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Indian Restaurants

Inside Grahini's Kitchen

In the world of cooking, Indian cuisines are generally given the title of being ‘exotic food’. They are cooked in rich spices, garnished to look decorative. Indian cooking is not only delicious, but also pleasing to the eyes. The recipes make for what is known as delight for all the senses. Pleasing to the eyes, with rich aromas; each dish spells of eloquently written scripts that please the ears; the taste buds are always satisfied, as the touch of the cook is retained with every bite. And the heart feels fulfilled making for a complete eating experience.

This may sound as an exaggeration, but ask anyone, who eats Indian dishes, anywhere in the world. World leaders are known to employ the services of Indian chefs. And in the United Kingdom, Indian curry is considered the national cuisine. Need one say more at this point? Well, as much is said of Indian cooking the less seems to be said.

The essential ingredient that distinguishes Indian cooking from all otherworld cuisines is the use of spices. Yes, India was plundered for its jewels and spices, and even today Indian spices have an important place in all international markets. It is one of the commodities traded on the stock market. That is the value of Indian spices.

When indulging in Indian cooking there is no such thing as the right or wrong. If one follows the recipe books, it all seems so simple. This is because Indian cooking does not call for technique, but blending and stirring.

They say that Indian cooking begins with love and is garnished with love, which is what makes it all the more delicious. In fact, all types of Indian dishes are cooked in three stages. The first being preparing the base, or the gravy. This requires warming the oil with the spices and salt. Then adding the vegetables and stirring it into the gravy base, and finally letting it simmer, till completely cooked.

While, this is the basic technique, the difference is in the blend of spices, which are broadly divided into two categories being the powdered spices and the whole spices such as clove, cardamom, mustard seeds, nutmeg, etc. Most, ladies grind the whole spices to make a powder to be added to the food, while others use them in the whole form.

Any Indian dish is complete along with a serving of rice, or then the Indian bread, also known as ‘roti’. However, a complete Indian meal would comprise of appetizers, which are usually the fried or baked snacks. This leads into the main course that comprises of one or two vegetable dishes, along with pulses or a curry, curds blended with salad vegetables, or simply sprinkled with some spices, rice and ‘roti’. Then it is wound up with a dessert in the form of sweetmeats.

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 of the recipes have evolved since the days when India was predominantly inhabited by Vedic Hindus. Later Mughals, Christians, British,Buddhists, Portuguese, and others had their influence.Vegetarianism came to prominence duing the rule of Ashoka, one of the greatest of Indian rulers who was a promoter of Buddhism. In India, food, culture, religion, and regional festivals are all closely related.

All this may make Indian cooking sound like a long and tedious process, but the fact is that with practice, this is one cuisine that requires the least amount of time and effort, once all the ingredients are placed together.