The Basics
Simplifying Indian cuisine while not losing its complex essence is at the heart of Vish’s Little Vittles. A very common misconception is that Indian food is spicy, heavy and far too varied. Due to this, most people do not know where to begin with the cuisine. First, I plan to loosely define the diverse regional cuisines India has to offer. Second, I will dive deep into the term spicy and its association with actual spices. Third, I’ll define certain terms that are used widely on this website and can help you navigate through recipes or menus when you visit an Indian restaurant! Finally, I want to share a secret about where Indian food actually gets its robust flavour from - the answer to which is quite literally on your finger tips!!!
If you find an inaccuracy in my explanations or you want me to talk about other misconceptions you may have come across, please feel free to comment below. We’re all learning together!
Regional Diversity
Similar to India having quite a few languages, with each language having multiple dialects and a unique script, Indian food is extremely diverse. Consequently, each state has specific foods. Here, I am going to highlight my favorite foods from each region.
To start off, l want to share about little Vishwa growing up in a Gujarati (Gujju) family. Gujarat is a state in western India. Lunches at home consisted of a complete Gujju thali: roti (bread), daal (lentils), bhaat (rice), shaak (veggies) and farsan (appetiser). People from here, Gujaratis (Gujjus), are predominantly traditionally vegetarians. The thali does a great job of a balanced whole meal plate. My favorite farsan still is and forever will be dhoklas with chutney. This thali, specially in restaurants, is served on a patrari - a plate made by weaving leaves together. Rajasthan, situated to the North of Gujarat, is known for its daal-bati (lentils and bread) and churma (dessert).
Moving along South India’s long coastline, its tropical climate and topography encourages a lot of seafood, coconut and rice in their diets. I love the silky smooth coconut curries studded with succulent fresh fish. YUM! One of my favorite South Indian meals is dosas (fermented rice pancakes) and idlis (pillowy steamed rice cakes) with sambhar (lentils), potato veggie and all the chutneys. Another dish that comes to mind is biryani - layered rice with meat and robust flavours. It was brought to Hyderabad by the Mughals from Persia. The west coast and east coast have different dishes to offer. A few things tie it together - coconuts, seafood and rice, all served on a beautiful banana leaf plate.
East India is influenced by India’s northern neighbours, Bhutan and Tibet, and the southern states. Proximity to the north has opened doors to steamed momos (very similar to dumplings) and thukpa (noodles in a soupy broth with meat). Whereas, proximity to the south makes fish and rice a staple here as well. One of my favorite dishes is machar jol, a Bengali fish curry.
North Indian food is probably the most globally represented of all regions. It is home to the famous butter chicken, tandoori starters and naan! While these are showcased at almost every Indian restaurant overseas, there is so much more this region has to offer. For example, in Kashmir, they serve wazwan which is a spread of 7-36 items of the most exquisite meat dishes often sprinkled with saffron.
This is just a loose representation of how each region has a version of their thali - with carbs (rice/wheat), protein (lentils/meats) and vitamins (veggies), and is by no means comprehensive. There is a whole world of chaat which are sweet, salty, tangy, hot, cold, crunchy, mushy, ALL at the same time!! I might go into that in the future. But for now, class on regional diversity is dismissed!
Spice VS Spicy
My heat tolerance is actually quite low for being born and brought up in India. I say heat and not spice, because they are indeed different and I will tackle it in this section.
First things first - a brief (slightly long) overview on spices. India was and continues to be a major consumer and supplier of all sorts of spices. This is why Indian food is usually flavored by spices that all have unique flavor profiles and heat levels. Depending on the recipe, spices may or may not be ground to a fine powder. The dependence on spices is so common that each Indian household, I am almost certain, has a masala dabba. Masala means spices and dabba, a box. My masala dabba consists of turmeric powder, Kashmiri chilli powder, coriander seed powder, whole cumin seeds and fenugreek seeds. I store the rest of my spices separately (pictured some). One of the other main spices is hing (asafoetida). It has a pungent smell and a pinch goes a long way. It is usually one of the first spices bloomed in heated oil/ghee/butter. Its main purpose really is to help with digestion.
A good balance of spices governs the final taste of the dish. You can find ready made spice mixes for most Indian dishes. However, dry roasting your spices and grinding them fresh in a mortar and pestle or a spice/coffee grinder provides a freshness that is sometimes tough to beat. For instance, I dry roast and grind cumin seeds; always keeping it on hand. The freshness lasts for a month or two in an airtight container. At home, we have a big sweet neem tree where we get fresh curry leaves from. However, I did not have this luxury when I was studying away from home. That’s when I started buying a bunch at the Indian grocery store and freezing them in a ziplock bag.
Finally tackling the Spice VS Spicy debate… As mentioned before, I comparatively, barely eat spicy food. Indian food does not necessarily have to be spicy. It is fairly simple to adjust the heat, just skip or add less chilli powder, dried roasted red chilli, peppers or fresh green chilli. However, I would suggest not changing the proportions of the rest of the spices. Most of the dishes on my website are representative of my childhood - so you really shouldn’t be ‘sweating bullets’ when you try them out!
Terminology
I want to capture a few terms that are important to the Indian food scene. Again, this list is not comprehensive by any means. Share your additions in the comments below!
Ghee - Clarified butter goodness! Food made in ghee tastes so yummy. I highly recommend trying it out if you have not already. It tastes wonderful with basically everything.
Ginger chilli paste - Grind equal parts ginger and chilli in a food processor. It stays fresh in the fridge for a day or two or in the freezer for a few months.
Tadka - Heat oil/ghee/butter and crackle a few whole spices for a minute or two and pour this goodness over your finished product. In gujju, it’s called vaghar. A tiny little pot is designated for this sole job called Vaghariyu (pictured).
Lentils - Lentils are a great source of protein. There are so many different types that I am still learning as well. When the lentils are split into two, it’s called daal. For example, moong is whole whereas moong daal is split. I have pictured a few.
Grains - The Indian cuisine has a myriad of grains. Each is used in its own unique way. I have pictured a few that are used predominantly at my home.
Thali - It means a plate with different types of foods on it. You could think of it as a platter. It’s usually complete from an appetizer to dessert! Ofcourse, I have a picture of a traditional thali. Fun fact - this was lunch today!
Paneer - It is often described as tofu’s Indian cousin but softer and creamier. It is made by adding lemon/vinegar to simmering whole milk. I like to eat it as is or with some chaat masala. It is pretty common in north Indian cuisine and definitely famous amongst vegetarians.
Tandoori - An extremely old cooking technique seen more commonly in north India. It is a cylindrical clay oven. It works like a barbeque. Tandoori tikkas, tandoori rotis and naans are simply to die for.
Chutneys - I strongly believe there is a chutney out there to elevate any mundane dish. A chutney is a sauce that can be made from so many different items and has different variations from house to house, city to city and state to state.
Raitas - These are condiments made from yogurt. It acts as a cooling agent and just like chutneys has tons of variations.
Mithai - India is called the land of milk and honey. So obviously, our mithai aka desserts are extravagant and a true delicacy. A few that come to mind are different types of sheeras, halvas and laddoos.
Flavor explosion
Yes, spices impart flavor. But in my not-so expert opinion, I think it lies in the way Indians eat food. The technique truly is an art that words can’t describe!
Thali (L-R): daal, rice, yogurt, kachumbar (salad), vada (starter), chutney, roti, papad, sukhdi (sweet), tindora (veggie).
step 1: tear a pice of roti
step 2: wrap roti around the veggies and pick it up to make a bite
step 3: finally, take the bite to your mouth and push the food in!!! Really no need for your entire hand to be in your mouth.
