Never cooked Indian food before?

Now's as good a time as any to get started. Diverse, delicious and not as difficult to cook as you might think, Indian is among the leading cuisines of the world. With every state, city and even every home having its own recipes for thousands of dishes, you can imagine how the variety is absolutely mind-boggling!

Contrary to popular belief, Indian food is not just about curry, chillies and oil! There is probably no other cuisine in the world that includes as many healthy and diverse vegetables and spices. At the same time, Indian cuisine is not just for vegetarians. If the worldwide popularity of Butter Chicken, Rogan Josh, Vindaloo and Fish Amritsari is anything to go by, Indians know a thing or two about pleasing the non-vegetarian palate!

In India, cooking is considered an art and mothers usually begin to teach their daughters and pass down family recipes by show-and-tell, fairly young in life. As a matter of fact, food is very serious business. In most Indian homes, even in this day and age when most women work outside the home, if one is not cooking or eating a meal, one is planning what to cook next! Meals almost always include several dishes, dessert and a staple or two like rice and Chapatis.

Over the course of history, various invaders have passed through India and left their stamp behind on its cuisine. There was Aryan, Persian, Arab, British and Portuguese to name just a few. The result is foods that are so delicious, some of them are legendary!

Join me as we explore the delicious depths of Indian cuisine! Here are some resources to help you get started.

Discovering Indian Cuisine
Think of India and one of the first things that comes to mind is its diversity. A large country, its population is second only to China, its languages are numerous and every state (of which there are 28 and seven Union territories) is unique in its traditions and very importantly, its food. In fact, food from one region may actually be totally alien to a person from another region! Read more...

Demystifying Indian Cuisine
With all its diversity, It is ironic then, that when the rest of the world thinks of Indian food, the one word that comes to most minds is ‘curry’. This is perhaps the greatest understatement ever as ‘curry’ does not begin to sum up the amazing variety that is to be had in Indian cuisine. Read more...

Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to questions like: What is “curry powder” and does all Indian food contain it? Is Indian food very oily? Is Indian food very spicy? Read more...

Stocking Your Pantry
Here's a list of stuff to get you started. Read more...

Glossary of cooking terms and ingredients
With so many languages and each region having its own food specialities, the list of terms used can be exhaustive! They can also be confusing for a novice to Indian cooking. If you can't tell an achaar from a biryani or chai from an idli, this is the place for you. Read more...

Cookware To Get Started
You will be surprised at how little you actually need, in terms of dishes and utensils, to cook Indian food! Read more...

Top 10 Indian Recipes For Beginner Indian Cooks
Some real simple recipes to get you started and feeling like a pro right from the get-go! Read more...