The culture of India is one of the oldest and unique. In India, there is amazing cultural diversity throughout the country. The South, North, and Northeast have their own distinct cultures and almost every state has carved out its own cultural niche. There is hardly any culture in the world that is as varied and unique as India. India is a vast country, having variety of geographical features and climatic conditions. India is home to some of the most ancient civilizations, including four major world religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism.
The Web Cultural India

Friday, October 7, 2011

Gujarati Food

The traditional Gujarati food is primarily vegetarian and has a high nutritional value. The typical Gujarati thali consists of varied kinds of lip smacking dishes. Gujarati cuisine has so much to offer and each dish has an absolutely different cooking style. 

Gujarati Food
Some of the dishes are stir fry, while others are boiled. Gujarati food is more often served on a silver platter. Gujaratis use a combination of different spices and flavors to cook their meals and this is what makes their food truly exotic.

The traditional Gujarati thali mostly encompasses rotli, dal or kadhi, sabzi also known as shaak and rice. People in Gujarat eat one or the other type of curry along with rice and roti in almost every meal Gujarati dishes usually have a very subtle taste that makes it truly distinct from other Indian cuisines. Lot of emphasis is laid on maintaining hygiene while cooking. Most of the Gujarati dishes are sweet, while others have a quite larger concentration of sugar as compared to salt and spices. Sometimes, jaggery is used as an alternative to sugar.

Gujarati Dhoklas
Gujarati food is highly energy efficient and thus do not cause much of fuel wastage. The staple food of Gujarat consists of homemade pickles, chhaas (buttermilk), salad etc. main course includes vegetables which are usually steamed and dal. Vaghaar is a blend of spices, which is purified in hot oil and then added to the dal. To prevent the body from becoming dehydrated, lot of salt, sugar, tomato and lemon is used.

Gujarati Shrikhand
Gujarati cuisine differs from season to season depending on the availability of vegetables. People in the urban areas are starting some new eating trends. In the summer season, spices such as black pepper and its constituent spices are used in lesser quantities. People fast on a regular basis and limit their diet to milk, nuts and dried fruits.

In the modern era, more and more youngsters have started developing taste for oily spicy food. Even, the modern chefs are coming up with fusion food concept by combining Gujrati food and Western food. Desserts, which were in the ancient times offered only on festivity or some special occasions, have now found their way in the daily meals.

Popular Gujarati Dishes

Sweets

Basundi, Ghari Ghebar or Ghevar, Halvasan, Keri no ras, Malpua, Puran Poli, Shrikhand, Sutarfeni

Diwali Special Snacks

Cholafali, Ghooghra, Mathia, Soonvali

Farsan (Snacks)

Daal Dhokli, Dhokla, Fafda, Farsi Falafel, Ganthia, Hahdwoh, Kachori, Khakhra, Khaman, Khaman Dhokla, Khandvi, Khichu, Lilva Kachori, Muthia, Sev Khamani

Shaak and Daal: Vegetables and Curries

Meethi (Sweet) Kadhi, Sev Tameta nu Shak, Undhiyun

Breads

Bajri no rotlo, Bhakhri, Dhebara, Thepala