One thousand and One flavors of Indian cuisne The best way to discover the “cuisine” of a country is, of course, the experience. However, for those who didn’t have the chance to come to India yet, Passion India will try to describe in the best possible way what we eat in the Maharajas’ land. First of all, it has to be known that, traditionally, Indian people eat sitting cross-legged on mats laying on the ground. The dishes are served in cups on a tray called thali. They eat with their hands, using roti (bread) as a cutlery to catch the vegetables and sauces. Don’t panic! Nowadays most of the people eat with cutlery and you can eat sitting on chairs in the restaurant. We won’t surprise anyone by saying that one of the main features of Indian food are the spices. They are the ones who give to food these lively colors, so appreciated by Indians and this perfumed taste. Be careful, all spices are not chili and it is most often the presence of chili that gives to the food the « spicy » side. As in all countries, the typical meals in India differ from a region to another. Those meals are influenced by the fruits, plants and vegetables that can be found in each region, but also by its traditions and religions. In Rajasthan, for example, the majority of the population are vegetarian. It is however possible to find meat, but it will be mainly chicken and lamb, beef and pork being rejected respectively by Hindu and Muslim religions. A typical meal in North India is composed by chapatis, little galettes of flour, and vegetables in a sauce made by a mix of spices called masala. The meal can be accompanied by a kind of yogurt, the curd. One much appreciated dish in this region is the Dal that literally means lentils. They are cooked in curry and are an important source of proteins for the vegan. In order to offset the absence of meat, Indian people also consume a lot of paneer, which is a cheese made by cow milk. Such as vegetables, it can be cooked in a sauce or in the traditional oven called tandoor. Its taste and texture can remind us the tofu. In the South of the country, the chapatis are replaced by Idlis, kind of steamed rice balls. In the coastal cities, the population eats a lot of fish and seafood, also cooked in sauce or in the oven. Regarding the desserts, Indian people have a lot of pastries that kind of look like the ones we find in Maghreb. In general they are highly sweetened. To name a few, you can try Laddus, gulab jamun and jalebi. The national beverage in India is the chaï, black tea with milk, flavored with ginger and other spices. The chaï is an integral part of the daily life of Indian people, who drink it at work, home and even outside with friends. However coffee is way less popular that in our countries and it’s usually with milk Such as in most of the developing countries, there is a lot of street food sellers in India, selling samosas, kachoris, momos and all kind of pastries. Kachori Gulab Jamun For the lunch, most of Indian cook their food in the morning and bring it at work thanks to the lunchbox. Real institution in India, the lunchbox has even inspired a movie of the same name. In India your taste buds are also going to travel, welcome to the country of spices!