Gujarati Food....!

Gujarati food is probably unique in that it is dominantly vegetarian. Most Gujaratis are rigid vegetarians. There are slight differences in food habits and methods of preparation throughout Gujarat, owing to climactic and cultural variations. Some ingredients like yogurt, buttermilk, coconut, groundnut, sesame seeds, lime juice, sugar, etc are staples in Gujarati preparations. 

Gujarati food is a highly distinctive Indian cuisine. It is usually served on silver platters along with rice and diverse wheat breads. Most people love Gujarati delicacies like crisp spicy fried farshans, available at roadside stalls. The popular Gujarati thali served at marriages comprises farshans, sweetmeats and a plethora of sweet and sour chutneys and pickles. This harmony due to the blending of the sweet and the salty is what demarcates Gujarati food from other Indian varieties. Gujarati food typically consists of rice or chapatis, pulses, vegetables, kachumbar (mixed vegetables salad), papad and curd. It is nutritious and balanced. Snacks like dhokla, khandvi, sweets like basundi are popular all over the country. 

Gujaratis relish snacks known as farshan, prepared in several ways. The most popular variety is known as chivda.

Bengali!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

West Bengal - popularly also known as the land of Maach (fish) and Bhaat (rice). Bengali cuisine’s style of food preparation originated in Bengal region now divided between the Independent country of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal. Various preparation of fresh water fish and a vast range of rice dishes are well known in the Bengali cuisine. Bengali cuisine is rich for its subtle spices and flavors.

The essence of Bengali cooking is delicately balance between the main ingredients and its seasoning. The humblest of pulses gain an unforgettable identity because of the phoron or flavouring added at the end. The panch phoron most popular in Bengali cuisine includes cumin, nigella, fenugreek, aniseed and mustard seed. Sukto (a bitter preparation of bitter gourd, brinjal, sweet potato and plantain); ghonto (vegetables, with or without fish, cooked in milk); jhol; ambole (sweet and sour dish of fruit, vegetables or fish) and pitha (cakes of rice flour or sweet potato fried in syrup) are some of the delicacies that form part of this cuisine.

Fish is the dominant kind of meat, and there are more than forty types of fresh water fish commonly used in Bengali cuisine. It includes the Nil (rohu), Katla, Magur (catfish), Chingri (prawn or shrimp), Shutki (dried sea fish), Ilish (hilsa). Almost every part of the fish (except fins and innards) is cooked and eaten, the head and other parts are usually used to flavor curries. Khashi (referred to as mutton in Indian English, the meat of sterilized goats) is the most popular red meat.

Mustard oil is the medium of cooking these dishes. This is to give a distinct flavor in the dish. “Hilsa fish”, is the speciality of Kolkata which is steamed cooked delicately to retain its flavor and tenderness. Maccher jhol is also popularly known through out Kolkata and Bengalis take pride in its Luchi – a refined sophisticated form of puri.

The typical Bengali fare includes a certain sequence of food like the courses of Western dining. Two sequences are commonly followed, one for ceremonial dinners such as a wedding and the day-to-day sequence: Both sequences have regional variations, and sometimes there are significant differences in a particular course between West Bengal and Bangladesh.

At home, Bengalis typically eat without the use of dining utensils; kala (forks), chamoch (spoons), and chhuri (knives) are used in the preparation of food, but will almost certainly not be used to eat one own food, except in some urban areas. Most Bengalis eat with (heir right hand, mashing small portions of meat and vegetable dishes with rice and lentils into lokma. In rural areas, Bengalis traditionally eat on the ground with a large banana leaf serving as the plate or plates made from sal leaves sown together and dried.

Maharashtra Food!!!!!

                      Maharashtrian (or Marathi) cuisine is cuisine of the Marathi people, those from the state of Maharashtra in India. Maharashtrian cuisine covers a range from being mild to very spicy dishes. Wheat, rice, jowar, bajri, vegetables, lentils and fruit form important components of Maharashtrian diet. Popular dishes include puran poli, ukdiche Modak, and batata wada.
                      
                       Maharashtrian meals (mainly lunch and dinner) are served on a plate called thali. Each food item served on the thali has a specific place. The bhaaji is served in the plate on the right hand side while the chutney, koshimbir are served from left going up the periphery of the circular plate. The papad, bhaaji are served below the koshimbir with the rice and poli served at the bottom of the circle closed to the diner's hand. The puran is served at the top in the inner concentric circle. The amti, rassa is served in separate bowls placed on right hand side of the diner. Water is placed on the left hand side. It is considered ill mannered to use left hand while eating.

The bhaajis are vegetable dishes made with a particular vegetable or a combination of vegetables and requires the use of Goda masala, essentially consisting of some combination of onion, garlic, ginger, red chilli powder, green chillies and mustard. Depending on the caste or specific religious tradition of a family, onion and garlic may not be used in cooking. For example, a number of Hindu communities in Maharashtra and other parts of India refrain from eating onion and garlic during Chaturmas (broadly equates to the rainy monsoon season).

A particular variant of bhaaji is the rassa or curry. Vegetarians prepare rassa or curry of potatoes and or caulifower with tomatoes or fresh coconut kernel and plenty of water to produce a soup like preparation than bhaaji. Varan is nothing but plain dal, a common Indian lentil stew. Aamti is variant of the curry, typically consisting of a lentil (tur) stock, flavored with goda masala, tamarind or amshul, jaggery (gul) and in some cases coconut as well. One of the masalas that gives Maharashtrian cuisine its authentic flavor is the goda (sweet) masala or kalaa (black) masala.

Non-vegetarian dishes mainly use chicken, mutton (mainly goat), fish and other seafood. The Kolhapuri taambda rassa (red curry) and pandhra rassa (white curry) of chicken and mutton from the southern city of Kolhapur and the varhadi rassa or (varhadi chicken curry) from the Vidarbha region are especially well known throughout Maharashtra. The coastal regions of Konkan are more famous for the fish and seafood dishes.

A typical Maharashtrian lunch or dinner usually starts with Poli (chapati), accompanied by one or more bhaaji(s) (cooked vegetables) and a koshimbir(vegetable salad) along with some sides(usually pickles, chutneys, or papad. This is usually followed by a second course of varan(lightly or unspiced daal preparation), aamti (spicy daal preparation) or rassa with rice. As with most of Indian cuisine however, each region and /or community has its own quirks, preferences and variations of the above general format.

Koshimbir is very common and healthy addition to the plate. Typically made from raw vegetables mixed with yogurt and ground roasted peanuts (Danyache Kut). Raitas made with different types of vegetables such as cucumber or carrots are variants of koshimbir.