Learn all about the top five dishes you just have to try while traveling in India
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Maya: Hi everyone and welcome back to All About Hindi, lesson 7. Top Five Indian Dishes. This time, we will be talking about Indian cuisine. Indians really love their food. The world of Indian cuisine is absolutely huge. |
| Manasi: It really is. It’s hard to summarize Indian cuisine in just one lesson. |
| Maya: And I think when most people think of Indian food, they have an image that they just can’t shake. |
| Manasi: Curry and naan? |
| Maya: Yeah a lot of it probably begins and ends with curry and naan but there is so much more to it. And we will go into a lot of them in this lesson. |
| Manasi: So maybe you shouldn’t listen to this on an empty stomach. Okay so where shall we start? |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Maya: Well Manasi, why don’t we start by talking about table etiquette? |
| Manasi: Sure thing Maya. Traditionally meals are eaten while seated either on the floor or on very low stools or cushions. |
| Maya: Right. Food is most often eaten without cutlery instead using the fingers of your right hand. |
| Manasi: Very often, Roti which is the flat Indian bread is used to scoop the curry without letting the curry touch the hands. |
| Maya: Isn’t that clever? |
| Manasi: Other etiquette includes eating with only one hand preferably the right hand and letting the food get only between your fingers. |
| Maya: Oh I see! |
| Manasi: Hey Maya, I’ve got a great list of the top 5 foods you must try when you go to India. |
| Maya: Who chose them? |
| Manasi: Well I asked my foreign friends and my husband’s colleagues. So it’s not based on official research or anything. |
| Maya: So basically, these are the foods we think the listeners should try. What’s the first food on the list Manasi? |
| Manasi: Chat. |
| Maya: Now, chat almost doesn’t need an introduction but we will explain it anyway. |
| Manasi: Chat is the most popular North Indian snack. It is a general term used for spicy snacks like panipuri, sevpuri and many more. These are mostly prepared by mixing puffed rice, vegetables, mint and coriander sauce and other spices. |
| Maya: Yes I’ve heard that vendors literally crowd the streets selling all kinds of delicious variations of chat in that part of the country. |
| Manasi: Yes chat parties are also very popular and are a great alternative to a sit down dinner. |
| Maya: Wow! I too want to try chat. |
| Manasi: So well let’s go with the second dish on the list. |
| Maya: It’s Malai Kofta. |
| Manasi: Malai Kofta is veggie bowls in a thick sauce. |
| Maya: Malai Kofta is the vegetarian alternative to meatballs. |
| Manasi: It goes very well with naans which are like tandoor-baked flat breads or jeera rice. |
| Maya: And our next food is |
| Manasi: Next is Rogan Josh. |
| Maya: Oh the literal translation for the name of this dish from Kashmir is Red Lamb. |
| Manasi: That’s correct. The color comes from the Kashmiri dry red chilies that are used to prepare it. |
| Maya: The name sounds fiery. |
| Manasi: But the heat is torn down by the cream that is added at the end. |
| Maya: Interesting. |
| Manasi: Yeah you should try it. |
| Maya: Now what is the fourth dish on the list? |
| Manasi: That’s chicken tikka masala. |
| Maya: Oh this one is my favorite. The taste is a bit sweet and full of spicy smells. This dish is so spicy. It’s just perfect for me. |
| Manasi: And last one on our list is naan. |
| Maya: What’s that? |
| Manasi: It is a leavened Indian flat bread. This delicious bread is served hot with popular dishes like Tandoori chicken or kebabs of different kinds. |
| Maya: So other than this list, is there a general kind of food you would recommend to our listeners? |
| Manasi: Well I would recommend North Indian food. |
| Maya: North Indian food? |
| Manasi: Yes some common North Indian foods like the various kebabs and most of the meat dishes originated with Muslims living in the country. |
| Maya: So Manasi, what’s your favorite North Indian dish? |
| Manasi: Well Maya, that’s a very difficult question. Normally I order many, many dishes when I eat North Indian food. Some of them are like famous dishes which include Roti or parata, [*] and many courses like Tandoori Chicken which are also cooked in the tandoor. |
| Maya: Umm yummy. |
| Manasi: You can find North Indian food anywhere in India. Indian cuisine has had a remarkable influence on cuisines across the world especially those from Southeast Asia. |
| Maya: But please be careful if you are not familiar with spicy food. |
| Manasi: How about you Maya? |
| Maya: For me, I like food from an open air food stall. |
| Manasi: Really? Me too! |
| Maya: Yes they provide cheap local everyday food. For me, food from food stalls is tasty, fast and cheap. |
| Manasi: What is your favorite dish? |
| Maya: I like panipuri. |
| Manasi: Wow spicy snacks. |
Outro |
| Maya: Yes Indian cuisine has a huge variety of food for you to try. You are sure to find something you like. Okay that does it for our lesson on cuisine. Attention perfectionists! You are about to learn how to perfect your pronunciation. |
| Manasi: Lesson review audio tracks. |
| Maya: Increase fluency and vocabulary fast with these short, effective audio tracks. |
| Manasi: Super simple to use. Listen to the Hindi word or phrase. |
| Maya: And then repeat it out loud in a loud, clear voice. |
| Manasi: You will speak with confidence knowing that you are speaking Hindi like the locals. |
| Maya: Go to hindipod101.com and download the review audio tracks right on the lessons page today. |
| Manasi: फिर मिलेंगे (phir milenge). Goodbye. |
| Maya: Goodbye. |
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