Discover the Taste Of India..A Unity in Diversity!!

I consider myself to be fortunate enough to be born an INDIAN!! A land of democracy , and most importantly , a country with a rich culture and heritage with diverse food cultures!!!
A land with festivities and celebrations year round!!  Its any foodie's Paradise!!

Our food and cooking is influenced by religious beliefs( Rajashthan,Gujarat are primarily veg. states , considering the Jain community population) , climate(that determines the staple produced , hence punjabis love their parathas and rotis due to their large wheat production , and down south its coconuts and rice( with the high rainfall beneficial for rice produce) and geographical location , hence coastal states like Kerala and Bengal have fish and rice as  their staple. Also , the foreign rulers like the Moughals , Nizams , Portuguese and offcourse the British , have an influence especially on states like Lucknow,Hyderabad and Goa!

For us cooking is an art, that mothers pass on their daughters , (and these days even sons'!!)
Whatever our restaurants serve, we still love to come back to "Maa Ke Haath Ka Khana"!!
Maybe thats why most of us carry roti subji/chapati Bhaji tiffins to office daily, and our loving moms and wives wake up early , slog it out in the kitchen , just so that we get a bite of home even at work!!


Our cuisine is a perfect example of Unity In Diversity...where the cuisines of each of our states are quiet alien from each other and yet,they are bound by a common thread of spices!!!

You go North and you are treated with fresh milk products ..Paneer..Lassi and Parathas from Punjab , a chatpata Chaat from the streets of Delhi or say even Lucknow..the land of Kebabs....and Litti Chokha from Bihar!!

Down South , you indulge in all sorts of coconut delicacies..like payasam and Fish curry from Kerala .or Biryanis from Hyderabad..or .Idly sambar from Chennai!

Go East , you shall give in to the cravings for sweets, with Bengal..the land of Rassogullas giving you all sorts of Mithais and Mishti Doi, and indulging you in Chingri Malai Curry...
And  a hot Thuppa from Assam...the land of Chaiii is just you cant miss out on!!

And finally the West....the veggie lovers paradise...enjoy the Dal Batis from Rajasthan, Jalebi-Fafada Dhokla from Gujrat..and Pooranpoli-Bhakaris from Maharashtra..Wada Pav ..Pav Bhaji from Amachi Mumbai!!


We at Namak Shamak, have decided to celebrate this diversity on the occassion of our blog completing 100 posts!!!
And with our Independence Day coming up , what better way could it be to celebrate, than to give you all a bite from each region of our country!
Starting tomorrow , we are going on a Vegeterian Cuisine Of India Marathon.....
Please join us in ...Discovering The Taste Of India!!