Indian cuisine

My favorite dish in Bangalore would be Ragi dosa. It is served with palya.
It is yummy and is extremely healthy for the health conscious.

Perhaps you could describe what the dishes are rather than just their names?

One can get dosas of several types in South India. Depending on the constituents of the recipe, the name of the dosa changes.

You can get chicken dosa, ragi dosa, and so on. Ragi is millet, I think. It is one of the most wholesome vegetarian dishes here and high in nutritional value.

So a Dosa is a kind of curry, filled pancake, or what?

It is a thin, crispy rice flour pancake roasted on an iron hotplate topped with veggies, in most cases, lightly spiced potato curry.
The toppings can be varied as per personal tastes.
Chicken, lamb, panir, other fancy toppings too. You can also get dosas several feet long at certain places. It varies from province to province.
It is predominantly a South Indian recipe.

Sounds lovely - and I know that Panir is like cottage cheese but firm and in blocks i.e. milk that has been separated into curds and whey. Its an excellent source of protein relished by vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike.

The yummier the topping, the more calories you would pile up on. 

Dosa and Idli are my favourites too, although I hail from Bengal.
What I specially like are "sambar daal' and 'coconut gravy' that always accompany both dosa and idli. "Sambar daal" is a kind of lightly spiced tamarind lentil soup with vegetables...good for your tummy in a tropical country. 
Southern food in general is healthy and easy on tummy. One factor common in southern dishes is use of coconut oil (instead of Mustard oil as in most northern/eastern recipes). Generous use of tamarind in southern recipes help in digestion.
Idli is a sort of soft white rice cake.
The cakes are usually two to three inches in diameter and are made by steaming a batter consisting of fermented black lentils (de-husked) and rice. The fermentation process breaks down the starches so that they are more readily metabolized by the body. -- Wikipedia

Note: These days mustard oil in northern/eastern recipes is being replaced with white oils (sunflower/ soya etc.)

Idly, Dosa, Pongal are the favorite one for the breakfast...which is a vegetarian can be tried along with Sambhar and Chutney.
Briyani and Chettinad non vegeterian dishes along with Rasam are favorite for Lunch and Dinner.

Rasam is a kind of soup which is most preferred by many people.

I know a lot of you guys out there like idly, dosa and vada. But the dosa is the most healthiest option of all those.
I eat a dosa with sambar whenever nothing wholesome is available around.

Bro...Idly and Dosa are much convenient food for all time. People take Idly during travel which doesn't harm your stomach as it is with No Oil ...

Dosa is good for building muscles..

Aahhh...Really you think it build muscles...then i think the quantity of Intake should be more than regular...

The potato curry with a dosa is rich in carbohydrates. That's why it is good as a workout meal.

Oh yeah...Then it should be a Masala Dosa ...you are extremely right...

Dosa is healthy indian dish which does not cost any health issue until you are not put rich carbohydrate toppings like potatoes, paneer etc. Plain dosa is good for even patients and toddlers also. Dosa is the nice mixture of rice and lentils and require very little oil.  One can provide any variation into this recipe.

Ingredients- 3 cup of rice flour
1 cup of white lentil (udad daal)
sufficient water

Soak daal for 10-12 hours . after that grind it and mix rice flour into the batter and keep it aside for again 10 hours. This batter will be fragmented. Add some salt as per taste and a pinch of eatable soda  and then spread the batter into hot pan with the help of big spoon in round direction. Apply little oil and turn it. (Process just like pancake..)

Enjoy with chutney and sambhar.

PS. If you want I will provide recipe for both chutney and sambhar also.

Thanks.

If anyone of you is in the north part of India, try "chana Bathura"

OMG - I want to visit India.

Fred, these are only some part of the dishes. India is wide spread into states and each state as their specific favorite food.
Please visit India and enjoy the spicy delicious variety of food's.

sweet_maddi wrote:

Fred, these are only some part of the dishes. India is wide spread into states and each state as their specific favorite food.
Please visit India and enjoy the spicy delicious variety of food's.

I'm from England, a place packed with fantastic Indian food.
Seriously, it's about the only thing I really miss from the home country.
Just reading the posts made my mouth water, and long for some delicious Indian food.
I still can't find any good Indian stuff in Jakarta.

Oh its sad to hear you cant find any Indian food stuff in Jakarta. If require i will ask some of my colleagues and find you some delicious Indian restaurants in Jakarta ..

Fred wrote:

OMG - I want to visit India.

Yeah! You should, Fred. 
You may find bit overpriced and over-spiced "Chicken Tikka Masala" and "Lamb Rogan Josh" over there in Jakarta.... but, to try that spicy "Bombay Duck Fish Curry" and a tasty "Steamed Ilish (Tenualosa ilisha ) Fish in Mustard Curry", you have to visit Bengal.

Never mind.... if those are too hot and spicy for you, we have sweet & yummy, soft & succulent "Rasgulla" and "Rasmalai" as dessert to calm you down. 

Too hot and spicy - Is that possible?

Bring it on.

Fred wrote:

Too hot and spicy - Is that possible?

Bring it on.

Ha Ha,
Trust me, some can be worse than this ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBfb96BR4yU
Watch out!!

The traditional spice-rich home-cooked curry or curry-soups are quite different from the restaurant ones...and Bengal is known for all sorts of hot chili-rich recipes. In rural Bengal it's quite normal for people to take at least two/three raw green/red chilies with lunch everyday. They just keep munching on the chilies, bite by bite. No wonder, most popular curry houses across Britain are owned by the Bangladeshis.

Interestingly though, standard British curry which is a kind of toned down version of traditional rich-in-spice hot Indian curry, is now being introduced back in India....and is becoming popular in Indian restaurants in India and abroad.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbzqjru3iBU

Curry is seriously popular in the UK, and I'm a serious curry head.
Our local supermarket did specials, and some were very nice.
They did vindaloo, tindaloo, then one bright spark made 'findaloo'.
Hot wasn't close, you could launch a rocket with it.

2 lads wandered over to the counter at the same time as yours truly, and we all asked for a sample.
One lad was clearly into hot, but he went red and barked a lot.
The next wasn't experienced in killer curries, so he fell onto his knees. Yes, really. His face went funny colours, and I thought he would likely vomit.
I bought a portion. Very nice.

As I said, "Bring it on", it clears the sinuses.

My favourite restaurant was owned by a Bangladeshi bloke - that dude knew how to make a great curry. He always beat me at badminton..the rotten sod could have let me win a couple of times.

The best takeaway was owned by a Pakistani chap. I really miss his food. Great stuff.

Fred,

Curry restaurants in the UK are mostly associated with cuisines from the North or East of India.
I suggest you explore the Southern and Western cuisines in India. You will find tastes varying from bland to ultra spicy.
Konkani, Mangalorean and Chettinad cuisines are some you can try.

Nash1984 wrote:

Fred,

Curry restaurants in the UK are mostly associated with cuisines from the North or East of India.
I suggest you explore the Southern and Western cuisines in India. You will find tastes varying from bland to ultra spicy.
Konkani, Mangalorean and Chettinad cuisines are some you can try.

True - most were actually Pakistani or Bangladeshi, but several actual Indians as well.
The food is generally delicious, with the odd exception.
I'm game to try anything.

Once in Mangalore, I tried Pork butter masala. Never tasted anything like that ever in my life.
It was amazingly succulent and delicious.
The Mangalorean calamari fry and crab curry were to die for.

Fred wrote:

it clears the sinuses.

Every time my next-door neighbour here starts roasting a combination of dry spices for their weekend curry, I have to leave my house coughing and sneezing, choking in tears.
Personally, I am not so much into hot stuff. I prefer Asian food, especially Japanese ones.
I don't have any qualms against spices, but I don't like oily and chilli-rich food. Spices are good for heath and immunity. They come in different flavours and aroma. There's a marked difference in taste between spice-rich hot curry and chilli-rich hot ones.
The hottest food I have encountered so far was in Chengdu, China. Some years ago I had to spend a few months there . Honestly, KFC's lunch combo saved my life from those super-hot Sichuan stuff.

Nash1984 wrote:

Fred,

I suggest you explore the Southern and Western cuisines in India.

In fact the best of most popular and unique Indian spices are grown in the south.
The state of Kerala in particular is famous for its spice production.

Yes...Kerala food is also delicious where they have thier traditional Puttu & appam which should be tried anyone goes to Kerala.
Also the sea foods are good there. Especially the Fish and Prawns...

crab curry

That does it - I can't read any more of this thread without licking my computer's screen and dreaming of that stuff.

OMG - I've never even thought about crab curry, but I now have a craving.

If you ever get a chance to visit Mangalore, do ask me about the good joints. I can help you with those.
Pork there is so well prepared that it just hits your palate like an explosion of subtle tastes. You wouldn't even imagine ever that pork can taste so heavenly and wonderful.
Mangalore is known for its seafood as it is a coastal city. You can buy a fish or shrimp wrap from any neat little outlet there. It is inexpensive.

Sorry, I should have mentioned - I'm one of those funny Muslim dudes so I don't do pork.
That crab still has me drooling.

If any of you guys know a nice authentic Indian restaurant in Jakarta, I'm still hunting.
If you have any mates in the trade, please send me their restaurant's address.

I'm hungry for a great Indian curry.

I am from Maharashtra, and Maharashtrian people have Wheat, Rice, Jowar, Bajri, Vegetables, Lentils, and Fruit are used in their regular food. Bharli Vangi, Aamti Dal, Pithla Bhakri, Puran Poli are famous and my favorite dishes.