The vast sub-continent of India offers a range of culinary delights as rich and diverse as its people and history. Each region has its own unique cooking style: cream, yogurt, ghee and nuts feature in dishes in the noth, while the south favours chillies, coconut and coconut oil. Fish and mustard oil predominate in the east while the west has incorporated the greatest number of foreign ingredients. One element unites these diverse styles- the use of spices to create the flavours and aromas distinctive of indian cuisine.

The flavours of Indian food are appreciated all over the world and although delicious, the nutritional content of some traditional Indian dishes has been at odds with our mordern view of healthy eating. Liberal use of ghee, which is clarified butter, adds an unwelcome quantity of saturated fat to Indian dishes.

In Western soceity, the healthy eating message is clear. Eat less fat, in particular saturated fat, less sugar and salt and more fibre. This means stepping up our intake of complex carbohydrates, fruit and vegetables and eating more fish and leaner meats. However, healthy ingredients such as fresh vegetables, lentils and pulses, and seafood are widely used in indian cuisine. Poultry is usually cooked without the skin which is were most of the fat resides and good Indian cooks always use lean meat or meat trimmed of excess fat. So if you want to reduce your fat intake, there is no need to forego tasty Indian food.

Cooking Equipment

Good quality saucepans with heavy bases, and wooden spoons and slotted spoon to use with them, mixing bowls, sharp knives, a chopping board, a sieve (strainer) and a rolling pin are the main essentials. A balloon whisk for beating yougurt and pastry brush for basting kebabs with marinade may be useful for some of the recipes.
A heavy-based frying pan (skillet) is a must, and you may like to try cooking some of the dishes in a traditional Indian karahi or Balti pan - a deep, round bottomed vessel with two circular carrying handles. Karahis are very sturdy and therefore capapble of withstanding high cooking temperatures and sizzling oils. Wooden stands are available, too, so the pans can be brought top the table to serve. The other specialist cooking vessel used in Indian Kitchen is the tava, a flat cast-iron frying pan used for cooking chapatis and other breads and for roasting spices, but any sturdy frying pan can be substituted.

A food processor or blender is a great labour-saving tool and will be invaluable for preparing pastes or pureeing ingredients. Whole spices can be freshly ground using a mortar and pestle or if you have one, a coffee grinder makes the job so much easier.

Indian Cuisine is divided into Regional cuisines

North India
Punjabi – Uttar Pradeshi –Rajasthani – Mughlai -Pahadi – Bhojpuri –Benarasi – Bihari - Kashmiri

South India
Kerala – Tamil – Andhra – Karnataka – Hyderabadi - Mangalorean

East India
Bengali – Oriya

North-East India
Sikkimese – Assamese –Tripuri – Naga

West India
Goan – Gujarati – Maharashtrian/Marathi – Malvani/Konkani – Parsi

Other
Indian Chinese – Nepali – History – Jain (Satvika) – Anglo-Indian – Sindhi – Chettinad – Udupi – Fast food

What is Balti Cuisine?

Balti cooking is a fairly new type of cuisine which has become very popular in the west. You need a Karahi /Kadai made of cast iron which is a wok-shaped utensil for stir frying. Cast iron can withstand high cooking temperatures and makes cooking simple with minimum amount of oil.