Goa

Goa is located along India's west coast along the Arabian Sea. Seafood, coconut milk, rice and local spices are main ingredients of Goan cuisine. The area is in a tropical climate, with spices and flavours being intense.

The cuisine of Goa is influenced by its Hindu origins; four hundred years of Portuguese colonialism, and modern techniques. The state is frequented by tourists visiting its beaches and historic sites, so its food also has an international aspect.

The cuisine is mostly seafood based, with the staple foods being rice and fish. Kingfish is the most common variety, with others including pomfret, shark, tuna and mackerel. Shellfish are plentiful with crabs, prawns, tiger prawns, lobster, squid and mussels all being popular.

The Hindu food of Goa is unique, while Goan Christians are influenced by the Portuguese , who brought potatoes, tomatoes, pineapples, guavas and cashews from Brazil. Of these, tomatoes and potatoes were not accepted by the Hindus until the late 20th century.

The most important part of Goan spices, the chili, was introduced to Goan cuisine by the Portuguese and became immensely popular. All these above - mentioned ingredients were not used in Goan cuisine before the advent of the Portuguese.

Awadh (Lucknow)

Once known as Lakshmanpur, Awadh is claimed to be among the most ancient of Hindu States, now in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Today it is known as Lucknow.

Authentic dishes ranging from kormas to kulchas, roomali rotis to parathas and flavourful biryani are famous all over the world, thanks to the Nawabs of Awadh. The art of cooking food over a slow fire, or 'Dum' style of cooking originated from this region. This process involves sealing ingredients in large pot called 'handi' and is placed over slow fire, allowing the ingredients to simmer in their own juices.

Awadh style of cooking is deeply influenced by the Mogul style and it closely resembles the cuisine of Kashmir and Hyderabad. The richness of Awadh cuisine lies in its ingredients and also the diverse cooking methods. Some dishes are flavourful due to the use of rich ingredients such as cream and ghee, while others taste equally good prepared with mustard oil.

Kababs such as Shami kabab, Gilawat ka Kabab, Kakori kabab are famous all over the world. Nihari is a meat stew usually eaten with a kulcha (bread) for breakfast. Lucknavi Biryani is one of the most famous of all. The term Biryani derives from the Persian word “Birian”, which means "roasted before cooking." Biryani is a mixture of basmati rice, meat, vegetables, yogurt, and spices. Kulfis (ice cream) and various rice, fruit, vegetable puddings are enjoyed as desserts during summer and halwas in winter.

Syrian Christians Community

The Christian Community of Kerala (in Southern India) traces back its origin to the advent of St. Thomas, the Apostle to India, who reached the Cragnanore Port in AD 52. This community started to grow with the arrival of East Syrian settlers and Persian missionaries in 3rd century AD. It is said that the Christianity flourished here much before it was taken up by Europe.

Coconuts grow in abundance in Kerala and consequently it is widely used in the cooking. Kerala is also one of the major producers of spices such as black pepper, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon. Fish and seafood dishes are very popular because of the region’s long coastline, numerous rivers and backwater networks and a strong fishing industry.

Syrian Christians rarely consume dairy products like milk or curd with fish and meats. Instead they use coconut milk as a substitute in preparations. They are also expert wine makers and widely consume wine in contrast to their neighbours of other faiths.

This makes Indian Chinese food similar in taste to many ethnic dishes in Southeast Asian countries such as Singapore and Malaysia, which have strong Chinese and Indian cultural influences.

Wine is generally prepared weeks in advance for festivals such as Christmas and Easter.

A favourite dish of Kerala Christians is "mappas", or chicken stew. Other dishes include; Istu (chicken/any meat stew made with vegetables and potatoes), Fish Fry, Meen Vevichathu (fish in fiery red chili sauce), Meat Thoran (dry curry with shredded coconut) and Oletherachi (dry and spicy beef dish).

Parsi Cuisine

Parsi also spelled Parsee, member of a group of followers in India of the Iranian prophet Zoroaster. The Parsis, whose name means "Persians", are descended from Persian Zoroastrians who immigrated to India to avoid religious persecution by the Muslims. They live chiefly in Mumbai and in a few towns and villages mostly to the north of Mumbai, but also in Karachi (Pakistan) and Bangalore (Karnataka, India). Over the centuries since the first Zoroastrians arrived in India, the Parsis have integrated themselves into Indian society while simultaneously maintaining or developing their own distinct customs and traditions (and thus ethnic identity).The Parsis have made considerable contributions to the history and development of India, all the more remarkable considering their small numbers. Some notable Parsis are rock starFreddie Mercury, founder of Cobra beer Lord Karan Billimoria and the founder of Tata who bought Jaguar Land Rover.The basic feature of a Parsi lunch is rice, eaten with lentils or a curry. Dinner would be a meat dish, often accompanied by potatoes or other vegetable curry.

Kachumbar (a sharp onion-cucumber salad) accompanies most meals. Popular Parsi dishes include: Chicken farcha (fried chicken), Patra ni machhi (steamed fish wrapped in banana leaf), Dhansak (lamb, mutton, goat and vegetables in lentil and toor daal gravy), Sali murghi(spicy chicken with fine fried matchstick potatoes), Jinga no patio(shrimp in spicy tomato curry), Saas ni machhi (yellow rice with pomfret fish fillets in a white sauce), Jardaloo sali boti (boneless mutton in an onion and tomato sauce with apricots and fried matchstick potatoes). Also popular among Parsis, are the typical Parsieeda (egg) dishes, and often dishes (such as those listed above) are served with an egg on top

The Punjab Region

Punjab literally means ‘land of five rivers’ in Persian. As it was divided into two at the time of partition a part of Punjab lies is in the north west of India and the other in north east of Pakistan.

Punjab mainly consists of large fertile plains and is India’s biggest producer of wheat. Milk and its products in the form of malai (cream), paneer (cottage cheese), butter and curds are used with almost every Punjabi meal.

The most popular form of Indian food served around the world is derived from Punjabi cuisine. The concept of using the tandoor oven in Indian kitchens originated here. Communal tandoors are still used in the villages of Punjab where women gather in the evening to cook bread and share gossip.

It shares several characteristics with the cuisine of Kashmir and other adjacent states. Punjabi cuisine is diverse, and varies regionally. Punjabi food served in the restaurants originated from the ‘Dhabas’ - roadside restaurants started by Punjabi people to provide food to truckers. It would not be wrong to say that in India ‘Dhabas’ were the first restaurants. Tandoori Chicken, Dal Makhani, Karahi Paneer, Chicken Tikka, Lassi, Kheer, Jalebi; are the popular Punjabi dishes found in restaurants all over the world.

Other popular seasonal dishes are; Sarsoon da Saag – prepared with green mustard leaves; Makki di Roti – maize flour bread; and Cholle Bhaturre – chickpeas served with fried bread.