Introduction
The East Indian region is known for its beautiful mountains and beaches. It is composed of West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam, Arunchal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram, Tripura, and Orissa. Food in this region is greatly influenced by a mix of Chinese and Mongolian cuisine.
Food is classified mainly as Bagali, Assam, and Orissa whose cooking techniques are primarily steaming and frying. Fish is the preferred dish in coastal areas, while pork takes the stage for inlands.
Compared to the rest of the Indian region, Eastern Indians love sweets and desserts. Yogurt, coconut, maize, and gram flour are the most commonly used ingredients for their well-loved desserts. Meanwhile, other staple ingredients also include mustard seed, paste, different chilies, five-spice, cumin, onion seeds, fennel seeds, and fenugreek seeds.
Sweets are taken seriously in this part of India. Popular treats are Sandesh and Rasgolla, which are light and less-dense desserts.
15 East Indian Cuisine Dishes You Must Try:
- Pantua
This Bengali local confection is referred to as a distant cousin of Gulab Jamun, a popular Indian sweet treat worldwide. This Bengali specialty is made of semolina, chhana, milk, ghee, and sugar syrup. This may also be compared to a fried ledikeni. Pantuas beautiful fried color ranges from pale brown to almost black. Some variants would add rose water, cardamom or other flavorings to make their own twist.
- Mishti Doi
Mishti Doi is made from fermented sweet yogurt (doi). This famous Bangladesh dessert is prepared by boiling milk until thickened. Sugar or molasses is then added and allowed to ferment overnight. What makes this special is the earthenware used to cook it in, which allows evaporation of water through its pores and produces its distinct flavor. This sweet treat is popular in West Bengal, Tripura, and Barak Valley.
- Momo
Originating from Tibet, momos are dumplings stuffed with meat or vegetables. It comes in a variety of versions from fried, tandoori, chocolate, or cheese-stuffed. This savory dish is a favorite by both kids and adults.
- Sandesh
A simple Bengal sweet treat, this dessert can easily be made with just 3 basic ingredients: Milk, sugar, and lemon.
- Pitha
Commonly eaten in India, this basic rice cake has many regional varieties. It is typically made of rice flour, although some use wheat, palm, or ol. In Assam, there is a special way to prepare this and is made only during special occasions. There are many kinds of pitha. Some of which includes:
- Kachi pitha
- Ghila pitha
- Sunga pitha
- Tekelei pitha
- Uhuwa pitha
- Ketli pitha
- Til ptiha
- Tel pitha
- Xutuli pitha
- Ras Malai
This sinfully great dessert can be described as a crustless cheesecake. It consists of chhena soaked in clotted cream and flavored with cardamom. The milk is curdled with vinegar or lime that is eventually cooled and kneaded into a dough. It is cooked in hot water with a little bit of rose, and stuffed with some saffron and pistachios.
- Rasgulla
Rasgulla is basically a syrupy dessert made from chhena (Indian cottage cheese), semolina, and cooked in light syrup. Originally from Odisha and West Bengal, it also has other variants differing its color, texture, and taste. It’s not easy to make this at home, but it can be as flavorful as those bought from the market. Doing it home though will enable you to make one according to your liking: runny, creamy, or with mango puree.
- Jalfrezi
This dish was introduced by the Chinese and brought to Bengal. It eventually made its way to British India and is cooked by using leftovers with chili and onion. This curry dish is popular all throughout India and can be made with any kind of meat: lanb, fish or even vegetables. It comes with a thick spicy sauce made tastefully with green chillis, bell pepper, onion, and tomatoes.
- Khaja
Served sweet or plain, this dish is made from wheat flour fried in ghee. Popular in Agra, this is related to as a native of Odisha. Khaja is a famous sweet dish that appeals to the people of Odia. It can be described as something close to Baklava only with thicker pastry. It is fried until crispy and added with sugar syrup or “Paga.”
- Kheer
This is a typical pudding served either as a meal or dessert. It is cooked by boiling milk and sugar with rice, wheat, tapioca or sweet corn. Flavored with desiccated coconut, cardamom, raisins, saffron, or other variety of nuts, this dish can be a very tasty addition to a great meal.
- Chicken Kasha
Kasha is another curry dish that is famous all over India. A distinct identifier of East Indian food from other regions is how they use 20 to 30 spices in one curry dish.
- Assamese Fish Curry
The Assameese curry is a result of cooking habits that involves fermentation and drying as a form of preservation. With the abundance of fish in the region, Assameese fish curry is centered on rice.
- Thukpa
This noodle dish was brought to India by the Tibetans. Also famous in Nepal, it is considered as a warm comfort dish by most. There are different varieties of Thukpa:
- Thenthuk: Made with hand-pulled noodle
- Gyathuk: Made with Chinese noodle
- Pathug: Made with hand-rolled pinched noodle similar to gnocchi
- Machcher Dol
This fish curry is a staple in West Bengal. It’s made distinctly by marinating the meat in turmeric, and simmered in onion seeds, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and bay leaf. It is best paired with rice.
- Dalma
A traditional Orissan Dalma is typically made with chickpeas combined with raw papaya, potatoes, and masala. It’s relatively easy to prepare and is considered as an easy lunch meal.
Conclusion
India is well known for the wide variety of spices. What’s even more interesting is how food is cooked differently from one region to another. Curries or masalas come in different cooking techniques and combinations of flavors depending on what is abundant in the area. Conclusively, a lot of renowned chefs have been greatly astounded by the richness and flavor of Indian food. Today, culinary trends have slowly learned to adapt the Indian cuisine in fine dining. Similarly, gastronomy aficionados have acknowledged the cuisine by granted Indian chefs Michelin ratings.