Authentic Indian food ranks with French and Chinese cuisine as one of the great culinary traditions of the world. Reflecting many different cultures in its tremendous diversity, Indian food ranges from exquisitely simple vegetarian dishes to full-flavoured meat, chicken and fish concoctions made with dozens of ingredients. Each region has its own specialties inspired by race, religion, history and geography and each restaurant and housewife adds an individual touch.
The secret of fine Indian cooking is the inspired use of spices. Far from always being chilli-hot, Indian sauces are blended to complement the main ingredient.
Rotis and Pilaus
 Cereals are the staple of very Indian meal. Here again the variety is staggering. Among the many different rotis (unleavened breads), chapattis are the most common. Like their cousins the handkerchief-thin rumali roti, they are cooked on a griddle. Others are oven-baked, like the fluffy rectangular nan and the simpler tandoori roti. Then there is the array of fried parathas, puris and baturas, some of them stuffed with vegetables or meat. Most rotis are made of various combinations of refined and wholemeal wheatflour, although ground gram (chickpeas) is used for the delicious puranpoli of Maharashtra and Gujarat, maize, for the makai ki roti popular in rural Punjab, millet for the hearty bajara ki roti found in most villages, and ground rice for the other varieties, especially on the west coast.
Rice is cooked in many different ways. Simple steamed rice usually accompanies spiced, soupy main dishes. More elaborate variations include coconut, lemon and tamarind rice, frequently served in the south. Then there are the pilaus (pilaf), rice cooked in a rich, spiced chicken or meat broth, considered in north India to be the last of a fine chef. The king of rice dishes, however, is biriyani, a fragrant, layered rice and meat extravaganza characteristic of the Mughlai cuisine of North India and of Hyderabad in southern India, once a Mughal province.
A common accompanying to most Indian meals is dal, or lentils, valuable for their high protein content. Dozens of different kinds, innumerable methods of preparation and a wide range of accompanying ingredients create a bewildering variety. There is the thick tamarind-flavoured sambhar from the south, the slightly sweet dals of Gujarat and the thick dal makahani of the north.
 Among the daily products used Indian cuisine, ghee, clarified butter, is a traditional cooking medium with a unique full flavour. Rising prices have now restricted its use to special occasions. Yoghurt, known as dahi or crud, integral to Indian meals, is used as a marinade, as a tangy base for rich sauces, and is also served to counter rich or spicy food. It is sometimes lightly spiced and mixed with vegetables or fruit to create the soothing raitas of the north and the pachadis of the south. Churned and salted or sweetened dahi also makes a refreshing summer drink called Lassi. Paneer, similar to cottage cheese, is a favourite source of protein among vegetarians in the north.
A selection of pickles and chutneys - sour, hot and sweet - accompanies every meal. Chosen to complement the main course, they stimulate the appetite and aid digestion. Mango and lime are common pickle bases, while fresh mint, coriander, ginger and coconut are also used. Sweet chutneys of mango and tomato are often served. Papads, roasted or deep-fried savoury crisps, accompany meals in all parts of the country. Usually made of rolled and dried rice or lentil dough, they have a delightful crunchiness.
Vegetarian Delights
India's large vegetarian community has inspired its chefs to develop a highly sophisticated vegetarian cuisine. 'Pure' vegetarian food is usually cooked without the otherwise ubiquitous garlic, ginger and onions. 'Heating' or stimulating spices like cloves, cardamom and cinnamon are also excluded. Gujarati vegetarian food, served in many restaurants, it presented in the form of a thali, a circular metal tray holding numerous small bowls (katoris) filled with a delectable variety of vegetables, dal and kadi, a mixture of curd and chickpeas. The use of gur or jaggery (brown sugar) in Gujarati cooking adds an interesting hint of sweetness and distinguishes it from food in other parts of the country. Aam rasa, pureed mango, appears on menus in summer and is eaten with the puris (deep-fried puffed bread) that are always placed in the middle of the thali next to a small mound of rice. Papads (or pappadums, lentil flour crisps) round off the meal.
South Indian food, also predominantly vegetarian, is popular throughout India for its zesty flavours and generally low cost. The crisp, paper-thin, pancake-like dosa, served plain or stuffed with lightly spiced potatoes, steamed idli ad deep-fried doughnut-shaped vadas are served together piping hot with a mustardy sambhar and a more bland but equally delicious coconut chutney. Dosa, idli and vadas, a popular breakfast combination, are all made of a slightly fermented rice and lentil batter. Upma, crumbly semolina cooked with curry leaves and garnished with nuts, is another southern favourite. Less well known but equally delicious are dishes like the thick avial stew of Kerala, cooked in coconut oil; kaottu, in a coconut and chickpea sauce; and rasam, a thin peppery soup, all served with mound of rice saturated with ghee.
 The vegetarian food of North India derives from the lightly spiced dishes of Varanasi. Many specialities are based on paneer (cottage cheese), which may be cooked with spinach (palak paneer), in a gravy with peas (matter paneer) or with lotus seeds (paneer phoolmakhana). A typical farmer's meal in the north would consist of parathas stuffed with potatoes, cauliflower or horseradish eaten with dahi (curd) or mustard greens (sarson ka saag) and cornmeal bread.
Mughlai Magic
Several of India's famous meat dishes come from the north where Muslim influence introduced considerable sophistication. The superb Mughlai cuisine with its luscious sauces of milk, dahi, cream and crushed nuts is available in major restaurants in the big cities. There are rich, creamy kormas; tender, steak-like pasindas in an almond sauce; nargisi kofta, mince (usually mutton) moulded around a hard-boiled egg and simmered in a piquant sauce; the famous do pyaza, cooked with onions; and the succulent raan, a whole leg of mutton marinated overnight and gently roasted until it is butter-soft.
Contributions from Kashmir are culinary triumphs: gaustaba, pounded meat shaped into meatballs and simmered in a yoghurt sauce; haleem, mutton cooked with wheat, milk and curds; deep-fried tabak maas (a Kashmiri meat dish); and the fragrant roghan josh (mutton). Perhaps the most significant innovation, however, is the tandoor, a charcoal-heated clay oven, which produces the magnificent tandoori food now available everywhere: tandoori chicken and fish, boti kababs (chunks of marinated grilled meat), chop-like barra kababs, seekh kababs (spiced mince grilled on a skewer), and its exotic variation, the kakori kabab, which melts in your mouth. With the increased interest in regional food, a huge number of traditional recipes have been revived, many from the kitchens of the former maharajas.
 Meat dishes in southern and western India offer a different range of flavours. Coconut-based sauces are common in Kerala and other parts of South India. Vinegar and a liberal use of cinnamon distinguish the food of Goa. Pork sorpotel (cooked with vinegar), spicy vindaloo, chorizo sausages and chicken shakuti or cafreal are wonderful, but often very pungent. Portuguese dishes transformed by local adaptations can be unusual but delicious.
Goa is also famed for its seafood, cooked in creamy but slightly sour coconut sauces, or stuffed with a delicious combination of spices. Elsewhere, seafood recipes very tremendously. There are the mustard-flavoured macher jhol and jhonga malai (cream prawns) of Bengal, the chilli-hot curries of Andhra Pradesh and the coconut and curry-leaf-flavoured specialities of the south and west coast. Dried fish and shrimp, cooked with vegetables and dal, add interest to the simple fare of the coastal villages. The Parsis, eighth-century migrants from Persia, created patrani machi, lightly spiced fish steamed in banana leaves, and saas ni machi, fish cooked in a delicate sauce. Dhansak, meat cooked in a gravy of mixed dals, is another delightful Parsi dish.
Delectable Desserts
Indian desserts are often too sweet for the Western palate. Most are flavoured with cardamom, saffron, essence of rose or kewda flower extract and have a garnish of nuts and a thin layer of edible silver foil. Bengal is particularly famous for its milk-based confections: juicy rasgulla (cream cheese balls); sandesh (Bengali milk sweet); steaming hot gulab jamun (fried cream cheese); rasmalai (cream cheese balls in double cream); and mishti dohi, the delicious caramel-flavoured curd, Kheer, a richer version of rice pudding; shahi tukra, an exotic counterpart of bread pudding; phirni (firnee) made of powdered rice and milk; and kulfi, a delicious nutty ice-cream, are favourite northern sweets. Barfi, milk fudge, plain or enriched with coconut or crushed nuts, is common on festive occasions. Sweets from the south include Mysore pak (sweet-meat with raisins and ghee) and creamy payasum pudding, while both Maharashtrans and Gujaratis are partial to shrikhand, made of drained, sweetened and spiced curd. Crisp golden jelabi, dripping with syrup, available in even the tiniest bazaars, are served piping hot at breakfast and tea time.
A paan is often served at the end of a traditional Indian meal. Paan consists of a betel leaf smeared with catechu (a tannin-rich powder), lime paste (not the fruit) and fragrant essences, wrapped around shredded betel nut, cardamom, aniseed and other ingredients, all secured by a clove pierced through the folds of the leaf. Given the acclaimed digestive properties of the package, it is a perfect and sometimes necessary finale to a rich Indian meal - and definitely and acquired taste.
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