Local Flavours

Every place in India has its local delights- food being a major one.

And so it is that we have a Chitale's bakarwadi in Pune, a biryani or Double (bread, also called double roti) ka meetha in Hyderabad, and a Tunde kabab in Lucknow (hopefully it's still around).

Other delights I can remember are Tirunelveli halwa, some variation of which was also available at Calicut (and a shop called Bombay Halwa in Hyderabad sold something similar too-colourful, gooey, semi-solid stuff).

Of course, Gujarat has dhoklas, and theplas, and khakras. Gujaratis are foodies, though many are vegetarian, and have a variety of snacks. Kachoris are famous eats in many parts of North India, including Indore which is my current abode.

Aamras and puri and Puranpoli are two Maharastrian ideas, whereas the Avakai mango pickle is an Andhra speciality (I am at least partly an Andhravadu, having grown up there, and have a hot tooth, the opposite of a sweet one. Mirchi bajji is therefore a favourite).

Kolkata has many culinary ideas that involve fish, but its street food, particularly rolls, are quite distinct. Goa has its sausages, and also a dish spelt Xacutti which no one knows (at least I don't) know how to pronounce. Vindaloo with some meat (usually Pork) is also quintessentially Goan.

Belagaum has its kunda, a sweet, and Maddur has a vada named after it called Maddur vada. Pune's Kayani Bakery has a well-known Shrewsbury biscuit, and Karachi bakery in Hyderabad has its fruit biscuit that are now "world-famous" at least in India.


1 comment:

Rajan Mani said...

And you have left out a lot of North India !
In many places, each community has its own distinctive cuisine. In Tamil Nadu for instance, the Brahmin way of cooking is quite separate from the Chettinadu way, leaving aside the major difference of vegetarian and non- vegetarian. The variety of spices used, the differences in ingredients and the cooking style itself would account for a lot of variety. In Kerala, Moplah food is quite different from the Syrian Christian and Nair styles for instance. As you travel across any state, you will either see totally different influences in different areas or the same basic style with subtle differences often changing every 50 - 100 kilometres
Lovely crisp post (think my comments are as long as your blog!)

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