For many the food of India is personified by butter chicken, Naan and Biriyani. However each region has a distinct food and the food you consider to be India is in fact Punjabi which predominates with food cooked in the tandoor a clay oven.
Three areas which have distinctly different from not only each but the traditional Indian fare are Goa, Gujurat and Kashmir.
Traditional Kashmiri food is served on a large covered plate known as a Tarami which feeds 4 people. For banquets they are known as Wazwan and serve all.
When you see an item on a menu named Kashmiri this is indicating that the food contains fruit and nuts which is an indication what constitutes kashmiri food. The stable food of Kashmiri is rice and meat even Hindus in Kashmiri eat meat. Sauces are made from a combination of Asafoetida, aniseed, dry garlic, cloves and cinnamon blend to produce magic.
Some dishes you are likely to find on a Tarami:
Cushtaba – Spiced meat pounded into balls and cooked in yogurt.
Rogan Josh
Tabak Maz – Fried meat
march wangan kurma – hot mutton curry
Nadru Yakhni – Lotus roots cooked with curd.
Haq- Spinach
Nadroo churma – Fried lotus stems
An excellent place to experience Kashmiri food is Chor Bazaar within Broadway hotel in old Delhi.
Gurgarat Cuisine
Is the only completely dry (no alcohol) and vegetarian state in India. Its traditional dishes are considered to be some of the healthiest in India however when it comes to their thali (traditional plate containing several dishes) they like it sweet with lots of ghee (Clarified butter).
some traditional dishes you may find are:
Khaman Dhokla – yellow Cake made from gram (Chickpea) flour squares.
Runny Dal – Sweet lentils
Kadhi – Sour and sweet dal with curd and gram.
Farsan – Crunchy snacks
Khandvi – pancake rolls which melt in mouth made from gram flour.
Petrel – neem leaves rolled with gram paste.
Rotlo millet roti – millet flour bread
Jaggery – Orange sweet
An excellent place to experience traditional Gujarati food in Gujarat is in Ahmedhabad Agaashiye restaurant on the roof of the Hotel House of MG.
Popular with the locals at night in winter and a 30 min taxi ride from the centre of Ahmedhabad is Vishala a traditional village set up for traditional on floor dining. There is also the remarkable utensil museum to visit.
Finally we will consider Goan food influenced by the Portuguese, the close proximity to the sea and abundance of coconuts. In Goa not only do they eat meat but they also eat pork since they are Christian and their religion doesn’t prohibit its consumption. This combination gave rise to the well known dish Pork vindaloo which contrary to popular believe is not a hot dish but rather a fruity wine sauce.
A small collection of Goan dishes consists of:
Cafriel – Sauce made from marinated ginger, coriander and garlic. Xacuti – Roasted coconut sauce Vindaloo – fruity wine Portuguese curry not the hottest curry as popularly believed in UK.
Balchao – Sauce made from tomato and onion.
Babinca – layered Dessert traditional eaten during celebrations such as Christmas made by 16 layers of coconut milk, egg and ghee.
Feni – Coconut or Almond liqueur
To experience Goan food visit Panjim Inn or Hotel Vinite
