India

Map
Holiday List
The country celebrates
Republic Day (Jan. 26),
Independence Day (Aug. 15) and
Mahatma Gandhi's Birthday (Oct. 2).

There are also a number of Hindu festival that are
celebrated, including Diwali, a five-day festival known as
the festival of lights and marks a time of home-based
family celebrations.
Traditions
Greetings
A Namaste with folded hands does just fine all over the country,

Food
To enjoy what you eat you should make sure that your food is low
on spice, since Indian food on an average is very spicy.
In most of the southern region of India, serving food on a banana
leaf is common courtesy.
Rarely will you be offered cutlery in the smaller hotels of the
towns.
Leaving a 10% tip is enough right from the big hotels to the small
shacks, but if you do not wish to do so, you will not be offending
anyone.

Continued
Marriages
There are various types of wedding in India and while in
some places simply putting on bangles on a girls wrist is
considered a proposal, in others an exchange of flower
garlands between the couple is enough. So be careful
before you undertake any such activity. Applying
vermilion powder in a girls hair (parting) is also on the
same lines and will declare you wedded to the woman.

Religious
Religious Places
Unlike the West where churches are more common and shoes
are allowed in religious places, India follows different norms.

You cannot enter a Hindu temple with shoes on.
Women are not allowed to enter a Muslim place of prayer.
All Sikh religious places will require you to keep your head
covered
apart from taking your shoes off.
The holy flowers cannot be thrown anywhere apart from the
designated places.
Non- vegetarian food is not permissible in most religious places,
while you may find a few exceptions in temples of Rajasthan
where the practice of animal sacrifice is still undertaken.

Common Food
1. Malai Kofta (veggie-balls in a thick sauce)
2. Palak Paneer (spinach and cottage cheese)
3. Rajma (red kidney bean curry)
4. Mutter Paneer (peas and cottage cheese)
5. Kaali Daal (black lentils)
6. Chole (chickpea curry)
7. Bhindi Ki Subji (stir-fried okra)
8. Aloo Paratha (potato paratha)
9. Hara Bara Kabab
10. Lehsuni Daal (garlic flavored lentils)

Originated Food
Eggplant.
Chicken.
Yams.
Shiitake Mushrooms.
Recipe
Ingredients:
Dough:
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup water (Use more as needed)
Pinch of salt
Potato Filling
2 medium potatoes
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds (Jeera)
1 chopped green chili
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (green coriander)
1/2 teaspoon garam masala (optional)
1/2 teaspoon amchoor powder (optional)
Also needed
1/4 cup whole-wheat flour for rolling
Oil to cook

Method:
Dough
Mix flour, salt and water together to make soft dough (if the dough is hard add a little more
water). I like mixing the dough by hand.
Recipe
Method:
Dough
Mix flour, salt and water together to make soft dough (if the dough is hard add a little more
water). I like mixing the dough by hand.
Knead the dough for a few minutes on a lightly greased surface to make smooth and pliable
dough.
Set the dough aside and cover it with a damp cloth. Let the dough rest for at least ten minutes.
Filling
Boil 2 medium potatoes with 2 cups of water. After the water comes to a boil, reduce the heat to
medium. Let the potatoes cook until they are tender.
Once tender, remove them from the water and let them cool down. Note: Do not cool the
potatoes under running water because the potatoes will become too soft.
After the potatoes are cold enough to handle, peel the skin off and mash the potatoes.
Mix green chilies, cilantro, cumin seeds and salt to the mashed potatoes.
Making paratha
Divide the dough and potato mixture into 6 equal parts. The potato balls should be about 1 1/2
times larger than the dough balls.
Roll the dough into 3 inch diameter circles. Place the potato balls in the center. Seal by pulling
the edges of the rolled dough together to
make a ball. Proceed to make all six balls.
Recipe
Let them settle for 3 to 4 minutes before rolling them.
Heat the skillet on medium high. Note: An iron skillet works best. To check if the skillet is hot enough, sprinkle a
couple of drops of water
on it. If the water sizzles right away, the skillet is ready.
To make it easier to roll the balls, first roll them in dry whole-wheat flour.
Lightly press the ball on the sealed side and keep it on the topside when rolling. Roll the ball light handed in to 6-
inch circles. Whenever the dough sticks to the rolling pin or rolling surface, lightly sprinkle dry whole-wheat flour on
both sides of the semi-rolled paratha.
Place the paratha over the skillet. After a few seconds you will see the
paratha change color and puff in different places.
Then flip the paratha over. You should see some golden-brown spots on the topside. After a few seconds, spread 1
teaspoon of oil on the paratha. Again, flip the paratha and lightly press the puffed areas with a spatula.
Flip again and press with the spatula making sure the paratha is golden-brown on both sides.
Cool the parathas on a wire rack so they dont get soggy.
Parathas can be kept outside for up to 2 days wrapped in aluminum foil or in a covered container. For later use,
parathas can be refrigerated for 5-6 days or freezed (wrapped in aluminum foil) for a month. Re-heat on a skillet or
toaster oven.