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#IndianFood

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Timeless Tales: India's Six Iconic Food Ventures Defy Odds, Flourishing for Over 50 Years!

Six iconic food businesses in India have defied the odds and thrived as multicrore ventures for over 50 years, showcasing inspiring stories of success and longevity. From humble beginnings, these businesses have scaled into empires, leaving a lasting impact on the Indian culinary landscape. Lijjat Papad, founded in 1959, started as a small initiative where seven Gujarati women gathered to knead and sun-dry papads. Today, it is India's oldest all-women cooperative, employing over 45,000 women and boasting a net worth of over Rs 1,600 crore. Balaji Wafers, known for its crispy and delightful snacks, had a modest start in a one-room home. Founder Chandubhai Virani and his brothers sold chips to theatregoers, unaware that it would grow into a multi-crore national sensation with a turnover of over Rs 500 crore. Parle-G, a household name, originated from an old factory in Mumbai's Vile Parle. The brand's biscuits, initially called Parle Gluco, gained popularity and underwent a rebranding in 1982 as Parle-G, standing out among competitors. Nilon, famous for its pickles, was born during World War II when brothers Suresh and Prafful Sanghavi prepared lemon syrups and juices for soldiers. After experimenting with various products, they introduced pickles, which became a huge success. Chitale, known for its Bakarwadi, began with a Maharashtra farmer's idea to utilize excess milk. Today, the brand collaborates with over 40,000 farmers and produces over 1,000 kgs of Bakarwadi per hour. Vadilal, which started as a small ice cream business in Gujarat in 1907, expanded to become a renowned brand with a turnover of over Rs 1,071 crore. Their ice creams were made using traditional methods, evoking nostalgia for many. These legacy food businesses serve as role models for countless small businesses and startups, showcasing growth models that have stood the test of time. Their stories inspire and demonstrate the potential for success in the Indian food industry.

8 Jan 2024
Positive Reads

Monsoon Munchies: 5 Delectable Indian Delights to Savor During the Rainy Season

As the monsoon season sets in, it's time to indulge in some delicious Indian food & snacks that are perfect for a rainy day.  Here are five Indian edibles that are sure to give you a warm and comforting feeling during the rainy season: 1. Pakoras - These deep-fried fritters made of vegetables like onions, potatoes, and spinach, are a popular snack during the monsoon season. They are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and are best enjoyed with a cup of hot tea. 2. Samosas - Another popular snack during the monsoon season, samosas are crispy, triangular-shaped pastries filled with spiced potatoes, peas, and onions. They are perfect for a rainy day and are best enjoyed with a cup of chai. 3. Khichdi - This simple yet hearty dish is made of rice and lentils, and is often served with a dollop of ghee. It is a comfort food that is perfect for a rainy day, and is also easy to digest. 4. Masala chai - A hot cup of masala chai is the perfect way to warm up on a rainy day. This tea is made by brewing tea leaves with a blend of aromatic spices like cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and cloves. 5. Bhutta - This popular street food is made by roasting a corn cob on an open flame and then rubbing it with a mix of spices and lemon juice. It's a perfect snack to enjoy while watching the rain. These are just a few of the many delicious Indian food that are perfect for the monsoon season. So, grab a plate and enjoy the rains!  

4 Aug 2023
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29 States... 29 Tastes... Part 2

In the previous part, we saw the sumptuous dishes of many of the northern, western and central states of India. In this part, let’s discover some more delicacies from the remaining states. We start from North Eastern seven sisters! Singju: Manipur Singju is a traditional Manipur salad type dish and it has originated here itself. It is both in veg and non-veg. The vegetarian one is served during ritual feasts. The non-vegetarian one is eaten at home.  The veg type has perilla seeds, lotus stem, salt, green leafy vegetables, chillies and chanaa powder. The non-veg type has fermented fish Ngari as its main ingredient. The remaining ingredients are the same as the veg type. Tungtap and Jadoh: Meghalaya Tungtap is a dry fish chutney and Jadoh is a flavoured rice and meat dish. For making Tungtap, fish is well cooked and mixed with onions, green or red chillies for the chutney. Jadoh is made similar to our pulao, by cooking rice and meat together. The only spice used in these dishes is black pepper. Kosoi Bwtwi: Tripura This is a broth made with berma and green beans. It is served with rice. Berma is a key ingredient of Tripura cuisine and has a sour taste. Tripura cuisine is healthy as they use less oil in their oil is used the least in their dishes. Chicken with bamboo shoots: Arunachal Pradesh In this dish, chicken is first marinated in soy sauce, rice wine and cornstarch and then refrigerated. Then it is fired along with mushrooms and boiled bamboo shoots in black bean sauce. Masor Tenga: Assam Masor Tenga is one of the signature dishes of Assam. Masor Tenga is a tangy fish curry. The ingredient Tenga acts as a souring agent that gives the dish its unique tart tangy taste. Misa Mach Poora: Mizoram This is a grilled shrimp recipe. The traditional way of making this dish is by grilling or roasting the shrimp on banana leaves places on hot charcoals. It is served with steamed rice. Smoked pork: Nagaland Nagaland is famous for its pork delicacies and Nagas consider pork as their main source of meat. The smoked pork is flavoured with their local ingredients namely Akhuni- fermented soya bean and anishi- fermented leaves of the yam. Red chillies are added for additional flavour. It is eaten with steamed rice. Momo: Sikkim Momo is a mouth-watering dish we all love to eat! Momos of Sikkim are world famous and Sikkim is believed to be amongst some of the places where this dish originated. Traditionally, Momo was a steamed bun with some stuffing in it. Now we find two variations in momo, one is steamed and other is fired. The stuffing can be of vegetables, cheese, meat, potatoes or Khoa (milk products mixed with sugar). Dimer Dhokkar Dalna and Luchi: West Bengal This delicacy has steamed egg and potato cake in curry along with the Luchi. Luchi, are fried balls whose dough is made by mixing flour, salt and kalonji with ghee. Bebinca: Goa Bebinca is a famous layered dessert of Goa. Various layers have rich clarified ingredients. There is a layer of coconut and ground nutmeg. Along with caramelization, there is a layer of butter. This sumptuous dessert melts quickly in the mouth giving you a heavenly feeling. Biryani: Telangana Who isn’t aware of the awesome Hyderabadi Biryani! Biryanis come in both veg and nonveg types. The basic ingredients are steamed rice, Indian species and yoghurt. Some Biryanis have dried fruits in it. Nonveg types have meat or eggs. Gongura Pachadi: Andhra Pradesh It is a pickle made up of Kenaf leaves and is a must in every Andhra household. It has many other ingredients like the tamarind pulp, fenugreek seeds, coriander seeds, garlic, curry leaves, mustard seeds and oil, salt and chillies. Chiroti and Mysore pak: Karnataka These two are famous sweet dishes of the state and are known across the nation. Chiroti is a layered sweet whose dough is made of maida, layered into circular shapes and then deep fried in ghee or refined oil. Then it is sprinkled with sugar and with cashews and almonds at times. Mysore Pak is Karnataka’s signature sweet originated here. It is made in the enormous amount of ghee, sugar, gram and cardamom. Kallappam: Kerala Kerala has many famous breakfast dishes and Kallappam is one of them. It is also well known as Vellayappam. The main ingredient of this delicacy is Kallu which is used as a raising agent. It is served hot with stew. Idiyappam: Tamil Nadu Idiyappam is a famous delicacy of Tamil Nadu and other south Indian states. It is basically rice flour pressed into the noodle and then steamed. It is served with coconut milk and gratings.   Though the journey of food trail from wonderful states of India is never ending... Do remember... experience... and relish the tastes of our Indian states...

13 Nov 2017
Positive Reads

29 States... 29 Tastes... Part 1

India is known for its diversity in traditions, culture, customs, religion, food, historic architecture and much more. Every place has its own specialty that gives rise to the special tastes and dishes! This article celebrates one of the many famous dishes of every state respectively. The part 1 of this article enlists the famous dishes of North, West and Central India. Rogan Gosht: Jammu and Kashmir The heaven on the earth! The beautiful sceneries of this state take every traveller’s breath away! Also, some of its famous dishes, eaten in the state for many years are still savoured with delight. One of them is Rogan Gosht, an aromatic lamb dish of Persian origin. It is a staple dish there and was introduced to Kashmir by the Mughals. Makki di roti and Sarson ka saag: Punjab Punjab, the land of five rivers, has this famous Makki di roti and sarson ka saag as their staple. Here it is made and served in their traditional way. Sarson (mustard leaves) along with spices are made into saag in their traditional way and is topped ghee or butter. Makki di roti is made of corn. Kadhi Pakoda and Gajar Methi: Haryana Both of these are Haryana’s specialties.  Kadhi is a mixture of yogurt and gram flour with gram flour pakoras in it. This dish is served with plain rice. Gajar Methi is a mild to spicy winter dish of Haryana famous across India. Ker-Sangri and Dal Bati Churma: Rajasthan   Ker-Sangri is made with dried berries and beans cooked in yoghurt with spices. Dal Bati Churma is also a famous part of Rajasthani cuisine. Rajasthani food remains incomplete without its mention. The Bati is cooked in a gas tandoor and served with dal. Some of the batis are deep fried in ghee which are later crushed and mixed with sugar or jaggery to make a sweet dessert called churma. All Rajasthani celebrations owe to have these three onto their menus. Channa Madra and Sidu: Himachal Pradesh Channa Madra is a popular dinner recipe of Himachal Pradesh. It has chickpeas in thick yogurt gravy.  Sidu is a type of bread made with wheat flour and is raised with yeast. Sidu is freshly made and served with ghee, gal or green chutney. Ripe lemon chaat and Kappa: Uttarakhand Ripe lemon chaat along with Bhang chutney is a famous delicacy of Uttarakhand. Also, the staple of this state is the simple toor dal, Kappa and thechwani. Kebabs: Uttar Pradesh Kebabs were a part of the royal delicacy of the Nawab of Lucknow. It is soft and crunchy at the same time and has many flavours and types in it. Litti Chokha: Bihar It is an indigenous dish of the Indian subcontinent and a famous delicacy of Bihar. It is a dough ball made up of wheat flour stuffed with roasted chickpeas mixed with herbs and spices and roasted over coal or cow dung in a traditional manner.  Let’s start from the north! Lapsi and Indori Palak Puri: Madhya Pradesh Laspsi is a highly nutritive dish of the state. It is full of vitamins and proteins. It is a famous sweet dish of the state and is made by pressure cooking broken wheat. Palak Puri is a famous dish of Madhya Pradesh made of spinach and deep fried. It is served as a bread and can be eaten with curd, pickle or chutneys. Khandvi: Gujarat Khandvi is just one of the many snacks Gujarat is famous for. The others onto the list are Dhokla, Handva, Phaphada and much more. Petha: Chattisgarh Petha is a famous sweet dish from Raipur, Chattisgarh and is savoured across the nation. It is usually cylindrical or rectangular in shape and is made from ash gourd vegetable. Marua Roti: Jharkhand Raagi is called as Marua in Jharkhand. Rotis, an Indian bread is made out of marua flour. Also, raagi is high in nutritional value and has lots of fibres that works well for your digestive system. It is mandatory to make Marua Rotis on Jeetiya day in all parts of Jharkhand! Puran Polis: Maharashtra The Puran Poli is a famous sweet, flat bread of Maharashtra made during festivals. Puran Poli is made from chana dal or splits yellow gram, plain flour, jaggery or sugar, cardamom powder and/or nutmeg powder, ghee and water. Chena Poda: Odisha Chena Poda is a sweet dish made up of cheese. It is like a cake which is made up of cottage cheese and dry fruits like cashews, nuts and raisins. It has taste as we get from the caramelization of sugar. **The Part 2 of this article will enlist special delicacies of remaining states that will flatter your taste buds even more! Stay tuned…

12 Nov 2017
Positive Reads

The Whys and Hows

Origins of Jalebi : Persia to India

Jalebi is a crunchy and sweet delicacy that is enjoyed by many. This traditional Indian delicacy, which may be served hot or cold, goes well with samosas, creamy rabdi, or simply a glass of hot milk. Here's an interesting truth about your favorite jalebis: They were not invented in India. Yes, you read that correctly. This dessert has its origins in Iran, where it was called zulbiya. You're probably wondering how it ended up in India. Do you like to learn about the history of the jalebi and how this wonderful dessert arrived to our country? That's an intriguing story to share. Join us as we explore the interesting origins and history of this. When jalebi was zulbiya!  Zulbiya, a distant relative of jalebi, was initially introduced in Iran or Persia in the early 10th century. It was traditionally served with a hot cup of tea in the morning at Ramzan iftar parties. Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq, a well-known Arab author, popularized this treat in an Arabic cookbook. It was reprinted in the 13th century in another book, Kitab al-Tabeekh, by a notable Arab writer, Muhammad bin Hasan al-Baghdadi. Zulbiya is still a popular desert in modern-day Iran, and it is a key component of the Persian New Year feast known as Nowruz. Zulbiya and jalebi are not the same food, despite their similar names.They all taste the same, but the technique of preparation and appearance differ. Zulbiya features an asymmetric floral coil design, whereas jalebi has a succession of circular coils. Furthermore, the Persian recipe calls for honey and rose water syrup, but Indian Jalebi is created using basic sugar syrup..  Zulbiya becomes jalebi:  During the medieval period, Turkish and Persian traders and artisans arrived on the shores of India and introduced the delectable zulbiya to the local cuisine. Over time, this sweet was adopted by Indians, taking on various names including jalavallika, kundalika and more. Eventually, it became known as jalebi, a variant of the original name. By the 15th century, jalebi had become a popular addition to Indian festivals, weddings and even temples. The Jain scripture, Priyamkarnrpakatha, written by Jinasura, a Jain author in 1450 CE, describes how wealthy merchants relished jalebi at their gatherings.  The Sanskrit text, Gunyagunabodhini, from 1600 CE, outlines the ingredients and recipe for a dessert identical to present-day jalebi. In the 16th century, Jalebi earned a coveted mention in the book Bhojana Kutuhala. This book is one of the subcontinent’s first recipe and food science texts and was written by an Indian author named Raghunath. The jalebis of India : Jalebi, a sweet and syrupy Indian delicacy, has a long and varied history spanning ages and places. While it is known as jalebi in Northern India, it is spelled jilebi in the south. This delicious delicacy is known by numerous names around the country. In Bengal, it is known as jilapi, whereas in Indore, it is known as jaleba. Not only do the names differ by area, but so do the forms in which they are served.  In Bengal, for example, there is the chhanar jilipi, but in Madhya Pradesh and Hyderabad, jalebis are made of mawa and khowa jalebi, respectively. Jalebi has won the hearts and taste buds of millions of Indians throughout the years and symbolizes India's unique gastronomic environment! 

5 Dec 2023
The Whys and Hows

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