About Indian Cuisine
Curcuma cleans the blood and strengthens the bones. Ginger adjusts intestinal functions and is a spice which is frequently used by hundred year-old people. Chilli and hot paprika encourage secretion of digestive juices and accelerate peristalsis. Chilli regenerates cells and therefore every meal should have a touch of chilli. Paprika congests locally and thus removes harmful substance from the body.
Asafedita has an anticonvulsant effect. Caraway seed, coriander, clove, fennel, cinnamon, aniseed and others for example prevent excessive flatulence, suppress smooth muscle spasms, make coughing up easier and limit the growth of bacteria.
Finally, it is necessary to mention curry. Besides the fact that a method of preparing vegetables goes by this name, the word curry is the name for a mixture of spices which is prepared from at least six kinds of spice.
Garam masala is also a mixture of spices, the most often used being the mixture containing the following ground spices: 1 teaspoon of clove, 2 teaspoons of ginger, 2 teaspoons of caraway seed and 1 teaspoon of nutmeg.
Preparation of Spices
Spices are usually prepared such that first, butter is melted or pre-melted butter (ghee) is heated, the spices are added and while continuously stirring, the spices are browned until they start smelling pleasantly and start jumping up on the pan. After that vegetables are added. The second method is the same except that the contents of the pan are added into already cooked food (e.g. into lentils). In another method, uncooked spices are added to finished food without further preparation. It is necessary to try out he most suitable proportions of spices, as well as their total amount, in accordance with one’s own taste.
The Indian people distinguish six basics tastes: sweet, salty, sour, bitter, acrid and hot. They try to contain all these tastes within their food. Indian cuisine uses ghee instead of fresh butter. Ghee is melted butter, i.e. butter which is slowly heated (it must not fry) for as long until all redundant substances are excluded, and we continuously collect these from the surface with a spoon. At the end of the process, only a clear, amber-coloured liquid remains which does not spoil and does not have to be kept in a fridge. All Indian ingredients are always fresh, clean, without chemicals and best home-made, e.g. white yoghurt. It is also best to keep the spices whole and grind them up just prior to cooking. For the preparation of spices a good oil may be used instead of ghee.
There are great differences between various Indian dishes. The north-Indian and soth-Indian cuisines are particularly different. We must realise that India is as large as Europe, has many different peoples and each of those have their special dishes. Yet still, all dishes contain that which is the basis of Indian food.
By and large the Indian people are vegetarian. The vegetarianism if Indian people is of course a result of religious believes, but is also caused by climate in which meat spoils very quickly. Fruits and vegetables are harvested several times a year in this climate, and in many varieties. It is a real delight to go shopping to an Indian market. Fruits and vegetables are beautifully clean, carefully arranged on the shop counters and there is so much of everything that you do not know where to start and what to choose next. That’s why there is an inexhaustible choice of vegetable dishes and it is very hard to find a non-vegetarian restaurant in India. The dishes are wonderfully tasty and unimaginably cheap, not to mention the service which is simply lightning-fast even in the very last of taverns in a forgotten village.
A typical Indian meal consists of several elements, but all are brought to the table at once and are also eaten together. Everyone blends the dishes according to one’s taste. Food is eaten with the right hand, but a spoon can also be used. The food is usually placed on a larger metal platter on which many cups and dishes with the various components are placed. In the middle of the platter, there is plentiful rice or chapatti or puri flat bread. All of this is prepared fresh, often directly in front of you, so that it all just steams. For drink, hot sweetened tea with buffalo milk is served most often, and is served to you either in a metal cup or in a cup and saucer – you pour the tea into the saucer so that the drink is not so hot.
For centuries it was the Punjabi who were considered to be the ones who upkeep the Indian tradition and cuisine. In Indian Punjabi food, we try to continue this heritage. Our chefs are not bound by any specific tradition and hence their dishes draw on many culturally and time diverse sources – from healthy village meals to the rich delicacies of noblemen; from dishes ancient and laborious to meals that are practical and modern.
Our chefs have brought these dishes of perfections, combining original tastes with a contemporary approach to nutrition. Trough this, the unique style of Punjabi dishes was created. A thousand years of culinary development skilfully translated into the tastes of dishes of the 21st century.
We wish all of you peace and love, and bon appetite!