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By: Ikedi Ani-okoye.

Introduction to Indian food

Indian food has a strong influence from different cultural groups and even conquerors from far off kingdoms and over the years different cuisines have come together to represent the Indian traditional cuisine. Mughal emperors brought with them the magical preparation of Biryani while Afghans, Persians and Arabs introduced non-vegetarian fare dipped in rich aromatic gravy and laced with almonds and cashew nuts.

Cooking Indian food

You don’t need special equipment for Indian Food, although I wouldn’t be without my electric coffee grinder (to grind spices) and it’s nice (but not necessary) to have the traditional dishes to serve your meal in. Other than that, you need a bit of patience and it’s fun to cook with a friend so that you can share the chopping and grinding or have someone read the recipe out to you step by step so you don’t go wrong in the middle.

Indian food in different regions

Some of the regional differences to Indian cooking are as follows: Northern India: This region of India offers the some of the more familiar mix Indian dishes, including the popular tandoori-style of cooking. This region offers the dishes that are found in most Indian restaurants of the West, such as koftas (spicy meatballs), kormas (meats braised in creamy sauces with yogurts and fruits), and the delicious chewy, leavened bread, naan. The blend of spices used to flavor these dishes is Garam masala, more warming than fiery. You may also add Basmati rice for a regional flare, but breads are the primary starch in this wheat-growing region.

Indian food diet

Most people think that you can’t possibly eat Indian food, if you’re on a slimming diet. That’s a fair statement if you always eat Indian food in restaurants, because many traditional Indian recipes involve either deep frying or the use of ghee (clarified butter). However, if you cook Indian food at home, it can easily form part of a weight loss regime, just the same as any other food. You just need to follow a few simple general rules.

Indian food tandoori benefits

Tandoori recipes are great as part of a low calorie or low carbohydrate diet. Just marinade some fish (cubed or whole), chicken (cubed or in pieces) or prawns (shrimp) in a mixture of low fat plain yogurt, ground turmeric, ground coriander, ground cumin, crushed garlic, grated root ginger and a little chilli powder (or to taste) for at least an hour. If you’re using cubed meat, thread onto skewers. Grill or barbeque with a medium heat until done.

CONCLUSION

Although Indian food can be segregated according to regions like North, South, East, West but the vastness of Indian recipes will still be overwhelming. From Idli, sambar and dosa in the south to Makki ki Roti and Sarso ka Saag in the North and from shorshe illish (mustard-hilsa illisha) in the east to the sweet kadhi of the West, Indian food is a food connoisseurs dream come true!