Cuisine

You could find in India as many culinary styles as there are regions in this country. And if you think that India is just famous for its spicy curries, you will be surprised to discover the diversity of the Indian cuisine…And since its region has a plethora of offerings, you could use the thali system to have an overview of the region's cuisine. This complete meal comprises of up to dozen individual servings of meat, chicken, vegetables, rice….Just enjoy…

Each Indian community has its own dietary restrictions; however you could find the trio of mutton, chicken and fish throughout the country. Mutton and chicken will be preferred in the northern region, mutton is the main part of the traditional wazwan, dish cooked in Jammu & Kashmir. The fish and the crustaceans will be the basis of the food in the coastal regions. You could taste some coconut preparations in the West Bengal. On the contrary, in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, you will experience mainly vegetarian dishes. In the North, the most popular dishes are from Punjab, they include grilled tandoori food (kind of barbecued cuisine).

Khasta roti, Pudina paratha, naan… will be served along with the main dishes, and help you to scoop the food into the mouth.

Most Indian sweets are aids in digestion, so it will be a pity not to taste them after your meal : commonly made of milk, and sometimes over sweeted for foreigners, you could savour a kulfi ( saffron ice cream), gulab jamun ( sweets dumplings) or rasmalai ( cottage cheese ball)….

In the beverages section too, there is a wide variety available. The number one in the country is the nimbu paani, a simply lime juice with water or soda, then the lassi or butter milk, a thin mixture of yoghurt and water, is very popular in the hot Northern region. During the hot summer, you will drink a sherbet, a sweetened concentrated extract of herbs…or some fresh fruit juices.

And since you will be in the world's largest producer of tea, you should taste the most popular drink in India, the masala chai (tea spiced with cardamom and ginger), that you could order directly in a stall in the streets to seize the real essence of India.

However, India hasn't escaped to the globalization, so you could find easily in the main cities, all the famous chains of restaurants ( Mc Donald's, Pizza hut, Domino Pizza, KFC..), as well as some Continental and Chinese dishes on the menus of the restaurants.