Masala Cook:: Indian Food, Indian Cooking, Indian Recipes & More

What is jaljeera?

North India’s long, hot and dry summers led to the development of several refreshing, healthy drinks with digestive properties. Jaljeera (jal = water, jeera = cumin) is a popular, easy-to-make cooler with herbs and spices common to most Indian kitchens. Cilantro and mint leaf pastes are combined with dry-roasted and ground cumin seeds, black salt (a.k.a. rock salt), a little lemon juice and sugar. Amchur or dried mango powder adds a sour tang to the mixture, which is diluted with plenty of water.

Serve a chilled glass of jaljeera with a sprig of mint. It can be stored for several days in the refrigerator.

What is pani puri or golgappe?

Pani puri or golgappe belong to the “chaat” family of Indian street foods, savored for their tongue-tingling mix of flavors. The dish is said to have originated in the holy city of Benares, but is sold widely across north, west and east India under different names.

A plate of pani-puri typically consists of 5-6 small, spherical flatbreads called puris, fried crisp. The vendor cracks open the tops of the puris and stuffs in several ingredients like spiced potato pieces or chickpeas, chopped onions and coriander leaves. The puri is then filled with the “pani”, a thin soup of water, tamarind pulp, roasted cumin and chilli powder, rock salt and plain salt. The fun is in eating the pani-puri, which must be popped in whole, crunched and swallowed – not an easy accomplishment when the spices “explode” in the mouth!

What are paranthas in Indian Food?

Paranthas are unleavened, whole wheat flatbreads native to Punjab. Parantha dough is kneaded with a little oil as well as water. For a basic parantha, small portions are rolled out into round, triangular or square shapes and cooked on a griddle with a smearing of oil on both sides.

Paranthas are also stuffed with a variety of vegetables and herbs (mashed potato, grated cauliflower, radish, chopped fenugreek or mint leaves), paneer or minced meat. This hearty fare is traditionally eaten with a blob of unsalted butter melting on it or with a bowl of yogurt and pickle on the side. On chilly winter mornings, freshly cooked, stuffed paranthas make for a delectable brunch, washed down with a glass of lassi.

In the bylanes of historic Old Delhi, Paranthewali Gali is a street dedicated to this all-time Punjabi favorite, where for decades, a couple of tiny cafes have been dishing up the most amazing range of paranthas!

What is Dhokla?

Dhokla is a popular tea-time snack in Gujarati homes and one that’s widely sold in Indian sweet shops and fast-food restaurants. It’s healthy fare too, since it’s steamed rather than fried and is high in protein and fiber.

The basic ingredient which goes into dhoklas is split Bengal gram (chana dal) or gram flour. This is ground into a batter with spices (turmeric, ginger, green chilies) and a dash of sugar added for color and flavor. The mixture is fermented, poured into a thaali and steamed. When done, it looks much like a pale yellow sponge cake. A tempering of mustard seeds, curry leaves, chopped coriander leaves and grated coconut is sprinkled on top. The “cake” is cut into pieces and served with tamarind or mint chutney. This is the traditional khaman dhokla.

Variations on the dhokla theme are a rice-and-lentil version called khatta dhokla (khatta = sour) and more modern experiments like vegetable dhokla and cheese dhokla. If ever there was a guilt-free snack, this is it!

What is Bhel Puri?

A street food that’s virtually synonymous with Mumbai city, bhel-puri is a nutrient rich snack with a mind boggling variety of flavors. Puffed rice, a fried savory mix, and sev (tiny, crisp, gram flour noodles) form the base. To this are added boiled potato pieces, finely chopped onions, tomatoes and green chilies A dash of  date-and-tamarind chutney,  coriander-and chili chutney and  you’re ready to spoon it down with a couple of small puris!

Bhel puri is best eaten in a newspaper cone, on Chowpatty Beach, Mumbai, with a salty breeze blowing through your hair. If that’s not possible, try it out at home. You can’t really go wrong with bhel puri!

What is Pao Bhaji?

Finger-lickin’ good stuff, sold off the streets of Mumbai and Pune. It’s nourishing, too! Pao means bun in Marathi, the local language, and Bhaji is a generic term for a vegetable dish. Urban legend has it that the dish was dreamed up by a vendor decades ago to cater to the workers of Mumbai’s textile mills.

Assorted vegetables added to a mashed potato, onion and tomato base, form the thick gravy, cooked on an enormous griddle. The 12-spice mix added to it imparts a unique flavor that sends one’s taste buds into a tizzy. The pao is sliced in half, pan-fried with a dollop of butter and served with bhaji.

What is Rasmalai in Indian Cuisine?

This sinfully scrumptious creation originates from eastern India, the home of many, popular milk-based sweets.

Flattened cottage cheese (paneer) dumplings are cooked in sugar syrup and then dunked into thickened, mildly sweet milk. The sugar never overwhelms the palate, thanks to the cardamom powder added to the milk. When serving, slivers of dried pistachio are added as a garnish. Rasmalai served chilled makes for a fabulous dessert. A perfect rasmalai is soft and spongy, never excessively sweet and will have you going back for more!

What is Idli in South Indian Cooking?

This is the dosa’s less glamorous sibling; it’s easier on the waistline, since it’s steamed, not fried. The rice-and-lentil batter is spooned into an idli stand consisting of plates with built in shallow cavities. The stand goes into a steamer and is allowed to cook for about 10-12 minutes. Once done, the perfect idli is soft and a little springy. The fermentation process makes it nutrient-rich, while steaming makes it easy to digest. An ideal breakfast if you’re recuperating from indigestion or as a solid food for toddlers. Like the dosa, it’s accompanied by sambar and chutney; some favor it with nothing but a little ‘gunpowder’ (roasted and ground red chilies, lentils and salt) and sesame oil or ghee.

What does Dosa mean in Indian Cuisine?

Dosa is a South Indian staple that’s travelled worldwide. Neither pancake nor flatbread, the dosa could be best described as a golden brown crepe, crisp and very melt-in-the-mouth! Its ingredients are simple: a 1:4 ratio of split lentils and parboiled rice, soaked, ground into a batter and left to ferment. 

Dosas are prepared by thinning the batter with water and spreading spoonfuls onto a greased, heated griddle. When both sides are cooked, the dosa is folded into a half-moon and served with small bowls of freshly ground coconut chutney and sambar, a sour-and-spicy lentil curry. A heavier version, the Masala Dosa, has a small portion of spicy, cooked potato placed inside the half-moon.

Dosas are traditionally eaten for breakfast or ‘tiffin’ in the early evening, but restaurants serve them as all day food. Variations on restaurant menu are Paper Dosa, (extra crisp, cone-shaped), Rava Dosa (made of semolina) and Uthappam (made thicker, pancake-style, with chopped onion, green chilies and tomatoes). Some restaurants publicize their expertise by making extra long, rolled dosas which can be shared by several people sitting in a row!

What is Gulab Jamun in Indian Cuisine?

Gulab means ‘rose’ and Jamun is a fruit; together though, they refer to the hugely popular Indian sweet that’s a regular at festivals, weddings and on desi restaurant menus.

From dough consisting of milk solids (khoya) and flour, small balls (golf-ball size) are rolled and gently deep-fried in ghee until golden brown. These are soaked in warm sugar syrup to which rosewater, cardamom seeds and perhaps saffron have been added. Sometimes, you’ll find gulab jamuns with a few slivers of pistachio embedded in the centre – taking indulgence to new levels! When sugar is added to the dough, the jamun caramelizes and turns near black, a variation called Kala Jamun. A modern take on this traditional sweet is hot gulab jamuns served with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream melting over!