indian food recipes

Quick Breakfast - French Toast

2010-05-13T00:35:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

4 eggs
1 teaspoon sugar, optional
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
10 to 12 slices white bread
butter
maple syrup or other syrup

Preparation:

Break eggs into a wide, shallow bowl or pie plate; beat lightly with a fork. Stir in sugar, salt, and milk.

Over medium-low heat, heat griddle or skillet coated with a thin layer of butter or margarine.

Place the bread slices, one at a time, into the bowl or plate, letting slices soak up egg mixture for a few seconds, then carefully turn to coat the other side. Soak/coat only as many slices as you will be cooking at one time.

Transfer bread slices to griddle or skillet, heating slowly until bottom is golden brown. Turn and brown the other side. Serve French toast hot with butter and syrup.
Recipe for French toast serves 4.

Indian food myths and truths!!!

2010-05-06T23:03:00.000-07:00

Many new visitors to Indian food and cuisine carry age-old thoughts (read myths) about the food of India. In this post, get to know the facts and background of some myths and some truths about Indian food.

All Indian food is spicy

Though most of Indian cooking or food recipes are hot and spicier compared to European or Western cooking, there are many regions in India where the food is bland, even sweet. If you want to try something less-hot, go taste some Gujarati dishes.

Gujarati recipes have a touch of sweetness in almost all of its dishes. Traditional South Indian cooking (except Andhra Pradesh) is generally less-spicier than other regions in India. Kashmiri cuisine also incorporates sweet tasting dishes in its menu. So when someone tells you Indian cooking is spicy, don't entirely believe them.

Indian food is only vegetarian

This is partly true. Hindus, being the majority community in India, are mostly vegetarian. However there are so many different sub-sects with the Hindu religion, that many of them follow their own food practices.

Contrary to popular belief, many Indians are meat-eaters and cook them well too. Chicken dishes are perhaps the most popular meat in India. Cow is considered a sacred animal and is avoided by Hindus though Muslims and Christians eat beef. Sea food is also popular in coastal regions like Goa, Mangalore, Kerala, West Bengal and others.

There is no variety in Indian cooking

Many, especially foreigners and first time visitors to India, are of the opinion that Indian food doesn't have so much of choices. But the reality is Indian cuisine is perhaps the most varied food-culture in the world!

With more than 29 states (counties), each region in India has its own unique style and flavor. While North Indian regions prefer Roti (Indian bread) as their staple dish, South India has rice as a must in the daily menu. Some specialty regional cuisines of India include Udupi cuisine (from Karnataka), North-eastern cuisine, Chettinad cuisine (from Tamil Nadu) and Marwari cuisine, to name a few.

Indian food = Chicken Tikka

This is a popular myth made famous by ethnic Indians in England. Chicken Tikka was originally a Persian dish brought to India by the Mughals. This was later adopted by the people of Punjab (in India and Pakistan) and they created their own version of Chicken Tikka and took the recipe with them to different parts of world along with them.

Indian food is all about Curry

Curry is something that was again made popular by British-South Asian ethnic groups. While Curry abroad may refer to a thick and spicy gravy dish, India takes a different meaning altogether. In South India, Curry may refer to a vegetable side-dish that is often served with rice.
These are generally fried vegetables without the gravy. Curry, in Tamil Nadu, South India actually means meat – either as gravy or as a fried dish. Origins of British curry come from the Tamil word for Kari. In North India and other popular forms of Indian cooking, the word curry is not as popularly used.

Indians eat food with their hands

Sometimes shocking to a visitor to India is the practice of eating food with hands. This is true as Indians consider eating with their hands as tastier as well as ritualistic. Also, most Indian dishes are difficult to be eaten with forks and spoons. Many Indians today use their hands as well as forks & spoons.

You will also find that in certain Indian regions, food is served on a banana leaf or an areca nut leaf. These traditions have been passed on to families since many generations and many modern Indian continue to follow then regardless of caste differences.
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Indians take pride in their cooking and share their preparations with the world as a means of showing love and gratitude. Next time, you taste anything Indian; forget the myths associated with them.

Amish Friendship Bread Recipe

2010-04-29T10:21:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup starter
3 eggs
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped nuts
2 apples – peeled, cored, chopped

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease two 9×5 inch loaf pans. Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt, set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, stir together the Amish Friendship Starter, eggs, oil and vanilla. Gradually stir in the sifted ingredients, until just blended. Finally stir in the chopped nuts and apples. Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans.
Bake at 350 F (175 C) for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a loaf comes out clean.
Makes 2 loaves.

Thandai - Famous North India cold drink

2010-04-22T10:59:00.001-07:00

In India, all foods are believed to be either heat-giving or cooling. Thandai is a North-Indian drink made especially when the hot, dry summer winds blow through the region leaving everything and everybody parched. This thirst-quencher is tasty and cooling. The recipe below makes 6 glasses.

Ingredients:

1 litre milk
1 can sweetened condensed milk
30 almonds blanched
6 tsps whole pumpkin/sunflower seeds (unsalted)
1 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
3 tsps rose water (optional)

Summer Drink - Aam Panna

2010-04-21T11:02:00.000-07:00

Ingredients for Aam Panna:

Raw Mango - 4
Roasted Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Mint Leaves
Sugar - 2 tbsp
Salt/rock salt to taste
Water - 4 cup

Aam panna preperation method:

Boil mangoes in a pressure cooker for 5-10 minutes. Cool and strain to get the liquid. Add Sugar,salt(preferably rock salt) and roasted cumin powder in the liquid. A few mint leaves are mixed to it to give the refeshing flavor. Served with crushed ice to enhance its cooling effect, it is a very tasty and refreshing drink. Aam Panna is one of the most popular drink in India and is very effective to beat the North Indian heat.