Do You Think Indian Food Is All About Curry? Think Again!
Apr 04 '01
The Bottom Line Indian food is not all curried. There are many different dishes and variations of these dishes all across India.
I'm of Indian descent, although I was born and raised here. My parents were born and raised in other countries as well. But since India is part of our heritage, we do eat indian food at home. And my mom is a really good cook -- she even did some catering for a few years! Because of this, I think I'm pretty qualified to discuss Indian cuisine.
For some reason, when people hear the words "Indian Food", they immediately think of curry. I'm not sure why either. Does curry sound exotic and foreign? Curry powder isn't even an Indian spice -- it was created by the British. But since people associate curry with Indian food, most Indian restaurants now tend to call different dishes curries so that westerners think they know what they are getting. Believe me, they aren't all curries.
Indian food has many different areas. In Southern India, cooks utilize mustard seeds, coconut, dried red chilis, and curry leaves for flavoring. In the Northern region on Punjab, they use yogurt for marinading or sauces, garam masala (literally translated as "hot mix", or a blend of spices), and fresh chilis. In Moghal cooking, they use dried fruits and nuts, like raisins and almonds, along with cream for a richer dish.
The word 'curry' isn't an Indian word. However, 'kadhi' is. Kadhi is a dish made with chickpea flour, yogurt, water, lemon juice, and spices. To this, fried fritters made with chickpea flour, and chopped vegetables like onion, cauliflower, spinach and potato are added to the 'soup', and simmered until the dumplings swell and soften. This is served over plain rice. There are many different variations of kadhi, depending on the region you are in. It is believed that the British couldn't properly pronounce kadhi, and began calling it curry. Then pretty much every saucy, highly spiced dish became known as a curry.
Since many people are curious about Indian food, but aren't sure what is what, I thought I would name and describe several popular dishes available in most restaurants. This should give you a good idea as to what's available, and also show you that not every dish is a curry.
Dal: A dish made from lentils. The lentils are boiled, until they are soft and the cooking liquid thickens. Onions, are fried until lightly browned, and various items are added such as garlic, ginger, curry leaf, or mustard seeds, depending on the region. This fried mix is stirred into the dal. This is the most basic of indian foods.
Tandoori Chicken: This is a dish from Punjab. Chicken is marinated in yogurt and various spices, then cooked in a tandoor, or a clay oven. The chicken comes out with a reddish coloring, and is very tender from the yogurt. Other tandoor items include kebabs, fish, lamb, and mutton. Pork is not usually cooked in a tandoor.
Naan: this is an unleavened bread made in the tandoor. It comes out slightly chewy and is great for scooping up the various foods. Naan is also sometimes brushed with garlic butter, or diced onions are incorporated into the dough before baking in the tandoor.
Chicken Tikka Masala: This is made with cooked tandoori chicken. It is simmered in a sauce made with tomato sauce, cream, and spices. Wonderful with rice or naan.
Saag Paneer: Saag is spinach, and paneer is an indian farmer's cheese. The spinach is finely chopped and simmered with onions and spices until it becomes a thick paste (think creamed spinach). The paneer is then added and cooked until soft.
Choley: Chickpeas simmered in a sauce made with onions, garlic and ginger, with various spices. Choley are usually served with puris, a fried bread.
Aloo Gobi: Aloo is potato, and Gobi is cauliflower, so this is potato and cauliflower cooked together. This is a dry dish, so it is usually served with a bread.
Masala Dosa: A Southern dish. A crepe is made from a rice flour batter, then filled with a potato filling. It is served with sambhar, a south indian dal with vegetables added. Coconut chutney is usually served on the side.
Idli: Small discs of rice flour are steamed in a steamer, then served with sambhar and coconut chutney.
Chutney: A condiment. There are many differnt types: mint, coriander, coconut, tamarind, etc. Different chutneys are eaten with different dishes. Tamarind and mint chutneys are the usual ones served in restaurants.
Pappadum: a fried disc of chickpea flour, with pepper, chilis, cumin seeds, or other flavoring added to the dough before it is cooked. Pappadums are usually sold dried, and then fried for a few seconds in hot oil to cook them. They are usually served with South indian meals.
Samosa: an appetizer or snack. A potato and pea filling is placed on a thinly rolled dough, folded in a triangle shape, and fried. These are served with mint and tamarind chutneys. There are also meat samosas, although they are not as common.
Rasmalai: a dessert made with ricotta cheese (or 'khoya'), sugar, and milk. The dumplings are made from the cheese and sugar, and baked. They are then added to milk simmered with sugar, cardamom, and sometimes pistachios. Served chilled. Very light and refreshing.
Gulab Jamun: Small balls are rolled from a dough and fried until golden brown. They are then added to a sugar syrup sauce, and left until the fried balls are soft. Served either warm or cold.
Kheer: Indian Rice pudding. Rice is simmered with milk or cream, rice, cardemom, and slivered almonds. Served hot or cold. Gajar kheer, or carrot pudding replaces the rice with shredded carrot.
These are some of the popular Indian food that westerners are familiar with. I hope that this list helps more people understand that Indian food is not just curry -- there are many other food offered as well!
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