The Science and Art of Indian Cooking: Indian Cooking

By Madalsa Sharma and Dinesh Sharma

(1) Unlike other books, this book is not merely the compilation of some Indian recipes. It explains the basic principles of Indian cooking and the role of spices and additives in it so that the reader would be able to formulate the recipe of the dish of his own liking. (2) The authors take the reader to ordinary Indian kitchen by describing utensils, ingredients (including herbs, spices and condiments ) and cooking techniques. (3) The book describes the most common food cooked in Indian homes . The recipes are simple and easy to follow and additional useful information is given in the Notes. (4) The Indians are fond of sweet dishes so the book describes four categories of sweet dishes which can be cooked by the reader easily. (5) The book is profusely illustrated by full page colored images of all the dishes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing India
• Release date: May 16, 2014
• ISBN: 9781482822151

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Copyright © 2014 Dinesh Sharma & Madalsa Sharma. All rights reserved.

ISBN

978-1-4828-2215-1 (e)

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Partridge India

000 800 10062 62

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[e-mail]

05/15/2014

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CONTENTS

(1) Introduction

(2) The Science Of Food

(3) The Science Of Cooking

(A) Herbs

(B) Spices

(C) Medical Benefits Of Spices

(4) The Art Of Cooking

(A) What Is Indian Cooking ?

(B) Techniques Used In Indian Cooking

(C) Ingredients Used In Indian Cooking

(D) Cooking Oils Used In Indian Cooking

(E) Additives Used In Indian Cooking

(F) Utensils Used In Indian Cooking

(5) Recipes

(A) Appetizer

(1) Aam Pana (Mango Drink)

(B) Breads ( Wheat Dishes )

(2) Chapati (Unleavened Bread)

(3) Paratha (Shallow Fried Bread)

(4) Poori ( Deep Fried Bread)

(5) Tandoori Roti (Oven Fresh Bread)

(6) Bati (Baked Round Bread)

(7) Bafla (Fried Round Bread)

(C) Curries

(8) Dal (Pulses Curry)

(9) Kadhi (Yoghurt Curry)

(10) Sambar (Lentil Curry)

(11) Dum Aloo (Potato Curry)

(D) Rice Dishes

(12) Pulao (Spiced Rice )

(13) Sweet Rice

(14) Idli (Soft Fluffy Rice Pancake)

(E) Special Dishes

(15) Pakore (Fritters)

Corn Pakore

(16) Barfi (Fudges)

Mango Barfi

(17) Halwa (Sweet Pudding)

Badam Halwa (Almond Halwa)

(18) Kheer (Milk Dessert)

Corn Kheer

(19) Ladoo (Round Sweet Balls)

Besan Ladoo

Appendix—1

Chief Constituents Of Common Spices

Appendix—2

Vegetarianism

Appendix – 3

Commonly Used Ingredients In Indian Cooking

FRONTISPIECE

POORI – POTATO CURRY

SWEET RICE – PAKORE

ALMOND HALWA – MANGO BURFI

(1) INTRODUCTION

India is like no other country in the world. It has 5000 years of civilization, customs, cuisine and languages blended together into a single nation of diverse humanity.

Indian religious scripture state Annam Brahma which literally translates into Food is God, therefore, the food is given the highest reverence . Even today, in many Indian homes, a symbolic offering of food is given to God before every meal. The aim is not to engulf food but to eat it with pleasure and enjoy it because food is believed to influence behavior as well as physical well-being. It is believed that What you are (mentally and physically) is what you eat.

The Indians prefer to eat sitting cross-legged on the kitchen or dining floor.The food is served in metal (stainless steel or brass) thalis , rather than plates. Several small metal katoris (bowls) are used to serve different dishes . In large gathering of marriage or other functions, disposable thalis and katoris of banana leaf or other leaves are used. This obviates the need of cleaning and reuse of plates. Most Indians, whether rich or poor, eat with the fingers. Food simply tastes better without the interference of eating utensils. Eating with knives and forks is like making love through an interpreter.

There is more to Indian cuisine than curry. The cuisines of India are as mixed as its culture. Characteristic of all Indian cooking is the blending of spices. Apart from being used for flavour, spices stimulate and aid in digestion . The care is taken to enhance , rather than dominate the basic flavor of the meal and to retain their nutritional and therapeutic value.

The cuisine of India is extremely varied and evolved over the centuries . Traditionally, in Indian homes the platter includes chapati (unleavened bread) and /or rice , dishes of meat, fish or chicken, vegetables, legumes, yogurt / curd , chutneys and pickles,and last but not the least a sweet dish. Among the rotis are plain chapati cooked on iron tawa, tandoori roti made in tandoor, paratha ( bread that is shallow fried with