Shah Jahan. The Nizams of Hyderabad state meanwhile developed and perfected their own style of cooking with the most notable dish being the Biryani, often considered by many connoisseurs to be the finest of the main dishes in India. During this period the Portuguese introduced foods from the New World such as potatoes, tomatoes, squash and chilies. In the last century, the Indian fast food industry has seen rapid growth. [edit] Elements A typical assortment of spices used in Indian cuisine.The staples of Indian cuisine are rice, atta (whole wheat flour), and at least five dozen varieties of pulses, the most important of which are chana (bengal gram), toor (pigeon pea or red gram), urad (black gram) and mung (green gram). Chana is used in different forms, may be whole or processed in a mill that removes the skin, eg dhuli moong or dhuli urad, and is sometimes mixed with rice and khichri (a food that is excellent for digestion and similar to the chick pea, but smaller and more flavorful). Pulses are used almost exclusively in the form of dal, except chana, which is often cooked whole for breakfast and is processed into flour (besan). Most Indian curries are fried in vegetable oil. In North India, groundnut oil is traditionally been most popular for frying, while in Eastern India, Mustard oil is more commonly used. In South India, coconut oil is common. In recent decades, sunflower oil and soybean oil have gained popularity all over India. Hydrogenated vegetable oil, known as Vanaspati ghee is also a popular cooking medium. The most important spices in Indian cuisine are chilli pepper, black mustard seed (rai), cumin (jeera), turmeric, fenugreek, ginger, coriander and asafoetida (hing). Another very important spice is garam masala which is usually a powder of five or more dried spices, commonly comprised of cardamom, cinnamon and clove. Some leaves are commonly used like bay leaf, coriander leaf and mint leaf. The common use of curry leaves is typical of South Indian cuisine. In sweet dishes, cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, saffron and rose petal essence are used. [edit] Varieties [edit] North Indian Main article: North Indian cuisine North Indian cuisine is distinguished by the higher proportion-wise use of dairy products; milk, paneer (cottage cheese), ghee (clarified butter), and yoghurt are all common ingredients, compared to that of southern India, where milk products, though consumed in large quantities, are usually used unaltered. North Indian gravies are typically dairy-based and employ thickening agents such as cashew or poppy seed paste. Milk-based sweets are also very popular fare, being a particular specialty in Bengal and Orissa. Other common ingredients include chillies, saffron, and nuts. North Indian cooking features the use of the "tawa" (griddle) for baking flat breads like roti and paratha, and "tandoor"(a large and cylindrical coal-fired oven) for baking breads such as naan, kulcha and khakhra; main courses like tandoori chicken also cook in the tandoor. Other breads like puri and bahtoora, which are deep fried in oil, are also common. Most of North Indian food, like anywhere else in India, is vegetarian. However, fish and seafood are very popular in the coastal states of Orissa and West Bengal. The samosa is a typical North Indian snack. These days it is common to get it in other parts of India as well. The most common (and authentic) samosa is filled with boiled, fried, and mashed potato, although it is possible to find other fillings. The staple food of most of North India is a variety of lentils, vegetables, and roti. The varieties used and the method of preparation can vary from place to place. Some of the most popular Northern Indian dishes include: Buknu, Gujiya, chaat, daal ki kachauri, jalebi, imarti, several types of pickles (known as achar), murabba, sharbat, pana, aam papad, and Poha. There are several popular sweets (mithai) like gulab jamun, peda, khurchan, petha, rewdi, gajak, milk cake, balusahi, bal mithai, singori, kulfi, falooda, khaja, ras malai, gulqand, and several varieties of laddu, barfi and halwa. Some common North Indian foods such as the samosa, the various kebabs, pulao, and most of the meat dishes arrived in India with the Muslim invaders. Much of North and South Indian nonvegetarian cuisine as well as Pakistani cuisine originates from Middle Eastern cuisine The countries known as Pakistan and Bangladesh were a part of North and East India prior to the partition of India. As a result, the cuisines in these countries are very similar to northern and eastern Indian cuisine. [edit] South Indian Main article: South Indian cuisine Lunch from Karnataka served on a plantain leaf.South Indian cuisine is distinguished by a greater emphasis on rice as the staple grain, the liberal use of coconut and curry leaves particularly coconut oil, and the ubiquity of sambar and rasam (also called saaru) at meals. South Indian cooking is even more vegetarian-friendly than north Indian cooking. The practice of naivedya, or ritual offerings, to Krishna at the Krishna Mutt temple in Udipi, Karnataka, has led to the Udipi style of vegetarian cooking. The variety of dishes which must be offered to Krishna forced the cooks of the temple to innovate. Traditional cooking in Udupi Ashtamatha is characterized by the use of local seasonal ingredients. Garam masala is generally avoided in South Indian cuisine. The dosa, idli, vada, bonda, and bajji are typical South Indian snacks. [edit] Western Chicken Tikka MasalaBritain has a particularly strong tradition of Indian cuisine that originates from the British Raj. At this time there were a few Indian restaurants in the richer parts of London that catered to British officers returning from their duties in India. In the 20th century there was a second phase in the development of Anglo-Indian cuisine, as families from countries such as Bangladesh migrated to London to look for work. Some of the earliest such restaurants were opened in Brick Lane in the East End of London, a place that is still famous for this type of cuisine. In the 1960s, a number of inauthentic "Indian" foods were developed, including the widely popular "chicken tikka masala". This tendency has now been reversed, with subcontinental restaurants being more willing to serve authentic Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani food, and to show their regional variations. In the late twentieth century Birmingham was the centre of growth of Balti houses, serving a newly developed style of cooking in a large, wok-like, pan, with a name sometimes attributed to the territory of Baltistan, (however, the Hindi word for bucket is also Balti). Indian food is now integral to the British diet: indeed it has been argued that Indian food can be regarded as part of the core of the British cuisine. [citation needed] After the Immigration Act of 1965, South Asian immigration to the United States increased, and with it the prevalence of Indian cuisine, especially in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, the New York City neighborhoods of Murray Hill, Jackson Heights and East 6th Street, and in Edison, NJ. All-you-can-eat buffets with several standard dishes are typical in some Indian restaurants in the United States.[citation needed] Indian restaurants are common in the larger cities of Canada, particularly in Toronto and Vancouver where large numbers of Indian nationals have settled since 1970. A number of the more adventurous restaurants have transformed their offerings into so-called Indian "fusion" menus, combining fresh local ingredients with traditional Indian cooking techniques. Indian restaurants can also be found in many European and Australian cities, particularly Paris, London, and Istanbul. Due to the large I