Let's start with something specific:
Indian curry and beef brisket rice
India and Pakistan, which used to have some unfamiliar words, have become one of the hottest topics because of this season's fashion. That kind of colorful red and purple, the nation to the extreme, but also the fashion to the extreme. This time, fashion drives the taste buds, and Indian food under the veil of mystery is also beginning to stir, and the probe looks around.
eating pancakes dipped in "vegetable paste"
Like Chinese food, which is basically based on rice, Indian food is mainly based on bread or rice, usually accompanied by curry. Almost all dishes are cooked into paste. Generally, the following cakes are torn by hand, dipped in or rolled with vegetable paste to eat. If it is rice, mix the rice with the vegetable paste and pinch it with your fingers.
There are more than a dozen kinds of cakes in Indian cuisine, some of which are similar to pancakes in northern China, and they are baked on an iron plate that looks like a pancake pan. A thin pancake that can be rolled into different shapes can be dipped in several sauces such as coconut milk and green pepper coriander juice. There is also a kind of cake with strange leaf shape and a cake similar to the egg cake of Indian pancakes.
A dish pronounced "Dari" (butter and soybean) is one of the most popular Indian dishes, and almost every table must be ordered. Although it is said to be soybean, it is actually an Indian bean similar to pea. Beans are a must for every meal in India, and always appear as the main course. Cooked "soybean" with curry and various spices, it tastes like mashed potatoes, very fragrant and tender. If this dish is not Indian, it can be imagined as a perfect match for rice or steamed bread. In fact, many dishes in India feel like this. It is used to match flying cakes and fried rice. These things taste wonderful and feel great when mixed together.
In India, people have the habit of eating with their hands. Now, using tableware and eating with their hands are basically half to half. Tearing cakes is done with thumb, forefinger and middle finger, which seems to be an easy action, but if you haven't practiced it, you will find it easy to make a fool of yourself.
Indian roast chicken is browned
Of course, there are also non-mushy dishes in India, that is, Indian barbecue, including roast chicken, roast mutton and grilled fish. Many Indian dishes are baked, but they are not baked in ovens and ovens. If you have seen Xinjiang people cooking naan on the street, you will use that kind of earthen stove.
Indian food pays attention to barbecue, and it won't stop until it is browned. Most of them use a large oven. In this traditional stove with a hole, they can roast chicken, grilled fish, kebabs and many kinds of cakes, which is very practical.
Everything baked in the earthen oven is very bright in color. For example, the exaggerated red color of Indian roast chicken is formed by using a lot of Indian spices and then slowly baking it with a small fire, which has a unique taste.
Masala milk tea and "small beans"
Usually, after a meal, local people will drink a cup of spiced Indian milk tea, also called Masala milk tea. There is no difference between the original milk tea and what we usually drink, but after adding a spice called "Masala", it is very individual.
In India, at the checkout counter in front of some restaurants, you can see a small bowl filled with strange things like fennel. This is for every guest to eat when they leave the house, and the effect is like chewing gum. There is also a small bag of snacks. When you tear open the bag and pour it out, you will find that it is a small red and green ball with irregular head, shape and color. When Indians eat it, they put it in their mouths in a pinch, learn from them and take a bite. After chewing it, they find that it tastes like adzuki beans, except for sweetness, which seems to have a special aroma. Because Indian food is made of many spicy spices, it will taste in your mouth after eating it, and the bad taste will disappear immediately after chewing this colorful mini "small bean". In the snack bar, you can sometimes see a huge pot at the door, with white milk warmed by slow fire and half of it covered with milk skin, which is very fragrant.
Indian desserts that are surprisingly sweet
There are many kinds of desserts in India, but they are generally sweet. There is a kind of dessert called Rasgullas, which is very famous in India and seems to be very popular. It is a milky white ball, which looks like a glutinous rice balls. When pressed with a spoon, it can feel the smoothness and elasticity of its appearance. It is made of milk skin, syrup, baking powder, etc., and it is full of sugar water. Almost every bite can make your mouth full of syrup, which is so sweet. If you don't like friends who eat too sweet, try to buy less desserts that are directly soaked in syrup, because they are often surprisingly sweet. In addition, some spherical desserts look plump and crystal clear, so be careful. Most of them are also full of syrup.
the best partner of Indian food: yogurt
When it comes to cold drinks in India, yogurt is definitely the first choice. It tastes full and soft. In addition to yogurt provided by major hotels, there are also many small shops selling yogurt on the streets of India. It's really a pleasure for travelers in the hot sun to sit in a yogurt shop and have a cup of cool yogurt after a rush. Yogurt here has two basic tastes: sweet or salty. In addition, there are various fruit flavors, such as mango, banana, and mixed fruits, which are not added with essence, but with fresh pulp.
Because the main courses of Indian dishes are mostly mutton, chicken and seafood, and onions and curry are essential in each dish, which is a little greasy and difficult to digest in China's eyes, yogurt has become the best partner of Indian dishes. Alcohol-rich yogurt made of milk can dissolve the greasy food. This kind of yogurt is so strong that it can't be drunk and can only be eaten with a small spoon. Moreover, unlike China, where yogurt is sweet, most Indians drink yogurt with salt instead of sugar, or simply the original flavor.
Then there is the big food culture:
Indian people have great differences in food culture between the north and the south. There are many meats, grains and bread in northern cooking, and they like spicy food. There are many vegetarian dishes, rice and spicy curry in the south. The basic foods of Indian families are rice, home-cooked cakes and lentils, and the common condiments are Gan Qing pickle and coriander leaves.
Indian people usually start their dinner with soup, usually thin curry, and all the other dishes are usually served at the same time, regardless of several courses. There are auxiliary foods besides dinner, the most common ones are condensed milk or yogurt, curry mixed with vegetables, condensed milk mixed with vegetables, vegetable paste and chutney. After meals, there are usually Ayako nut ice cream, pudding made of rice, cream cheese balls flavored with rose water, pancakes with sugar water, sugar made of cheese and milk and fresh fruits. After dinner, Indians often entertain guests with a concoction made of semen arecae, hydrated lime and spices wrapped in betel nut leaves to help digestion. However, ordinary people's home dining is not as complicated as above.
there are many kinds of drinks in India. In the south, people like to drink espresso because it is close to the coffee producing area. In the north, people like to drink tea, because there are plains in the lower reaches of Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers, and the climate is humid, and the amount of tea produced is the highest in the world. Two kinds of drinks are always served together with milk and sugar. If you don't put milk and sugar in your tea, you should have "green tea". Other drinks in India vary from place to place and from season to season, and fresh juice is generally liked by Indians. Alcohol in India is not as popular as in western countries, and drinking is prohibited in many provinces, especially in Muslim areas, hotels and restaurants. In New Delhi, the first and seventh days of each month and festivals are prohibition days. When traveling to India, tourists can apply for an "all-India liquor license" at the time of visa. Holding this certificate will allow you to carry and consume alcohol in the no-alcohol area.
Indians usually don't use tableware when eating. In the north, people eat food with the fingertips of their right hand, and it is impolite to take food above the second knuckle. In the south, people stir rice and curry with their whole right hand, knead them into balls and eat them. Indians eat with their hands, but they can't touch public dishes with their hands or eat for themselves, otherwise, they will be disgusted by their fellow diners. When eating, a common water container is often used to supply water. When drinking water, you should not touch the water container with your lips, but pour it into your mouth. After a meal, Indians usually bring a bowl of hot water to their guests and put it on the table for them to wash their hands.