Punjab, Maharashtra, West Bengal listed among 'best food regions in the world': Must-try delicacies from the top 3
India's been making us proud in the world of gastronomics this year. This time, the cause for celebration just seems to have tripled over. Time to get gorging!
There's nothing quite like the Indian cusine. That being said, 'Indian cusine' in itself is a misnomer. The gastronomic history of this country is as tireless as its terrains, with every bend of the road potentially leading one down a whole new path of geography and flavours. And Taste Atlas evidently recognises that. In an exhaustive 100-point listicle of the 'best food regions of the world', not one, but as many as 3 Indian states (and a collective token to 'Southern India') have featured on the list. Punjab stands the highest at rank 7, followed by Maharashtra at 41. West Bengal stands at 54 with 'Southern India' at 59.
While we won't be reductive enough to pick a generic recipe from all of 'Southern India', here is a delicacy each from the three states which have properly made the list, complete with recipes you can start whipping up in your kitchen today itself. So let's get cooking!
Parathas from Punjab
In true Diljit Dosanjh style, 'Panjabi aa gaye oyeee!'. Still trying to strike the balance between perfectly fluffy yet crispy aloo parathas? Celebrity chef Ranveer Brar has you covered.
Ingredients: For the dough — whole wheat flour - 2 cups, salt - 1tsp, besan - 2tbsp, ajwain - 1/2tsp, ghee - 1tbsp, water as required, oil - 2tsp; For the filling — boiled and grated potatoes - 2 large, grated ginger - 1 inch, finely chopped chillis - 2 to 3, fresh coriander leaves - 1tbsp, salt to taste, coriander powder - 1/2tsp, chilli powder - 1tsp, cumin powder - 1/2tsp, garam masala - 1tsp, dried methi leaves - 1/2tsp, dry mango powder - 1/4tsp, ghee for roasting, butter cubes for garnishing; Yoghurt and pickle to serve
Method: For the dough, mix the flours and crumb with the ghee. Knead with water to form a tight but soft dough and let it rest covered in a muslin cloth for 20 minutes. Knead in some of the oil and set aside. For the filling, simply mix all the ingredients. Now divide the dough into lemon-sized balls. Roll them out, nestle the stuffing inside and make a potli. Roll them out again with a light hand,. Cook on the tava with ghee and serve with cubes of butter and a side of dahi and pickles.
Vada pav from Maharashtra
Goes without saying, no trip to Maharashtra is actually complete without sinking your teeth into the flavour bomb that it is. And while nothing really beats the original, you may want to try out chef Tarla Dalal's unqiue 'ulta vada pav' recipe to add some surprise to your evening binge!
Ingredients: For potato stuffing — Oil - 1 tbsp, Mustard seeds - 1 tsp, Curry leaves - 6, Chopped garlic - 3/4 tbsp, Chopped ginger - 1 tsp, Chopped green chillies - 1 tsp, Finely chopped onions - 1/4 cup, Haldi - 1/2 tsp, Boiled and mashed potatoes - 1 1/4 cups, Chopped coriander - 1 tbsp, Lemon juice - 1 tsp, Salt to taste; For the besan batter — Besan - 1 1/2 cups, Haldi - 1/2 tsp, Baking soda - 2 pinches, Hot oil - 2 tsp, Salt to taste; Other ingredients — Ladi pav - 10, Garlic chutney, Oil for deep frying; For serving — Dried garlic chutney, Fried green chillies
Method: For the stuffing, add oil to a hot pan followed by the mustard seeds and curry leaves. Add the garlic, ginger and green chillies followed by the onions, haldi, potatoes, coriander, lemon juice and salt. Cook on a medium flame for 2 to 3 minutes. In a separate bowl, combine all the ingredients for the besan batter with 3/4 cup water. Now slit your vada pavs and slather with chutneys. Layer with the stuffing. Now put the bread back together and dip into batter. Deep fry till golden brown.
Shukto from West Bengal
Good old creamy, wintery goodness. If you think the world famous macher jhol may be too complicated for you to start your Bengali kitchen experiments with, shukto is the perfect point to start, both in your kitchen, and at the dining table. This Bong Eats recipe has you covered.
Ingredients: Drumsticks - 160gms, sweet potato - 120gms, flat beans - 100gms, brinjal - 100gms, bitter gourd - 50gms, potato - 100gms, unripe bananas - 150gms, unripe papaya - 150gms, dal'er bori (pre packaged is fine) 10 pieces, water, vegetable oil, bay leaves - 4, paanch phoron - 1/2tsp, ginger paste - 35gms, grated coconut - 15gms, milk, maida - 1/4tsp, salt and sugar to taste, finely ground radhuni - 1/2tsp, ghee - 10gms
Method: Prepare your vegetables by getting rid of the fibrous bits coupled with whatever needs to be trimmed, peeled and chopped. The drumsticks, flat beans, papaya, sweet potato and potatoes need to be parboiled. The brinjal, bananas and bitter gourd needs to be fried. The dal'er bori also needs to be deep fried. Once this is done add all vegetables to the pan with salt, sugar and coconut and give it a good stir. Make a solution of the milk and maida and let the vegetables stew in it. Now crush the radhuni and sprinkle over before giving it a good mix.
Which of these three are you going to dive into first?
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