Food is an important part of Indian culture, playing a role in everyday life as well as in festivals. In many families, everyday meals are usually sit-down affairs consisting of two to three main course dishes, varied accompaniments such as chutneys and pickles, carbohydrate staples such as rice and roti (bread), as well as desserts.

Indian cooking has many different styles throughtout all of India. For that matter, there is really not one accepted style of Indian cuisine but rather many different styles. So if you travel to India you will find that the food prepared by the people and restaurants in that area will be different in each area. Of course there will be some similarities but it will also be very different from place to place.

Diversity is a defining feature of India's geography, culture, and food. Indian cuisine varies from region to region, reflecting the varied demographics of the ethnically diverse subcontinent. Generally, Indian cuisine can be split into four categories: North Indian, South Indian, East Indian, and West Indian. Despite this diversity, some unifying threads emerge in the art of Indian cuisine. Varied uses of spices are an integral part of food preparation, and are used to enhance the flavor of a dish and create unique flavors and aromas.

Gujarati Recipes
Rajasthani Recipes
South Indian Recipes
North Indian Recipes
East Indian Recipes

Cuisine across India has also been influenced by various cultural groups that entered India throughout history, from regions as diverse as West Asia, Central Asia and Europe. Continental food is also very polular in india and you will find a touch of indian taste in all the continental food prepared in india.

Chinese Recipes
Italian Recipes
Mexican Recipes
Thai Recipes

In RasoiTime we have collected many delicious Indian recipes from all over India. All recipes are sorted by category. You can select a recipe category from the list above to see all recipes in that category. If you are looking for a particular type of Indian food, you can use our 'Recipe Search' feature above to find it.

Elements of Indian Recipes

The staples of Indian Recipes are rice, atta (whole wheat flour), and a variety of pulses, the most important of which are masoor (most often red lentil), chana (bengal gram), toor (pigeon pea or yellow gram), urad (black gram) and mung (green gram). Pulses may be used whole, dehusked, for example dhuli moong or dhuli urad, or split. Pulses are used extensively in the form of dal (split). Some of the pulses like chana and "Mung" are also processed into flour (besan).

Most Indian curries are fried in vegetable oil. In North and West India, groundnut oil is traditionally been most popular for frying, while in Eastern India, Mustard oil is more commonly used. In South India, coconut oil and Gingelly Oil is common. In recent decades, sunflower oil and soybean oil have gained popularity all over India. Hydrogenated vegetable oil, known as Vanaspati ghee, is also a popular cooking medium that replaces Desi ghee (clarified butter). Paneer (Cottage Cheese) is used very widely in indian recipes. It is considered as a rich food.

The most important/frequently used spices in Indian recipes are chilli pepper, black mustard seed (rai), cumin (jeera), turmeric (haldi), fenugreek (methi), asafoetida (hing), ginger (adrak), and garlic (lassan). Popular spice mixes are garam masala which is usually a powder of five or more dried spices, commonly comprised of cardamom, cinnamon and clove; and Goda Masala, a popular spice mix in Maharashtra. Some leaves are commonly used like tejpat (cassia leaf), coriander leaf, fenugreek leaf and mint leaf. The common use of curry leaves is typical of all Indian cuisine. In sweet dishes, cardamom, nutmeg, saffron, and rose petal essence are used.

The term "curry" is usually understood to mean "gravy" in India, rather than "spices."