If there is one thing about India that is renowned across the world, it is its multi-flavoured, multi-cultural cuisine. Since India is a melting pot of various cultures, ethnicities, religions, and societies, it has a huge, delectable variety of dishes to offer, many of which are extremely popular all over the world.
Be it the effervescent butter chicken or the Hyderabadi sweet dish of shahi tukda made from bread in India, there is no end to the amazing delicacies that have been wowing people all over the globe. Let’s take a look at some of the most popular cuisines originating in India that everyone loves unanimously:
Punjabi Cuisine
A truly universal cuisine in India, the Punjabi or the North Indian cuisine plays on its obsession with curries and spices that are rich in aroma, flavour and texture. A global favourite that comes from this cuisine is butter chicken: dollops of butter and cream mingle with garlic, ginger, onion, and tomato puree to form the quintessentially sweet gravy served with softly-cooked chicken. For vegetarians, the cottage cheese Punjabi recipes are quite common, and palak paneer takes the crown among all. Spinach gravy with cottage cheese is a delight for winters. Also, chhole, or chickpea curry is also an extremely delicious breakfast dish served along with flatbread.
South Indian Cuisine
In an amazing contrast to the Punjabi cuisine is its south Indian counterpart which originates in Kerela and Tamil Nadu. The signature of the dishes that fall under this cuisine is the use of coconut oil. Dosa, vada, idli, uttappam, sambar,…the list just keeps going on and on. Rice is a popular accompaniment with all the dishes. Often very light on the stomach, South Indian dishes have a unique amalgam of spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg, pepper, and curry tree leaves.
Hyderabadi Cuisine
Hyderabadi cuisine has its origins in the kitchens of the Nizam of Hyderabad, and is very popular amongst the masses, contrary to what you might think. The Mughal, Turkish and Arabic influences in the preparation of dishes and their taste can be easily made out. Major ingredients in this cuisine are rice, wheat and meat. The global favourite has to be the Biryani, a celebration meal of chicken or mutton, rice, and various spices which are painstakingly prepared in clay ovens with great detail to the procedure. Amongst sweet dishes, the shahi tukda takes the fame to claim. You could say that it is a richer, more delectable version of fruit bread that in which bread pieces are deep fried in ghee and garnished with creamy rabri and an assortment of nuts and dates.
Bengali Cuisine
Known prominently for its wide assortment of sweet dishes and confectionary, the Bengali cuisine is mainly enjoyed in eastern India as well as Bangladesh but has managed to reach the global stage as well. The fish recipes are particularly ravishing, and are known for their fiery flavour. The rasgulla and mishit doi are extremely popular sweet delicacies, and heavily utilize milk and sugar syrup in their preparation.
It is true that you can gauge the extent of diversity in India by savouring its myriad cuisines. Whatever be your personal favourite, it’s hard to deny that every Indian delicacy is worth relishing.
