Best Eastern Indian Foods
Kheer or payasam is an ancient Indian dessert, a creamy rice pudding that is made in several versions across the country. It is a common dish at numerous Indian ceremonies, festivals, and celebrations, although it can be consumed any time of year.
Kheer is made by boiling rice, wheat, or tapioca with milk and sugar, and it can be additionally flavored with dried fruits, nuts, cardamom, and saffron. It is believed that the dessert originated 2000 years ago in the Lord Jagannath Temple in Orissa.
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Rasgulla is a traditional sweet that is usually served at the end of a meal, like many other Indian milk-based desserts. It is prepared from chhena paneer dumplings and semolina dough, cooked together in a sugary syrup. The origin of rasgulla is the subject of a heated debate, with West Bengal and Odisha both claiming to be the birthplace of the dessert.
Bengalis claim that rasgulla was the byproduct of many culinary experiments in the state, while the people of Odisha claim that it was traditionally offered to Lord Jagannath for centuries. However, most food historians agree that the truth is somewhere in between.
MOST ICONIC Rasgulla
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Roshmalai or ras malai is a popular Bengali and Indian dessert consisting of milk, sugar and cardamom-flavored paneer cheese known as chhana. Almonds, cashews, and saffron are often added to the dessert. Roshmalai is of Bengali origin, and is sometimes described as a rich cheesecake without a crust.
The name of the dessert is a combination of two Bengali words, rosh, meaning sap, and Hindustani word malai, meaning cream. It is typically served chilled and garnished with cardamom seeds or dried fruits. This delicious dessert is most popular during the festivals such as Holi and Diwali.
Gobi manchurian is a traditional Indo-Chinese dish consisting of fried cauliflower (gobi) that’s tossed in a sweet and spicy sauce (manchurian). There are two versions of the dish – dry and in gravy. The dry version is often served as an appetizer or a bar snack with ketchup on the side as a dipping sauce, while the gravy version features a thick sauce made with cornstarch and it’s usually served as a main dish with rice on the side, either fried or steamed.
The cauliflower florets are coated in batter and deep-fried until crisp. The batter often consists of water, flour, corn flour, red chili powder, and seasonings, while the sauce is made with a combination of garlic, ginger, onions, scallions, soy sauce, vinegar, oil, sugar, and chili peppers.
Chicken kathi roll is a variety of kathi roll prepared with chicken as the key ingredient. It's a typical street food originating from Kolkata, consisting of flatbreads such as roti or paratha that are filled with marinated and sautéed chicken pieces.
Each flatbread is first lined with an egg that's cracked on top of it before it's spread and cooked. The chicken is marinated in spices such as turmeric, chili powder, cumin, coriander, lemon juice, salt, and mustard oil. Once prepared, the stuffing is mixed with sliced onions, cucumbers, grated carrots, hot chili peppers, and coriander.
OTHER VARIATIONS OF Kathi roll
Bihari kebab is a traditional Indian-Pakistani dish that's unique for its marinade, infused with mustard oil, dahi, poppy seeds, nutmeg, garam masala, and papaya paste. The dish is prepared with thinly sliced fillets, usually beef. It's marinated for a long time, then placed on wooden skewers and cooked on a grill.
Once done, the chunks of meat are usually served on paratha or naan with chutneys, onions, and chili.
OTHER VARIATIONS OF Kebab
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Sandesh is a traditional sweet originating from the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent. It is typically served as a dessert and consists of milk, chhena or paneer, sugar, and flavorings such as cardamom and saffron. The small paneer balls are typically garnished with pistachios, almonds, or crushed pineapple.
After spending some time in the refrigerator, well-chilled sandesh is ready to be served and consumed. Although sandesh is usually round in shape, it can also be shaped into elephants, fish, or conch shells.
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Khaja is a traditional dessert consisting of flour, sugar, and ghee-based dough that is deep-fried in oil until golden and crispy. After the preparation, khaja is sometimes soaked in sugar syrup, depending on the regional variation of the recipe.
This tasty dessert is one of the key dishes at numerous North Indian wedding feasts. There are many regional varieties of khaja, so khajas from Silao and Rajgir are characterized by their puffiness, while khajas of the coastal part of Andhra Pradesh are dry on the exterior and filled with sugar syrup on the inside.
All of the varieties should have a wafery texture and melt in the mouth.
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Mishti doi is a Bengali dessert that combines fermented doi curd—usually made from cow, buffalo, or goat milk—and sugar or jaggery (cane sugar). The process of making mishti doi involves cooking sweetened milk until it's thick and allowing it to ferment.
The fermented product is then combined with melted sugar and left to set. The dish is usually made in traditional earthenware jars, and it is always served well-chilled. Apart from West Bengal, mishti doi is found in Orissa, Bihar, and Bangladesh.
Modern varieties of the dish are often made with fruit or condensed milk.
Aloo chop is a traditional snack originating from Bengal. It’s usually made with a combination of potatoes, oil, gram flour, baking soda, onions, ginger-garlic paste, chili peppers, turmeric, red chili powder, coriander, cumin, and salt. The potatoes are cooked, mashed, and mixed with stir-fried spices, vegetables, and herbs.
The combination is shaped into balls or patties, and it’s then fried in oil until golden and lightly crisp. Once done, aloo chop is typically served with a variety of chutneys, dips, and sauces. In West Bengal, there are a few types of aloo chop such as aloo bomb, Kolkata-style aloo chop, and panskurar chop.
Best Eastern Indian Food Producers
Makaibari Tea is a renowned tea producer located in the West Bengal, India, celebrated for its high-quality, organic teas. Established in 1859, Makaibari is the world's first tea factory and is recognized for its commitment to sustainable and eco-friendly farming practices.
The company produces a variety of exquisite teas, including black, white, green, and oolong teas, all crafted using traditional methods. Makaibari's unique approach to tea cultivation integrates organic farming with biodynamic practices, ensuring the preservation of the environment while delivering superior flavor profiles.
BEST Makaibari Tea Estate Teas and Herbal Infusions
Glenburn Fine Tea is a brand that offers high-quality teas produced on plantations located in Darjeeling, India, and Tinsukia, Assam. This brand is known for its tea production tradition, passed down through generations, and the teas they offer reflect the richness of flavors and unique characteristics of these regions.
Glenburn Fine Tea focuses on producing premium black, green, and white teas, carefully selected and produced using ecological and sustainable farming practices. The plantations where the tea is grown are located at high altitudes, contributing to the specific taste that is mild, fruity, and aromatic.
BEST Glenburn Tea Teas and Herbal Infusions
Goodricke Tea is a leading tea company based in India, renowned for its premium tea blends sourced from the lush estates of Darjeeling, Assam, and Dooars. With a rich history in tea production, Goodricke owns 29 tea gardens and factories across these regions, providing a wide range of black, green, organic, and white teas.
The company prides itself on producing single-estate, high-quality teas, with a focus on sustainability and ethical sourcing. Their Darjeeling teas are particularly celebrated for their muscatel notes and exceptional quality, while their Assam and Dooars teas are known for their robust and malty flavors.
BEST Goodricke Teas and Herbal Infusions
Best Eastern Indian Food Products
Silver Tips Imperial by Makaibari is an exquisite semi-fermented oolong tea. Sourced from the world’s first biodynamic tea estate, this tea is carefully plucked only during the full moon, a practice that enhances its flavor profile. The tea undergoes production in five full moon cycles, ensuring a unique, limited harvest.
Known for its delicate and light liquoring, it has subtle vegetal notes balanced by a sublime sweetness and soft peony aroma. Silver Tips Imperial is celebrated for its relaxing and anti-aging properties, making it an ideal choice for evening consumption.
Glenburn Moonshine Tea is a premium tea offered by Glenburn Tea, renowned for its exquisite quality and unique flavor profile. Sourced from the high-altitude plantations in Darjeeling, India, this particular tea is harvested during the exclusive Moonshine season, which takes place in the early spring.
The "Moonshine" term refers to a special picking that occurs during the first flush, where the young tea buds are carefully plucked before the full bloom, capturing the freshest and most delicate flavors. This Darjeeling Moonshine Tea offers a light, yet complex cup with a refreshing and aromatic taste.
This premium Darjeeling black tea is known for its unique Muscatel flavor, often referred to as "the Champagne of teas", due to its rare and celebrated taste. The tea is made from the estate's over-100-year-old Chinary tea bushes and is hand-picked for the highest quality.
It is harvested from specific areas of the estate to ensure the distinct sweet, musky flavor. With its rich, fragrant, and musky top notes, this tea offers a refined, sweet wine-like experience.
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