Bengali and Bangladeshi cuisines

Bengali cuisine includes a plethora of curries that are commonly unknown to the outside world. They are known for their extreme spiciness. Authentic Bengali recipes are difficult to find outside Bengali kitchens, although certain dishes are popular, for example, the jhalfrezis and the prawn malai curry. Seafood and fresh fish are a great favourite with Bengalis, and a large number of curries have been devised to accompany them. Mustard seeds and mustard oil are added to many recipes, as are poppy seeds, and these are flavours highly specific to the Bengali curries.

Bangladeshi cuisine has considerable regional variations. These include lots of Bengali cuisines but are known more for their original spiciness compared to Indian Bengali cuisine. The heavy use of coconut milk is refined to the Khulna Division and Comilla District. A staple across the country is rice and fish. As a large percentage of the land in Bangladesh (over 80% on some occasions) can be under water, fish is the major source of protein in the Bangladeshi diet.

North Indian and Pakistani cuisines

North Indian cuisine refers to the cuisines found in North India, which includes the twelve Indian states: Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan and the National Capital Territory of Delhi.

A favourite Pakistani curry is Karahi, which is either mutton or chicken cooked in a dry sauce. Lahori Karahi incorporates garlic, spices and vinegar. Peshawari karahi is a simple dish made with just meat, salt, tomatoes and corriander.

Punjabi cuisine

Punjabi cuisine is mainly based upon Wheat, masalas (spice blends), pure desi ghee, with liberal amounts of butter and cream. There are certain dishes that are exclusive to Punjab, such as Maha Di Dal and Saron Da Saag (Sarson Ka Saag). Sandeep Bhateja, the world famous curry chef from Agra, India, is renowned for incorporating various roots into exotic curry dishes.

Sindhi and Pashtun cuisines

Sindhi cuisine refers to the cuisine of the Sindhi people. The daily food in most Sindhi households consists of wheat-based flat-bread (phulka) and rice accompanied by two dishes, one gravy and one dry.

The cuisine of the Pashtun people in northwestern Pakistan is mostly identical to the cuisine of neighbouring Afghanistan, which is largely based upon cereals like wheat, maize, barley and rice. Accompanying these staples are dairy products (yogurt, whey), various nuts, native vegetables, and fresh and dried fruits.

South Indian and Sri Lankan cuisines

South Indian cuisine refers to the cuisines found in the four southern states of India, namely Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. As opposed to North Indian cuisine, there is limited use of garam masala and other dried spices except cardamom, black pepper and turmeric.

Sri Lankan cuisine mostly consists of rice and curry meals, and revolves heavily around chillies, spices, vegetables, and seafood.

Andhra or Telugu cuisine

Andhra Pradesh, one of the four states of south India, has its own cuisine. The main dish of Andhra/Telugu cuisine is called "Koora" in Telugu, taken with hot rice and ghee. It could be made of vegetable, combination of vegetables or meat and vegetable. It could be wet (koora, pulusu or gojju) or dry (vaepudu). There are numerous types of recipes with various combinations of spices and in various proportions.

The second course is any liquid/soup type taken with rice and ghee. It could be made with just vegetables, “rasam”/”chaaru” or vegetable and dal, called pappu and sambar or butter milk and vegetable, called “majjiga pulusu”, and many more.

The last course is rice with either curd or buttermilk. It is believed that this soothes the effect of spices and helps digestion.

Additions to the main course are appadam and pickles. Appadam, more commonly known as Poppadam in the west, is taken along with any wet curry, pickle and liquid. Pickle plays a vital role in the Andhra cuisine. It is directly eaten with rice, dal or curd.

There are again regional variations in Andhra Pradesh cuisine. Telangana, which is in the west of Andhra Pradesh, has dishes like Ambali, jonna rotte (Jowar Bread), Sajja Rotte (bread from sajja grains), and biryani (which is mainly influenced by Islamic culture), which are taken as substitutes to the usual three course meal.

Apart from the rice menu, there are certain dishes that are popular in all regions of Andhra pradesh such as biryani, upma, uppudi pindi, idli, vada, dosa & sambar, minapa attlu, etc. They are addressed as tiffins and are taken for breakfast or snack or supper or light lunch. The tiffins like puri, chole batore, chapathi and paratha have migrated down south from the Northern states.

Karnataka cuisine

The curries of Karnataka typically have a lot more dal compared to curries of other parts of India. Some typical soup dishes include Saaru, Gojju, Thovve, Huli, Majjige Huli; which is similar to the "kadi" made in the north, Sagu or Kootu, which is eaten mixed with hot rice.

Malayali cuisine

Malayali curries of Kerala typically contain shredded coconut paste or coconut milk, curry leaves, and various spices. Mustard seeds are used in almost every dish, along with onions, curry leaves, sliced red chillies fried in hot oil. Most of the non-vegetarian dishes are heavily spiced. Kerala is known for its traditional Sadya, a vegetarian meal served with boiled rice and a host of side-dishes, such as Parippu (Green gram), Papadum, some ghee, Sambar, Rasam, Aviyal, Kaalan, Kichadi, pachadi, Injipuli, Koottukari, pickles (mango, lime), Thoran, one to four types of Payasam, Boli, Olan, Pulissery, moru (buttermilk), Upperi, Banana chips, etc. The sadya is customarily served on a banana leaf.

Tamil cuisine

Tamil cuisine's distinctive flavor and aroma is achieved by a blend and combination of spices, including curry leaves, tamarind, coriander, ginger, garlic, chili, pepper, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, cumin, fennel or anise seeds, fenugreek seeds, nutmeg, coconut, turmeric root or powder, and rosewater. Lentils, vegetables and dairy products are essential accompaniments, and are often served with rice. Traditionally, vegetarian foods dominate the menu with a range of non-vegetarian dishes, including freshwater fish and seafood, cooked with traditional Tamil spices and seasoning. This holds good for all the four South Indian states.

Other Indian cuisines

In other varieties of Indian cuisine, kadhi is a gravy - made by stirring yogurt into a roux of ghee and besan. The spices added vary, but usually include turmeric and black mustard seed. It is often eaten with rice.

Gujarati cuisine

The typical Gujarati cuisine is called Thali which consists of Roti (a flat bread made from wheat flour), daal or kadhi, rice, and sabzi/shaak (a dish made up of different combinations of vegetables and spices, which may be stir fried, spicy or sweet). Cuisine varies in taste and heat, depending on a given family's tastes.

The British curry house

Curry is eaten in almost all part of the Indian Sub-Continent and outside, namely India Bangladesh and Pakistan, it has its varying degrees of style, taste and aroma, depending on local ingredients used. Bengalis of Sylheti origin makeup only 10% of all South Asians in Britain however around 75% of all Indian restaurants in the UK are Sylheti/Bengali owned[citation needed].

Bengalis in the UK settled in big cities with industrial employment. In London Bengalis settled in the East End. For centuries the East End has been the first port of call for many immigrants working in the docks and shipping from east Bengal. Their regular stopover paved the way for food/curry outlets to be opened up catering for an all male workforce as family migration and settlement took place some decades later.

Restaurants that are regarded as curry houses are open to the same standards requirements as all restaurants and can be vetted by and reported to the local environmental health department of an area. There are now many up-market "Indian Restaurants", which, while they still tend to eschew the more authentic cuisines,[citation needed] nonetheless apply the same high standards of food preparation.

This cuisine is characterized by the use of a common base for all the sauces to which spices are added when individual dishes are prepared. The standard "feedstock" is usually a sautéed mixture of onion, tomato, garlic and fresh ginger, to which various spices are added, depending on the recipe, but which may include: cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, chillies, peppercorns, cumin and mustard seeds[citation needed]. Ground coriander seed is widely used as a thickening agent, and turmeric is added for colour and its digestive qualities.

Better-quality restaurants will normally make up new sauces on a daily basis, using fresh ingredients wherever possible and grinding their own spices. More modest establishments are more likely to resort to frozen or dried ingredients and pre-packaged spice mixtures.[citation needed]

Although the names may be similar to traditional dishes, the recipes generally are not.

    * Korma/Kurma - mild, yellow in colour, with almond and coconut powder
    * Curry - medium, brown, gravy-like sauce
    * Biryani - Spiced rice and meat cooked together and usually served with vegetable curry sauce.
    * Dupiaza/Dopiaza - medium curry the word means "double onion" referring to the boiled and fried onions used as its primary ingredient.
    * Pasanda - a mild curry sauce made with cream, coconut milk, and almonds.
    * Roghan Josh (from "Roghan" (fat) and "Josh" (energy/heat - which as in English may refer to either 'spiciness' or temperature)) - medium, with tomatoes and paprika
    * Bhuna - medium, thick sauce, some vegetables
    * Dhansak - medium/hot, sweet and sour sauce with lentils (originally a Parsi dish). This dish often also contains pineapple.
    * Madras - fairly hot curry, red in colour and with heavy use of chili powder
    * Pathia - hot, generally similar to a Madras with lemon juice and tomato purée
    * Jalfrezi - onion, green chili and a thick sauce
    * Samber - medium heat, sour curry made with lentils and lemons
    * Vindaloo - this is generally regarded as the classic "hot" restaurant curry, although a true Vindaloo does not specify any particular level of spiciness. The name has European origins, derived from the Portuguese term "vinha d'alhos", a marinade containing wine ("vinho"), or sometimes vinegar, and garlic ("alho"), used to prevent the pork from going off in the heat. Some recipes include potato, under the delusion that the word "Vindaloo" has something to do with potatoes ("aloo", in Hindi).
    * Phaal - extremely hot dish using ground chillies, ginger and fennel.

The tandoor was introduced into Britain in the 1960s and tandoori and tikka chicken became popular dishes; Chicken Tikka Masala was said to have been invented in Glasgow by a bengali chef, when a customer demanded a sauce with a 'too dry' tikka (legend has it that the cook then heated up a tin of Campbell's condensed tomato soup and added some spices)