Introduction to Indian cooking

Indian Cooking is known for its use of spices, herbs and flavorings. The most common ingredient is the perfect blending of the spices to the right proportions so that each of the dishes has a distinct flavor.
Many Indian dishes owe their fiery flavor to the chilies, ginger and garlic. A typical Indian meal in the south may consist of rice, one or two vegetable dishes, a spicy hot chutney and a curry. A typical north Indian meal may include rotis or parathas, a meat dish, one or two vegetable dishes, a dhal and yogurt.

Due to the variety in culture, each state has developed its own way of preparing dishes. Typically long grain rice is used on a daily basis, but specialty items of rice are made with special aromatic rice called Basmati.