The Way to India’s Fab Destinations, Is Through Its Food! (Recipes Inside)

We know how much you’re longing to get into your travel shoes and explore the magnificence that our country has to offer! But your safety is our priority, and thus we would want you to #StaySafeStayIndoors. So what do we do about the travel bug? Well, a brilliant way to experience a destination is through its food, and that’s exactly what we are going to do! 

Whip up some of the most iconic dishes from across the country, right in your kitchen. Here are some delicious and simple recipes to get started with:

1. Kashmiri Rogan Josh

Don’t worry vegetarians, the mutton can be replaced with any other meat or paneer or cauliflower too. 

Soak half a teaspoon of saffron in some milk. Take a heavy bottomed pan and heat 4 tablespoons of ghee/mustard oil. Add a few black cardamoms, cloves, whole red peppers, cumin, whole peppercorns and some hing. Roast for a few seconds and add a kg of meat, cut in pieces. Fry until brown, and then add half a cup of water and cook on a slight flame for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk two tablespoons of yogurt with a tsp of maida. Add a tablespoon of red chilli powder, a tablespoon of fennel powder, half a teaspoon of ginger powder and half a teaspoon of coriander powder along with the saffron milk created in the beginning. Mix everything, add this to the fried meat and cook till the meat softens. You can pour some oil infused with “ratanjot”, if you have it and a one teaspoon of garam masala. Serve with hot rice or any kind of bread.

2. Ela Ada from Alleppey (Kerala)

Love South Indian delicacies? Try this wholesome breakfast dish, which can also be savoured in the evening.

Heat a teaspoon of ghee, a ¾-cup jaggery and a cup of coconut (grated). Mix and cook for 5 minutes until the jaggery melts and then add a quarter teaspoon of cardamom powder. Now, roast a cup of fine rice flour on a low flame and let it cool down. Boil 1½ cups of water with one teaspoon of ghee and half a teaspoon of salt. Blend this with the rice flour and knead into a dough with greased hands. Warm a few banana leaves and lubricate with ghee. Alternatively, you can use baking paper too. Now, you have to take a ball-sized dough, flatten it on a leaf and take a tablespoon full of the jaggery mix to spread on it. Fold the banana leaf and seal from the sides. Make multiple wraps and steam in a steamer for 15 minutes. Voila! Your sweet treat is set.  

3. Laal Maas from Jodhpur

Are you into Rajasthani food? Then you must go for this lamb masterpiece, created with red chillies and a variety of masalas.

Start by taking some water in a heavy-bottomed pan, add 10 Kashmiri red chillies soaked for at least 20 minutes, along with a teaspoon of cumin seeds, 2 black cardamoms, 3 green cardamoms, an inch of a cinnamon stick, 3 cloves, and a bay leaf. Then grind these roasted whole spices. Next, mix 500gm of mutton, half a cup of yogurt, 2tsp of cumin powder, 2tsp coriander powder, a tablespoon of ginger-garlic paste and the spices you ground earlier, and leave the marinated meat in the fridge for an hour. Warm some ghee in a heavy-bottomed pan, to it add 3 finely chopped onions and sauté until light brown. Add another tablespoon of ginger-garlic paste and cook for a minute. Now, add the refrigerated mutton mix and brown on high heat. Then cover and cook for about 20 minutes. If possible, light a piece of charcoal and place it in a small metal bowl in the middle of the pan for an authentic taste. 

4. Kulchas from Amritsar

When someone says Amritsar, do you think about the perfectly crispy potato bread? If yes, then try your hand at this Punjabi delight that goes well with chilled “lassi”.

Prepare the dough by taking two cups of warm whole milk, 2tbsp of oil, 2tsp of active dry yeast and 2tbsp of sugar. Mix it, cover and put it in a warm place for 10 minutes until frothy. Now, add the frothy mix to 4 cups of all-purpose flour and some salt. Knead the dough for 5 minutes. Cover with a wet cloth and keep aside for 2 hours. Next, boil two potatoes, peel and mash. Chop half an onion and half a green chili. Add to the mashed potatoes along with a pinch of chaat masala, a quarter tsp of coriander, a quarter tsp of red chilli powder and half a tsp of cumin powder. Add some salt and mix everything. Dust a rolling pin with dry flour; take a portion of the dough mix and the potato filling. Mould into roti-like shapes, heat a non-stick pan, brush the dough with oil on both sides, and cook. Do not forget to flip it. Guess what! The MasterChef in you has created the popular Amritsari Kulcha. Serve with Chana, raw onions and lemon wedges. 

5. Methi ka Thepla  From Gujarat

The Gujarati delicious staple flatbread is a favourite of many, as it is a light healthy snack that is good for anytime of the day, and also safe for diabetics. Theplas have a long shelf life. So you can keep them in room temperature and they will survive for almost 3 days, and one week if refrigerated.

Start by combining half a cup of finely chopped fenugreek, 2 cups of atta/besan, one tbsp. of oil, 2 tbsp. of curd, one fourth tsp. of turmeric, 1 tsp. of chili powder, salt and a tsp. of sugar in a deep bowl and knead into a dough by using a three-fourth cup of water. Now, make small bite-sized balls, and with the help of a rolling pin and some dry flour, make chapatti-like shapes. Now, bake it on a tawa. Cook on a medium flame. When it looks partly cooked, spread some oil on the thepla and then turn it upside down. Your thepla shall be ready in a few minutes!