Indian cuisine and its traditions are largelyare dictated by the traditions of Hinduism, the main religion of India. Vegetarianism, a variety of dairy products, widespread use of vegetables and legumes are the main distinctive features of Indian cuisine. It also has much in common with the cuisines of neighboring countries - Thailand, China, Nepal. This is, first of all, the active use of spices in cooking. You can cook an Indian-style dinner even from those products that every housewife usually has at hand. Indian cuisine recipes are not complicated, but often consist of many ingredients.
Spicy vegetable soup
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ liters of water
- ½ cup chipped peas
- ½ cup bean mung bean (mung-dal)
- ½ cup long grain rice
- 2 carrots
- ½ head of cauliflower
- 2 tbsp. l. melted butter
- 6 pcs. red radish
Set of spices:
- Zira (cumin) - 1 tbsp.
- Ground coriander - 1 tbsp.
- Garam-Masala - 1 tsp.
- Turmeric - ½ tsp.
- Ground black pepper - ½ tsp.
- Green chili pepper - ½ pod
- The root of ginger - 1½ cm
- Cilantro chopped - 2 tbsp.
- Asafoetida - a pinch.
Preparation:It is preferable to cook this soup in a pressure cooker. Peas and mung beans should be sorted, washed and soaked for at least 1 hour. Pour water into the pressure cooker, add soaked peas and mung beans, rice, ginger, oil, turmeric, chili pepper and asafoetida, and chopped vegetables. Close the lid and cook under pressure for 20 minutes. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can cook everything in a regular saucepan, although this will take more time. Next, you need to puree half of the cooked ingredients. To do this, put them in a blender and grind, adding a little broth. If you cooked in a pressure cooker, put the remaining vegetables and legumes in a regular saucepan, pour in the broth. Add the vegetable puree and stir. If you think there is not enough liquid, you can add a couple more glasses of water to get the soup consistency you want. Pour in cumin and coriander, garam masala. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring, for a few minutes. Before serving, add ground pepper, salt and cilantro. Indian cuisine is famous for its love of spices, especially cilantro, coriander, cumin, turmeric. It is believed that these spices help digestion, improve the absorption of nutrients throughout the gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, do not be afraid of such a number of different seasonings. If you do not find one, you can exclude it from the recipe, as you can also reduce the amount of hot spices. Although their use in this soup is justified, since legumes are sometimes difficult to digest, and chili pepper and black pepper, according to the Vedic tradition, are a good means for improving the digestive process.
Potato balls with horseradish and spices
Indian cuisine also offers recipes from our "native" potato. True, sometimes in an unconventional presentation. Ingredients:
- 3-4 large potatoes
- 4-5 tsp butter
- 2-3 tsp fresh grated horseradish
- 6-7 lemon slices
- 1 tsp salt
- Black or white pepper - a pinch
- Chili pepper (cayenne pepper) - pinch
Preparation:Bake or boil the potatoes in their skins. Cool, peel, and mash. Add butter, grated horseradish, pepper, and salt. Using oiled hands, form the puree into small balls (the size of a walnut). Sprinkle with red pepper. Serve with lemon.
Baked bananas with almonds
Traditional Indian cuisine is the ultimate in health benefits, even in such questionable dishes from a dietary point of view as desserts. Ingredients:
- 4 dense strong banana
- ¼ cup orange juice (better fresh)
- 2 tablespoons butter (melted)
- 2 tablespoons almond shavings (flakes)
- 2 tablespoons unrefined sugar
- 1 tbsp. lemon juice
- By ¼ tsp. ground nutmeg and cardamom
Preparation:Mix lemon and orange juices, add spices. Peel the bananas, cut them in half lengthwise. Grease a baking tray with oil and place the bananas on it, cut side up. Pour the juice over the bananas, drizzle them with melted butter, sprinkle with sugar. Place the tray in a preheated oven (180C) for a few minutes until the sugar on the surface of the bananas caramelizes and boils. Open the oven, take the tray out and place the almond flakes on the bananas. Bake the bananas for a few more minutes under the grill until the almonds turn golden. Serve the dessert hot. As you can see, Indian cuisine is not only curry and rice dishes. And we have a lot to learn from the Indians in terms of cooking vegetables and using spices. We recommend reading:
