No discussion on India would be complete without mentioning its food which is as rich and colorful as its residents. And I am not kidding when I say that travelling from one region to another will not only introduce you to different languages and dialects but also to markedly varied cuisines.
And of course, spices are essential in our cuisine. The spice trade which began during the ancient civilizations was considered to be the trigger for the ‘Age of Discovery’ during which Europe began exploring for new routes to the East Indies.
I still have very fond memories of my Grandma’s kitchen where food used to be prepared the way it should be—from scratch. It was labor intensive but also a lot of fun. I know because I used to help. Water was drawn from the well in the yard, spices were ground in ancient stone grinders, so was flour for bread, batter for idlis (steamed rice cakes), dosas (crepes made from rice and lentil batter) and chutneys (fine and coarse sauces made from fruits, or vegetables and spices.) And when the food was being cooked, the aroma would fill the entire neighborhood. My favorite was the one of rasam (a light and spicy south Indian lentil soup.) It still is.
Now I would like to share with you some of my personal favorites.
I begin with a special Indian Vegetarian Barbecue which I had the privilege of indulging in last time I was in India. I wish to thank my wonderful cousin and her husband for this experience. We were in Khandala (a hill station near Mumbai,) in a private resort bungalow with our very own personal chef and this is what we were served on our first night there. YUM!!
Thick pieces of Paneer (fresh Indian cheese) marinated in spices, tomatoes, onions, green bell peppers, cilantro and mint chutney.
Mounted on skewers and slow cooked over charcoal.
Finished product served with vegetable biryani (basmati rice cooked with veggies and spices)!
That looks delicious.
Yes, it tastes as good as it looks. 🙂
yummmmmmmmmmm delicious
loved it simi thanks for the great dinner abhi idhar raat hain isliye dinner 😀
khandala eekkksss OMG i love that place kaise na karu i have spent my childhood till 8th grade there 🙂
update of milannnnnn
and i forgot to mention on last update
kalyug song jiya dhadak dhadak jaye is my mosttt fav suits perfectly for milan’s situation 🙂
Wow!! Getting to know you more this way Jalis. 🙂
That song is my fav too!!
You are demanding updates too fast.
Its making my mouth water.. Yummm…
Me too!!
wooow i have never tasted this but it loooks good LOOL
p.s. sorry im not active but ive been soo busy, u still need to bare with me for a few more week, i will email u when im free…x
Thanks for peeping in Aasma. 🙂
loved the pictures!! will try to prepare the paneer dish for sure!!
Let me know how it turns out.
yummy some of my favorites
It looks so delish. I need to eat Indian food today.