The season of Haleem is back to Hyderabad with the holy month of Ramadan which commenced on May 5 this year. Hyderabad celebrates the season with its cosmopolitan populace every year. Haleem festivals are organized at different places in the city. Last year, the city’s brand restaurants including Pista House, Paradise, Sarvi, Shah Ghouse, Shadab, and Bawarchi treated the natives and the expats to the authentic taste of Haleem garnished with nuts and raisins amidst soulful notes emanating from a live Ghazal concert, which lent a feel of the Arabian ambience to the venue, Shilparamam, the handicraft village market. The season of Haleem in Hyderabad is the season of culinary bliss for foodies.

Why do the foodies in Hyderabad go gaga over Haleem during the Ramzan month? Why does Haleem in Hyderabad rule the taste buds? We at Travel Beats explore when and how the City of Nizams developed a bond with Haleem.

If the origin of Haleem is traced, it is found to be an Arabian dish. Hyderabadis owe their love for this festive delicacy to the Arabians who introduced it when the Nizams were in power. Mehbub Ali Khan, the sixth Nizam of the then Hyderabad Princely State, added the Arabian dish to the royal menu. Mir Osman Ali Khan, the seventh Nizam, made Haleem a part of the traditional Hyderabadi cuisine. Then, Saif Nawaz Jung Bahadur, an Arab chief from Yemen and a courtier in the regime of Mir Osman Ali Khan, popularized Haleem as an authentic flavor of the city. Then it evolved into a taste of Hyderabad with a blend of local spices and ingredients, which is different from the Arabian recipe.

Ingredients used to garnish Haleem

With the time passing by, Hyderabadi Haleem became a unique delicacy of meat, lentils and pounded wheat. Today, Haleem is as popular as biryani in the city. Much like biryani, it has been integral to the culinary identity and food culture of Hyderabadis for years. It is mostly consumed as an evening meal after the day-long fast in the month of Ramadan. It is available in the market only during the Ramzan month of the year. It was the first non-veg item to be granted Geographical Indication Status for its mounting popularity.

READ MORE Interesting Stories of Hyderabad

Hyderabadi Haleem is a great hit with the taste buds of not only the Muslim populace of the city but also the people of other communities. A high-calorific and nutritive dish, Haleem is the most common thread of harmony among several different communities in the social fabric of Hyderabad.

Travel Beats is a digital community portal by Indian Eagle, a leading international travel organization. It publishes interesting stories of food, travel, culture, heritage, aviation, philanthropy and innovation in India and USA.

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Prince William and Kate Middleton had a royal Indian dinner in the company of Bollywood biggies and business tycoons at Mumbai’s Taj Mahal Palace Hotel on Sunday evening. The Taj Hotels and Resorts had arranged the dinner gala in reception of the Royal Couple from Cambridge, England. The glittering evening of 10^th April was full of entertainment for the Duke and Duchess as well as VIP invitees from Mumbai’s film industry and business niches.

An Indian dance show on a number of songs from Bollywood films and an Indian fashion show were organized to introduce the Royal Couple to the cultural flavors of India. But it was the dinner menu that stole the show with Prince William and Kate Middleton at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai.

The dinner menu had the best of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes from different Indian cuisines including some of the delicacies cooked in the kitchens of India’s royal palaces in the bygone eras. The menu started with an amuse bouche with orange caviar, which was followed by a Maharaja Thali in the next course.

It was a most delicious feast for non-vegetarians among the guests at the reception of Prince William and Kate Middleton in Mumbai. The main course dishes on the royal dinner menu included Ajwaini Macchli, Shahi Murg ka Soyota, and Kundan Kalia. These were served with Awadhi Gosht Biryani and Lucknowi Vegetarian Biryani. Shahi Murg ka Soyota is a dish of chicken morsels cooked in saffron-rich gravy of cashew nuts and sweet corns. Kundan Kalia is a spicy dish of boneless lamb with gold varq. The biryani was accompanied by boondi and mint raita.

Since some of the invitees abide by the customary tradition of eating only veg food on nine days of Navratri festivity, they were served a grand vegetarian menu with mouthwatering dishes including Dal Langarwali, Paneer Shahi Korma, Khumb Makhana Mattar, Chhonka Palak, Subz Gandheri Kebab and likes. Subz Gandheri Kebab is a popular dish from the cuisine of Hyderabad while Paneer Shahi Korma is a delicacy from the kitchens of Nawabs in Lucknow City.

The royal Indian dinner of Prince William and Kate Middleton at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel ended with such traditional Indian desserts as Chhenna Payesh, Sharifa Kulfi and Dodha with Rabdi. Chhenna Payesh is one of the most popular Bengali delights from Kolkata.

A team of 228 people including chefs and culinary experts made the dinner a memorable one for the Royal Couple and other premium guests. They did their best in everything from selection of ingredients, meticulous cooking and eye-catching presentation to courteous serving. Though it was a small menu with a limited number of main course dishes and desserts, the team made sure that each and every item tasted the best. The guests were served on silver platters with silver cutlery as per the royal dining traditions.

The dinner with traditional delicacies from Lucknow and Hyderabad was meant to wow Prince William and Kate Middleton with a flavorful taste of our rich Indian food culture in the eras of Nawabs and Nizams. The Royal Couple is vegetarian, so we served moderately spiced vegetarian dishes to them. – Executive Chef Amit Chowdhury at Mumbai’s Taj Mahal Palace Hotel

The sumptuous feast in the reception of the Duke and Duchess was attended by Bollywood biggies from the entertainment industry of India, including Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai, Madhuri Dixit, Rishi Kapoor, Karna Johar, Sonak Kapoor, Farhan Akhtar, Anil Kapoor, Alia Bhatt and likes.

Prince William and Kate Middleton visited the India Gate and the Gandhi Smriti Museum in New Delhi. Read more about the Royal Couple’s itinerary in India.  

Travel Beats is a digital portal for Indians and NRIs by IndianEagle, a leading travel organization. Travel Beats publishes interesting stories and news about travel, culture, entertainment, lifestyle and aviation from India and the US.

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The Bengali cuisine, culture, hospitality and festivals are synonymous with sweets. Bengalis have a stronger sweet tooth than other communities in India. In Bengali households, even an ordinary meal includes a sweet dish. Among the traditional Bengali sweets, sandesh and rosogolla define the taste of Bengal to the world. Indian Eagle shares some tidbits of the best five Bengali sweets at the behest of our customers who are flying to Kolkata.

Sandesh

Sandesh is a Bengali sweetmeat to the core. A culinary emblem of Bengaliness, sandesh is made from pure milk and lighter than other Bengali sweets. Bengal offers almost one hundred varieties of sandesh. This sweetmeat comes in different flavors in different seasons. It is flavored with the pulp of mango and jackfruit in summer; jaggery is used to make soft sandesh in spring; it is made with the sap of date palm in winter. Kanchagolla is the simplest and softest version of sandesh. This Bengali delicacy is available not only in different varieties but in different shapes too.

Rosogolla

Rosogolla is unique to the Bengali hospitality. A piece of rosogolla is often accompanied by a couple of sandesh on plates served to guests in Bengali households. Both Bengal and Odisha, two neighboring states of India, claim to the birthplace of this all-India famous sweet. Bengal may not be the origin, but rosogolla has got blended into the cultural fabric of the Bengali society over years. Known as Khirmohana in Odisha, Rasbari in Nepal and Rajbhog in Rajasthan, this Bengali sweet has traveled across the world.

Kolkata Street Food Guide

Chhanar Payesh

Bengal boasts the distinction of being credited with the making of sweets from milk products in Indian cuisine. Chaanar payesh, the Bengali version of cheese or paneer pudding, is one of the must-have Bengali sweets in Kolkata. Also known as chenna payesh, it is a dessert of small balls, garnished with pistachio silvers and dipped in sweetened milk.

Chom chom

Chom chom is another typical Bengali sweet to have during Durga puja in Kolkata. The word “chom chom” is a name of endearment in Bengali language. It is also spelt as cham cham or chum chum. Mostly popular in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, chom chom comes in a variety of colors and flavors. The traditional Bengali version of this Indian sweet is white in color, while the non-Bengali variety comes in light yellow. Porabari, a place in Bangladesh is known for its 150-year old variety of chom chom in brownish color.

Interesting Stories of Kolkata

Mishti Doi

Mishti Doi (sweet curd) is one of the unique highlights of traditional Bengali cuisine and food culture. A typical Bengali menu for feast on social and festive occasions ends with mishti doi. It is widely popular in West Bengal and Odisha, while sour curd is preferred in other states of India. In Bengal, mishti doi is consumed as a sweetmeat throughout the year.

About Travel Beats

Travel Beats is a digital publication by Indian Eagle, a leading international travel organization. It connects the Indian diaspora in the US with the stories of India. Indian Eagle offers the best airfare deals for Kolkata flights from USA and Canada.

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“India on My Platter”, a unique food travelogue by Chef Saransh Goila, depicts his epic journey in search of various nuances of local cuisines from rural backwaters to barren deserts to freezing mountains. 28-year-old Saransh Goila, who is a TV host, food consultant and chef, has not only shared recipes of the dishes that he discovered but also vividly described the places that he happened to visit on the 20,000km culinary trail, in the book. Published by Om Books International, “India on My Platter” is a rare cocktail of Saransh Goila’s experiences from having steaming hot Murthal ke Paranthe to savoring street food in Delhi to using a bamboo hollow to cook dishes in Assam and cooking on a boat in Varanasi. Saransh is the face of two food and travel shows – The Spice Traveller and Health Challenge – where he shows how to make popular Indian dishes healthier. He discovered a food enthusiast in him the day he made the first jalebi for his family at the age of 12.  He tasted the first success as a chef when he won the FoodFood Maha Challenge in 2011, hosted by Chef Sanjeev Kapoor and actress Madhuri Dixit.

Indian Eagle catches up with Chef Saransh Goila to share with you his passion for cooking, his culinary innovations, his discoveries of Indian food, and what motivated him to set off on the 20,000km food journey across India, through a freewheeling chat below:

IE. India is described as “unity in diversity.” Is there unity in the culinary diversity of India?

There is unity in the form of time we devote to plan our meals and cook them for sure. Also the amazing amount of love and dedication we cook, eat and feed with is pretty similar all across the country. So, yes there is unity in the culinary diversity of India.

IE. What motivated the chef in you to hold a pen and debut as author?

I felt there was a need in the market for fresh food content and a book that was not just about recipes by a chef. I wanted to express how I felt about food, travel and cooking as a Chef and hence came the idea of holding a pen and debuting as author. Also I love writing and reading as a hobby; so that helped!

IE. 20,000 km food journey across India is a real marathon which few chefs have undertaken till date. What set you on such an epic journey in quest of India’s culinary richness?

The journey was undertaken for ‘FoodFood’ channel’s Roti Rasta Aur India. I needed to find a way to get my friends to choose Varanasi over Venice and Gujarat over Geneva when they plan their next vacations. The idea was to connect the youth with the traditional Indian food. So, all thanks to FoodFood Channel that got me sponsors and made this dream journey possible! We strategically planned a 100 day nonstop road trip covering 25 states of India, to make a point that we were serious about documenting the culinary richness of India and showcasing it to the world.

This book captures the amazing experience I had while I travelled 60 cities in 100 days across 25 states. It is not just a chef’s but a boy’s spiritual journey. From a roadside truck stop to India’s biggest omelette centre, to a kitchen in Kullu—this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity made me cover it all. – Saransh Goila

IE. What difficulties or challenges came your way during the journey?

The journey was not a cake walk. “Sometimes I had to work with just one saute-pan, over burning coal with blunt knives”. Apart from production challenges, travelling 100 days straight by road was a physically daunting task. It takes a toll on your body. So the biggest challenge was to stay fit and happy and shiny for 100 days on the go. Also waking up every morning to a camera and travelling a distance of 200 kms every day is a crazy thing to do.

IE. Many Indian dishes owe their origin to the foreign invaders and rulers like the Turks, the Afghans, the Arabs, the Mughals, the Huns, and the Portuguese who left their culinary influences on the food culture of India. Which regional cuisine or cuisines are unique to Indian culture?

I would say there is a lot more to Indian cuisine apart from these origins. The culinary influences brought by the foreign invaders to India have added a lot to our regional cuisines like the cuisine of Lucknow, the cuisine of Mysore, the cuisine of Indore, and the cuisine of Agra over years. The Maharashtrian cuisine is definitely unique to Indian culture. Then you’ve communities like the Buniya and the Marwari who have retained the uniqueness of their cuisines. The country is filled with such local experiences right from Dogri cuisine in Jammu to Pahadi cuisine in Himachal to Andhra Thali in south.

IE. Each of the Indian states has its own cuisine and food culture. Even the taste of a single dish, to say Biryani, is different in different parts of India. What makes regional cuisines of India, according to you, unlike each other?

It depends on the way the people of different regions treat spices. Produce also varies from state to state but use of spices is what makes the real difference. For example, Panch Phoran is excessively used in Bengal just like garam masala is added to every curry in North Indian kitchens. That defines different tastes of a dish in different regions (even if it is similar to the other). Also the kind of rituals and festivals every culture has leads to different food preparations and eating styles in every Indian state.

“India on My Platter”is not merely about food and recipes. It gives us a rare glimpse into the psyche of the people, the region and the story behind a dish. The book shows us how vast a country we live in and how varied a culinary treasure we possess. It is a fitting tribute to the unsung culinary geniuses. – Chef Sanjeev Kapoor     

IE. Most foreign tourists sniff at street food of India for hygiene issues. Indian street food is a big market in itself. What do you think of it (your view)? How would you like to popularize our street foods among foreign tourists and convince them about the mouth-watering taste?

Well! I am known as #SadakChef. For me our street food is a matter of pride. It is one of the most amazing parts of the traditional Indian food culture. Foreign tourists also have street food culture in their own countries and they eat street food without questions (and anything on streets is not as hygienic as in restaurants no matter whichever country is). So I think the similar thought is true about our street food too. I can assure that Indian street food has evolved in the way it used to be served. You won’t see good street vendors serving food in an unclean surrounding these days. In Delhi, you’ll see many panipuri walas using gloves and using RO water. I would like to organize lots of food walks across India and promote them on YouTube. It is on my ideas of attracting foreigners towards Indian street food.

IE. Which Indian delicacies of your choice would you like to promote across the globe?

I am popular for my version of Butter Chicken which is called #GoilaButterChicken on Twitter. I would like to promote this signature recipe of mine across the globe along with a few of my versions of various Indian Street food dishes.

IE. You have achieved the distinction of hosting India’s biggest food travelogue show “Roti, Rasta aur India”, which made its way to the Limca Book of Records. Would you ever like to host such a show for Indian Americans in the United States?

Definitely! I have a few Indian American friends who just love visiting India every now and then to eat good food and they usually look for references. So there is a scope in the United States too. Also the Indian cuisine being served in America has improved a lot over the years. So if a Web or TV show falls in place, I would love to host and spread the food love among Indian Americans.

IE. “India on My Platter” is a rare book. It is equally endearing to foodies as well as travelers. How did you blend food writing and travel writing – two different styles – in the book?   

Thanks for asking this question! It was tough. My publisher Ajay Mago (Om Books International) and I brainstormed a lot how we would shape up a book with travel writing, pictures of food and recipes, which would appeal to both foodies and travelers, and that too at a mere 295 INR. The structuring was very important. We decided to blend recipes, travel writing and descriptions of culinary landscapes into what would come out in form of a unique food travelogue. Thus the idea of connecting food connoisseurs with not just recipes but different situations, places and facts that I experienced was actualized.

We congratulate Chef Saransh Goila on his newly earned stardom in the world of culinary literature and thank him for the open-hearted interview. We wish he would explore India’s hidden food landscapes and tell the world offbeat stories of Indian food culture in the coming days.  – Indian Eagle

About Indian Eagle

Indian Eagle is a trusted name in online booking of international flights from the US to India at the guaranteed lowest fares. Indian Eagle celebrates everything about India through interesting stories on Travel Beats.  

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What to eat in Lucknow is one of the most important things to know about Lucknow. The City of Nawabs is known for the centuries-old Awadhi cuisine, which is mostly influenced by the culinary culture of the Mughal era because the Mughal Emperors hired officials for administration of the Awadhi Province. The traditional Indian food menu has incorporated Lucknow food from the Awadhi cuisine over years. A paradise for foodies in India, Lucknow City is a labyrinthine trail of food from biryanis to kebabs, chaats and paans. Indian Eagle explores the Lucknow food trail and dares to cut the long list of dishes short so that you don’t feel spoilt for choice.

Biryani is one of the unique things to eat in Lucknow. It is one of the must-have dishes on the traditional Indian food menu. Influenced by the Awadhi cuisine during the era of Nawabs, Lucknow Biryani is unlike the Dum Biryani of Hyderabad in cooking style and flavor. Rice and meat are cooked separately. Both are mixed later and flavored with garden-fresh spices.

Lalla Biryani and Wahid Biryani are the places to eat in Lucknow. The former is famous for mutton biryani and the latter is known for chicken biryani. Among other dishes served at Lalla Biryani, mutton korma and mutton kebab are simply irresistible. Since 1955, Wahid Biryani has been a favorite of foodies. It is a must stop during food tours in Lucknow City. Wahid Biryani has been featured in many newspapers, food shows and travel videos for its USP that is the rare blend of 56 difference spices. Even they serve visitors at the Taj Mahotsav in Agra. You can visit the by-lanes of Aminabad in  the old city for vegetarian versions of Lucknow Biryani.

Galawati Kebab or Galauti Kebab is what to eat in Lucknow during a trip or food tour. It is said that the recipe was invented for a change of taste when a Nawab wished to eat something new that would melt in his mouth. Galawati Kebab does really melt in the mouth as it is made from ground meat. Add Tunday Kababi near Akbari Gate to your list of best places to eat in Lucknow City as it serves authentic Galauti Kebab with paratha. Chicken Korma is another must have at this food joint.

Galauti Kebab is also known as Tunday Kebab (Tunday means handicapped). It is called so because the person who invented the recipe was handicapped. This Lucknow food owes its unique flavor to the blend of 100 spices.

Of the Lucknow Kebabs, Boti Kebab is served as a starter. It is made with tender pieces of meat under intense heat. It is a Mughlai dish from the Awadhi cuisine.

You should add Tokri Chaat to your list of never-tasted-before things to eat in Lucknow. Generally, chaat is an Indian street food and a popular monotony-breaking snack. Tokri Chaat is a Lucknow-special dish of deep-fried basket-shaped dough filled with a mix of boiled peas and potato mash. Unique to the City of Nawabs, it is unlike the varieties of chaat that Delhi, Agra, Nagpur and Indore fare famous for. Royal Café in Hazrat Ganj Market serves the best of Tokri Chaat.

READ MORE Interesting Facts about Lucknow

Sheermal is a sweet version of naan (baked flat bread) savored with anything spicy in contrast to it. Sheermals are made of refined flour mixed with sweetened, warm milk and flavored with saffron. Don’t forget to get your taste buds blessed with contrasting flavors of sheermal and a spicy curry.

Lucknow and Varanasi (or Banaras) are the ultimate stops for paan lovers and paan eaters in India. No meal is complete without a Lucknowi paan, which is not just another experience. Stuffed with several different tongue-teasing ingredients including mango pulp in summer, paan is omnipresent in this Indian heritage city. Mango Paan at Mehrotra Paan Corner is a unique bliss of Lucknow.

The list of things to eat in Lucknow does also have Malai Ki Gilori for those having a sweet tooth. Soft in make, this sweetmeat melts in the mouth within seconds. Pista Barfi is another famous sweet treatment for the taste buds in the city.

Your tour of the best places to eat in Lucknow would remain incomplete without an experience of Prakash ki Kulfi and Chanakya ki Kulfi. These two varieties of kulfi in different flavors including malai, rose, elaichi and kesar-pista will leave an indelible impact on the foodie in you. Parkash ki Kulfi with sweet noodles is a must try in Aminabad, and the place offering Chanakya ki Kufli exhibits food related poems on the walls.

If you happen to visit Lucknow during winter, don’t give a miss to Makhkhan Malai. Known as Lab-e-Mashook in Urdu, the delicacy is sold near Kali Temple at Chowk in the old city.

With Paya ki Nihari, we at Travel Beats are back to the non-vegetarian menu that Lucknow City is famous for. It is a spicy broth of lamb trotters, cooked slowly for 6-7 hours. Lucknow owes this dish to Haji Abdul Rahim Sahib who started serving it with kulche for morning breakfast in the year 1890. Since then, the city has been breaking its fast with a bowl of Paya ki Nihari and a plate of kulche in the morning.

Lucknow Travel Tips

October to March is the best time to visit Lucknow, one of the weekend getaways from New Delhi. The Double-decker AC Train is the best of all Delhi to Lucknow trains. It covers the distance between Delhi and Lucknow in 7 hours. If travel by train is not your cup of tea, book a domestic flight to Lucknow from Delhi.

Cheap Flights on Indian Eagle

Indian Eagle offers the best itinerary to Lucknow including the cheapest flight tickets to New Delhi and the best domestic flight to Lucknow from Delhi. The lowest airfare and the best service are guaranteed!

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Diversity is the only word that best describes the geography, demography, culture and festivals of India. Let a festival come, and you will see the diverse ways of celebration in different parts of the country. Diwali and Holi apart, Makar Sankranti is the festival that Indians celebrate in different names and different fashions. Everything from delicacies to rituals reflects the diversity of India on the occasion of Makar Sankranti, which has different names such as Pongal, Bihu, Uttarayan, and Lohri across the country. Indian Eagle takes on the culinary diversity of Makar Sankranti celebration in India.

Til Ke Ladoo

Til or sesame is one of the main harvests of winter season all over India. Til ke Ladoo is a traditional flavor of Makar Sankranti that most of Indian households are identified with this time. It is made from a mix of til and jaggery. It is said that those who eat til ke ladoos speak sweet words.

Sakkarai Pongal

South India celebrates Pongal Festival on the day of Makar Sankranti. Sweetening mouths and treating guests with Sakkarai Pongal is unique to the way Pongal is celebrated in South Indian states – Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Jaggery and rice are the main ingredients of this traditional Indian sweetmeat.

Jaggery Roti

There is another Maharashtrian delicacy prepared and consumed on the occasion of Makar Sankranti. It is Gulachi Poli or Jaggery Roti stuffed with a mix of jaggery and gram flour. It is prepared like flat bread roasted in pure ghee.

Til Chikki

When it comes to celebrating Makar Sankranti with platefuls of sweets, Gujarat has its own variety. Til Chikki (a sweet of sesame seeds, peanuts and jaggery) is the Gujarati version of the Makar Sankranti delicacy.

Kurmure Chikki

Maharashtra has its own traditional sweet delicacies to boast of during Makar Sankranti. Kurmure Chikki is the Makar Sankranti special Maharashtrian dish. This delicacy is a blend of puffed rice and jaggery. It is an auspicious custom for the people of Maharashtra to prepare Kurmure Chikki.

Til Pitha

If the focus is turned to the Makar Sankranti celebration in Northeast India, Assam is present on the traditional culinary map. The Assamese are known for their gastronomic preparation that is Til Pitha, a pancake made of rice and til mixed with jaggery.

Patishapta Pitha

India owes its most delicious Makar Sankranti sweetmeats to Bengalis. Makar Sankranti is known as Pous Sankranti in West Bengal where multiple ingredients including milk, rice, khoya, coconut, date palm jaggery, dried fruits, rose water and rose petals are used to make varieties of Pitha and Patishapta. Puli Pitha is a sweet dumpling dipped in creamy milk syrup, while Patishapta is stuffed with different fillings.

Rewari 

Rewari is a most popular Makar Sankranti dish in Punjab and Rajasthan. Especially Punjabis are much fond of this delicacy. Unlike the Makar Sankranti sweets in the rest of India, Rewari is a hard candy type.

Are you missing the flavor and atmosphere of Makar Sankranti away from home in India? Don’t worry! Indian Eagle is offering the cheapest airline tickets for flights to India for Holi festival this year.  

Click to Get the Cheapest Flight for Your Holi Celebration in India

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Food travel across India is a sinful indulgence in winters. Winter is no exception to the seasonal varieties of Indian food. Indian winter delicacies including sweets and snacks are sure to leave your taste buds restless if you don’t try them out. We at Indian Eagle leafed through the pages of Indian city food guides and handpicked the best delicacies that you must have in India this winter.

Gajar Ka Halwa with Dried Fruits 

Rajasthan is known for not only the best winter holiday tourist destinations but also the best winter delicacies. Gajar Ka Halwa is the most popular sweetmeat that most of the cities in the state of Rajasthan including Jaipur, Udaipur, Bikaner, Mewar, Jaisalmer and Jodhpur offer during winter. Gajar Ka Halwa is a must on the menu of wedding feats in Rajasthan.

Udaipur Food Travel Guide

Nolen Gurer Sandesh & Rosogolla  

Image Credit: flickr.com/photos/micromitra

Traveling to Kolkata in winter? Brush your sweet tooth for platefuls of Nolen Gurer Sandesh and Rosogolla. Kolkata treats the guests to Rosogolla and Sandesh throughout the year. But, the Bengali sweets of nolen gurer flavour (date palm jiggery) are winter specials in Kolkata. Hope, you can’t afford to miss it.

Kolkata Street Food Guide

Stuffed Parathas with Curd  

Be it morning or evening, Delhi is fond of smoking hot Parathas in winter. Delhi specializes in serving Parathas stuffed with filling of different ingredients including spinach, cauliflower, carrot, peas, mashed potato, fenugreek leaves and reddish. Parathas with some pickle, butter and a bowl of curd give the best taste of Delhi that is unique to the North Indian food culture in winter.

Delhi Street Food Guide

Makki Ki Roti & Sarson Ka Saag 

Punjab will treat you to its warm hospitality over a meal of Sarson Ka Saag and Makki Ki Roti during winter. Though this meal is cooked in the Punjabi kitchens round the year, it keeps the body warm and helps to brave the cold in Punjab during winters. The meal of Sarson Ka Saag and Makki Ki Roti is served with butter, jaggery and onion slices.

Mumbai Street Food Guide

Hot Gulab Jamun with Ice-cream 

Whether you are on diet or a diabetic patient, you cannot resist the temptation of hot Gulab Jamun on wintry nights. Gulab Jamun is a favourite of Indians all over the country. Many people top Gulab Jamuns with vanilla-flavored ice-cream in winter.

Agra Food Travel Guide

Masala Khichdi with Pickle

Masala Khichdi (spicy porridge) is one of the best winter delicacies in India. It is yummy in taste and light on stomach. In winters, this traditional Indian meal is cooked with seasonal vegetables like carrots, beans, peas and cauliflower. A spoonful of ghee is the best add-on to enhance the taste.

Indore Food Travel Guide

Litti with Potato Mash or Brinjal Bharta   

Winter travel to Bihar, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh is an incomplete experience without bites of Litti Chokha. Unique to the traditional food culture of these Indian states, Littis are stuffed balls and served hot with spicy potato mash or brinjal bharta. This snacky delicacy is sure to be found on the Indian street food guide.

Mysore Food Travel Guide

Samosa & Pakora with Chai

In North India, the evenings of winter are warm with platefuls of Samosa and Pakora. Stuffed with the filling of seasonal ingredients, these popular snacks are best served with cups of smoking hot tea. Samaso and Pakora with Chai are part of get-togethers and soirees in North India during winters.

Best Indian Monsoon Delicacies

Mirchi Bajji & Ragda Pattice 

The spicy affair of Hyderabad begins with a plateful of Mirchi Bajji in winters. It is one of the best winter snacks and street foods in South Indian cities including Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru and Mysore. It is served hot with white coconut chutney. Hyderabadis are fond of Ragda Pattice too, in the winter season.

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The post Best Delicacies that You Must Have in India this Winter appeared first on Travel to India, Cheap Flights to India, Aviation News, India Travel Tips.

Travel to India is no way different from food travel for a foodie. Be you in north, south, west, or, east, Indian cuisine is as varied as the world geography. This time our pick from the South Indian food map is Mysore as Dussehra festival is around the corner. Dussehra in Mysore is a grand royal celebration which fetches tourists from across the world. If you are traveling to India to celebrate Dussehra in Mysore, you would love to bookmark and share our article on traditional Indian food to eat in Mysore. Indian Eagle shares with you some useful South India food travel tips, too.

Traditional Mysore breakfast              

Dosa, Idli and Vada are the ruling snacks in the cuisine of Mysore. Though Dosa, Idli and Vada top the breakfast menu at restaurants in Mysore, the city is busy preparing and serving these items all the day. You will find 10 different varieties of dosa in Mysore, but Masala dosa is one of the yummiest and most popular Indian foods. Dosa, Idli and Vada are traditionally served with sambhar and coconut chutney. Don’t deprive your taste buds of different idli varieties – Rava idli, Thatte idli and Maligae idli. Mysore Bonda and Mysore Bajji are unique to the South Indian food culture. Bonda is crispy outside and soft inside. Having a plate of smoking hot Mysore bonda is a sinful indulgence for the foodie like you. Varieties of Mysore Bajji are as many as dosa varieties. Potato bajji, Onion bajji, Chilli bajji, Bread bajji, Applam bajji – the list goes on!

Traditional Mysore lunch    

It is as important to know what to eat at the lunch time as to know where to eat in Mysore. The typical Mysore lunch will give you a taste of traditional South Indian food. Most of the restaurants across the city serve food on banana leaves. The lunch menu starts with cereal salad Kosambri. It is followed by Huli, a dense broth of boiled vegetables and lentils, spiced with chilli powder and tamarid juice. Huli is both tangy and sour in taste. Gojju is another traditional vegetable curry.  Palyas, rasam, papad, pickle and curd are some of the other items on the Mysore lunch menu. Pickle, papad and curd are the essential add-ons, served in lunch and dinner meals. Coconut, tamarind and chilli are common ingredients in the South Indian cooking of dishes in Mysore.

Traditional Mysore sweets

Your affair with Indian food in Mysore will remain an incomplete story without a mouthful of Mysore sweets. Mysore Pak is one of the most popular sweets in the South Indian cuisine. Part and parcel of traditional Indian food culture in South India, this sweet delicacy is made of gram flour, pure ghee and sugar. It is so soft that it melts the moment it comes in touch with the tongue. If you crave a sweeter experience of food travel in Mysore, make sure to try Chiroti, a kind of pastry made of flour, smeared with sugar powder and dipped in almond milk. The list of Mysore sweets will go on until Holige is mentioned. Holige is wafer-thin, flat, fired bread stuffed with jaggery and dried coconut gratings. If these sweets fail to satisfy your sweet tooth, Rave Unde and Shavige Payasa will surely give a twist to your taste buds.

In addition to sharing food travel tips with the foodie, Indian Eagle offers cheap airline tickets to India. It is never late to book your travel at Indian Eagle  as we offer last minute travel deals too.

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With foreign tourist arrivals to India increasing in numbers, international airlines are going some extra miles to woo NRIs and foreign nationals flying to major Indian cities. Introduction of menus with genuine Indian dishes on long-haul flights to India is among the initiatives into consideration by a few international airlines. Dubai-based Emirates is the first international carrier to serve dishes from different regional cuisines of India on flights to 10 of its Indian destinations in the global service network.

As per the report by Statista.com, foreign tourist arrivals to India numbered 26, 30,000 lakhs from January to April in 2014. The United States continues as the biggest source of flyers including NRIs to India. Emirates has started cashing in on the popularity of Indian cuisines to woo the India-bound international passengers. For example, the travelers on Emirates’ Kolkata-bound flights will be treated to the most popular Bengali dishes including mustard fish curry.

Emirates serves Turiya Vatana Muthia (a Gujarati dish of ridge gourd and green pea) to NRI and Indian passengers on flights between Boston and Ahmedabad. The airline has added some Gujarati snacks like Chivda to its inflight menus too. Meen Mulaku curry (Fish Chilli curry) is one of the popular Keralite delicacies on Emirates’ inflight menus for the passengers flying to Kerala, while Dhabe da Gosht is served on Delhi-bound flights.

Various chutneys and pickles are also offered with the above-mentioned regional dishes on Emirates’ India-bound international flights. “India has a rich culinary diversity with a myriad of flavors and ingredients that vary from region to region. The initiative to treat the taste buds of our NRI and Indian passengers to some of the most popular regional delicacies of India is purposed to make them feel gastronomically overwhelmed during flights to Indian destinations,” said Robin Padgett, Emirates’ Senior Vice President of onboard catering.

Emirates Airlines has something more in the offing other than tailor-made Indian region-specific menus. The airline has also indianized inflight entertainment for NRI and Indian passengers flying on long-haul routes. This segment of Emirates’ international passengers can watch more than 100 movies in different eight regional languages of India and access core Indian TV channels which air Bollywood music videos.

Etihad Airlines and British Airways are playing with the idea of introducing region-specific dishes from different cuisines of India on their international flights. Of the India-based airlines, Air India and Jet Airways have been offering inflight menus influenced by varied Indian cuisines.

Indian Americans can enjoy these newly introduced inflight services including Indian dishes and entertainment programs while flying with Emirates to India from O’Hare International Airport (ORD) in Chicago, Dulles International Airport (IAD) in Washington DC, Austin Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) in Austin, Newark International Airport (EWR) in Newark, George Bush International Airport (IAH) in Houston, and Philadelphia International Airport (PHL).

What more? You can fly with Emirates at the lowest airfare to India only if you book flights on IndianEagle.com.

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The Champakulam boat race festival, the biggest and most popular water sport in the Alappuzha district of Kerala, will be held on July 11 this year. One of the most awaited Kerala events, this water festival fetches NRIs and foreigners from USA to India. If you are flying to India with a travel wishlist including a visit to the Champakulam boat race festival of Kerala, we have an amazing culinary tip to share with you. It is the list of traditional delicacies to be relished in Kerala, the land of spices.

Keralites are true-blue gourmets with a unique food culture. The Kerala cuisine is hot, spicy and aromatic. Coconut milk is a common ingredient in most veg and non-veg recipes. We wish you to add the taste of Kerala to your wishlist.

Appam

Appam, soft pancake, is a traditional breakfast to start your mornings with in Kerala. Appam is soft and spongy in the middle. It is made from boiled rice fermented in coconut water or yeast. Both sugar and salt are mixed with the rice batter to enrich the taste. Appam is thick in the center but thin on the edge. A plate of Appam is relished with vegetable or chicken or mutton stews. It makes a healthy breakfast for both the vegans and the non-vegans.

Puttu Kadala

Puttu Kadala is another breakfast item from the traditional cuisine of Kerala. Puttu is sort of steam cake made from rice powder. It was steamed using long hollow bamboos. These days, metal cylinders are used instead of bamboos. If consumed with steamed bananas, Puttu feels light on the stomach. It can be had with spicy chickpea curry, Kadala, for a rich taste. Tourists can treat their taste buds to beef Puttu, chicken Puttu and prawn Puttu. Kadala curry is flavored with coconut gravy.

Best Delicacies to Eat in Mysore

Pazhampori

If you are looking to indulge in a snacky affair during Kerala travel, do have a plateful of Pazhampori with smoking hot tea in the evening. One of the most delicious snacks that the Kerala cuisine boasts of, Pazhampori is made of banana fritters wrapped in the batter of refined flour and deep fried in oil. Available at most tea stalls in the evening; it is a succulent bait for the tongue.

Idyappam

Idyappam is the best culinary joy of Kerala travel for string hoppers. It is popular by such local names as noolappam or noolputtu in some regions of the state. The noodle is made of rice flour or wheat flour. It is steamed in water vapor or boiled in salty water. The steamed or boiled noodle is served with a bowl of egg curry or fish curry or chicken curry or potato curry and some coconut chutney. The people of Malabar region savor Idyappam with sweetened coconut milk.

Best Sweets of West Bengal

Pathiri

Malabar is the culinary hub in Kerala where foot tourism is thriving on the popularity of delicacies like Pathiri. The tongue-teasing taste of Pathiri is worth a visit to Malabar. Pathiri is a thin roti consisting of a few layers stuffed with spiced mutton. It is a must indulgence to make your Kerala travel an unforgettable culinary experience if you are a foodie.

Karimeen Pollichathu

Karimeen Pollichathu is a fish delight that Keralites are fond of. Found in the backwaters of Kerala, Karimeen is popular seafood which is smeared with a mix of spices and pan fried in banana leaf. Coconut paste is smeared all over the fish before wrapping it in a banana leaf. Pollichathu refers to this typical cooking process. The flavor of Karimeen Pollichathu is as rich as the cuisine of Kerala.

Best Indian Winter Delicacies

Kappa meen curry

Kappa meen curry is a culinary euphoria of Kerala. There is not a single Malayalee who does not go gaga over this delicacy. Steamed or cooked tapioca, Kappa is a good source of carbs and energy. Kappa when consumed with a bowl of fish curry pleases not only taste buds but also senses. The method of cooking the fish curry in a mud pot is unique to the culinary culture of Kerala.

If you have ever been to Kerala and got a mouthful of the local cuisine, you are always welcome to share your experience or story with us. Indian Eagle wishes you a wonderful trip to Kerala. Click Why Visit Kerala to explore more about God’s Own Country and learn interesting things about Champakulam boat race festival.

Indian Eagle is a USA based leading international travel organization inspiring tourists to travel India and booking their trips at the best prices. Indian Eagle celebrates the cultural richness, historic glory, natural beauty, and spiritual greatness of India through interesting stories on its digital magazine, Travel Beats. Check our itineraries and deals for cheap flights to Kochi and cheap air tickets to Trivandrum. 

The post Add Taste of Kerala Cuisine to Your Kerala Travel Wishlist appeared first on Travel to India, Cheap Flights to India, Aviation News, India Travel Tips.