title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: Boston Harbor Cruises, the contractor that operates the city's commuter ferry to Boston, runs their largest and fastest vessel between Salem and Hingham for the last two weekends in October. The company's high-speed ferry service to Provincetown concludes in October, freeing up its 600-passenger boat for service between Salem and Hingham. The ferry ride between Hingham and Salem takes one hour. With traffic, especially around Halloween, the drive between Salem and Hingham could be three hours or more.


title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: For the 2013 season, service was expected to start in the last week of May. The Salem City councilors approved a five-year contract with Boston Harbor Cruises to operate the city's commuter ferry from 2013 to 2017. Also new for the 2013 season, Boston Harbor Cruises will offer a 20 percent discount to Salem residents for non-commuter tickets. The City of Salem has approved a seasonal restaurant with a liquor license at The Salem Ferry dock to be operated by Boston Harbor Cruises. The plan is to build a building plus patio seating.


title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: The latest data from 2015 point to 61,000 riders, with around 11,000 being commuters, according to Boston Harbor Cruises, which runs the Salem Ferry.


title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: Salem has eight stations where drivers can charge their electric cars. Four are located at the Museum Place Mall near the Peabody Essex Museum and the other four are in the South Harbor garage across the street from the Salem Waterfront Hotel. The program started in January 2013 and will be free of charge for two years, allowing people to charge their electric cars and other electric vehicles for up to six hours. This program was paid for by a grant from the state of Massachusetts due to Salem's status as a Massachusetts Green Community.


title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: North Shore Medical Center (NSMC) is located in Salem and is the second largest community hospital system in Massachusetts. It offers comprehensive medical and surgical services and includes emergency/trauma departments, advanced cardiac surgery, and a birthplace. It includes NSMC Salem Hospital and NSMC Union Hospital, as well as outpatient care and urgent care. NSMC's medical staff includes nearly 600 affiliated physicians representing primary care, family practice and 50 additional sub-specialties.


title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: The Salem NSMC is a general medical and surgical hospital, which has 395 beds. The hospital had 19,467 admissions in the latest year for which data are available. It performed 4,409 annual inpatient and 7,955 outpatient surgeries. Its emergency department had 90,149 visits in 2012. The helipad at North Shore Medical Center is a helicopter transportation hub, with multiple daily flights to hospitals all over Boston.


title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: Captain John Bertram (1796–1882) lived in Salem and is the founder of Salem Hospital, which was later renamed North Shore Medical Center (NSMC). In 1873, Captain John Bertram gave a gift of $25,000 in cash, plus a brick mansion on Charter Street to create Salem Hospital. From the original building on Charter Street, Salem Hospital moved to the current location on Highland Avenue in 1917. After John Bertram died in March 1882, his widow donated their home, a mansion built in the High Style Italianate with brick and brownstone for materials at 370 Essex Street, and this became the Salem Public Library. In addition, the John Bertram House is now a home for the elderly.


title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: The first step in the redevelopment was in 2006, when the State of Massachusetts gave Salem $1,000,000. The lion's share of the money—$750,000—was earmarked for acquisition of the Blaney Street landing, the private, site off Derby Street used by the ferry, and Salem Harbor. Another $200,000 was approved for the design of the new Salem wharf, a large pier planned for the landing, which officials said could be used by small cruise ships, commercial vessels and fishing boats. In June 2012, the $1.75 million was awarded by the state of Massachusetts and will launch a first phase of dredging and construction of a extension of the pier; a harborwalk to improve pedestrian access; and other lighting, landscaping and paving improvements. Dredging will allow the city to attract other ferries, excursion vessels and cruise ships of up to .


title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: In October 2010, Mayor Driscoll announced that the city would formally acquire the Blaney Street parcel from Dominion Energy, paving the way for the Salem Wharf project. The City of Salem secured $1.25 million from the Massachusetts Seaport Advisory Council and $2.5 million in federal grant dollars to move forward with the construction of the project. The city acquired the parcel with the help of a $1.7 million grant received from the Seaport Advisory Council.


title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: The City of Salem's plans call for a total build-out of the current Blaney Street pier, known as the Salem Wharf project. When finished, the Blaney Street pier will be home to small to medium-sized cruise ships, commercial vessels and the Salem Ferry. This project is fully engineered and permitted.


title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: In 2010, in early phase work to be finished for the 2011 season, a contractor was running underground utility cables and erecting an interim terminal building that will be used by the Salem Ferry, replacing the current trailer. The building will have an indoor bathroom—a first at the ferry landing—along with a waiting room and possibly an outdoor area with awnings. Also new for 2011 is a paved lot with about 140 parking spaces replacing the existing dirt parking lot.


title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: Also in 2011, construction crews were building a long seawall at the Blaney Street landing, which runs from the edge of the ferry dock back toward Derby Street and along an inner harbor. This is one of the early and key pieces of the Salem Pier, which the city hopes to have completed by 2014 and is the key to eventually bring cruise ships to Salem.


title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: At the end of the 2011 season of the Salem Ferry, in the late fall of 2011, after the ferry season ended, contractors were to start building the first section of the T-shaped, pier. Work on that phase was scheduled to be completed by the fall of 2012. As of April 2011, the City of Salem had secured half of the $20 million and still needed to secure about $10 million in state and federal funds to complete this waterfront pier.


title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: In May 2011, after years of legal battles, protests, and one recent fatal accident, the owner of the Salem Harbor Power Station announced it will close down the facility permanently. Salem Harbor Station was a 60-year-old power plant that was owned by Dominion of Virginia. With the approval of ISO New England, the 60-year-old coal and oil-fired plant closed for good in June 2014.


title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: The City of Salem was awarded a $200,000 grant from the Clean Energy Center prior to the closure of the plant. This grant money is being used to plan for the eventual re-use of the property. The City of Salem reached out to state and federal officials to ask for their cooperation and assistance in planning for the future and to provide money, in an effort to clean up the 62-acre site.


title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: Footprint Power, a startup New Jersey-based energy company, announced on June 29, 2012, that it had signed an agreement to acquire Salem Harbor Station from Dominion Energy of Virginia. Footprint Power planned to demolish the 63-acre waterfront site that has towering smokestacks, a coal pile, and oil tanks. A city study estimated cleanup costs at more than $50 million. The final plan was to develop a new state-of-the-art natural gas plant on one-third of the original site, reportedly along the Fort Avenue side near the city's ferry landing. The remainder of the waterfront property eventually will be used for commercial and industrial redevelopment, the company said. "The transition will not only stabilize our property tax base, but also provide cleaner, more efficient and reliable energy." Footprint said its plans are consistent with the recommendations of a city study completed earlier that year on the future use of the power plant site. The City of Salem required Footprint to demolish the existing plant and stacks. "We will restore some 30 to 40 acres of our waterfront to its vibrant and prosperous past." Mayor Kim Driscoll said she had not "detailed" talks yet with Footprint, but is encouraged by discussions so far. Beginning in December 2013, there were many appeals under way from various groups who did not want the plant rebuilt. The main opponent that fought in court was the Conservation Law Foundation, a leading environmental advocacy group intent on blocking the plant from being built.


title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: Throughout the colonial period and thereafter, Salem was one of the largest municipalities in the United States; as late as the 1820 census, Salem was ranked in the top ten cities in the country by population, and would not drop out of the top 100 until the 20th century.


title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: As of the census of 2010, there were 41,340 people, 19,130 households, and 9,708 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,986.0 people per square mile (1,926.1/km). There were 18,175 housing units at an average density of 2,242.7 per square mile (866.3/km). The racial makeup of the city was 81.5% White, 4.9% African American, 0.2% Native American, 2.6% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 6.7% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 15.6% of the population (9.1% Dominican, 2.9% Puerto Rican, 0.5% Mexican, 0.3% Guatemalan). Non-Hispanic Whites were 75.9% of the population in 2010, compared to 95.9% in 1980.


title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: There were 17,492 households, out of which 24.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.8% were married couples living together, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.5% were non-families. Of all households 34.9% were made up of individuals, and 11.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.95.


title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: In the city, the population was spread out, with 20.2% under the age of 18, 10.4% from 18 to 24, 33.4% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.5 males.


title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: The median income for a household in the city was $44,033, and the median income for a family was $55,635. Males had a median income of $38,563 versus $31,374 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,857. About 6.3% of families and 9.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.2% of those under age 18 and 7.9% of those age 65 or over.


title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: Salem State University is the largest of the nine schools comprising the state university system in Massachusetts (the five University of Massachusetts campuses are a separate system), with 7,500 undergraduates and 2,500 graduate students; its five campuses encompass and include 33 buildings. The Salem State Foundation hosts an annual lecture series, featuring high-profile speakers from around the world. was originally built in the 1950s and in January 2014 a $18,600,000 project was announced with development.


title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: The university was founded in 1854 as the Salem Normal School (for teacher training) based on the educational principles espoused by Horace Mann, considered to be the "Father of American Public Education."


title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: Salem State University enrolls over 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students representing 27 states and 57 foreign countries and is one of the largest state universities in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The university also offers Continuing Education courses for credit or non-credit. Situated on five campuses totaling . Currently, the university houses 2,000 students in its five residence facilities. In 2013 the $74 million, 122,000-square-foot library is going to open on the Salem State University campus. The new library will have more than 150 public computers and 1,000 seats of study space, from tables and desks to lounge chairs scattered throughout the building.


title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: On July 28, 2010 Governor of Massachusetts Deval Patrick signed into law a bill that transforms Salem State College into Salem State University.


title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: Salem State University plans to build a $36 to $42 million dorm for 350 to 400 students. Construction starts in the spring of 2014. In April 2014, Salem State University announced a $25,000,000 fund, and at the time of the announcement, there was already $15,000,000 committed from donations and the money will be used for a variety of things from expanding international study programs, more faculty, brand new computers, scholarships and continued support of professional development for the staff.


title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: Public elementary schools include the Bates, Carlton, Horace Mann, Saltonstall and Witchcraft Heights schools. Collins Middle School is located on Highland Avenue.


title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: Horace Mann and Salem High School are located on Wilson Street. The Nathaniel Bowditch School closed in 2018 and the Horace Mann School relocated to their previous location. Salem Academy Charter School and Bentley Academy Charter School are also public schools. Private schools are also located in the city, including two independent, alternative schools, The Phoenix School and the Greenhouse School.


title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: In late 2007 and early 2008, the city's public school system garnered regional and even national attention after officials announced a $4.7 million budget shortfall that threatened the jobs of teachers and other staff members. The Massachusetts General Court passed legislation, and residents raised enough money, which averted teacher layoffs. Several dozen support workers were still laid off. Police were investigating what happened to the money in a search for criminal violations of the law.


title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: Salem also once had a very strong Roman Catholic school system. Once home to almost a dozen schools, the last school in the city, St. Joseph School, closed in July 2009 after over 100 years of providing Catholic education. St. James High School, St. Chretienne Academy, St. Chretienne Grammar School and St. Mary's School closed in 1971, St. James Grammar School closed in 1972, St. Thomas the Apostle School closed in 1973, St. Anne School closed in 1976, St. John the Baptist School closed in 1977 and St. Joseph High School closed in 1980.


title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: The Pickman House, built , abuts the Witch Memorial and Burying Point Cemetery, the second oldest burying ground in the United States.


title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: One of the most popular houses in Salem is The Witch House, the only structure in Salem with direct ties to the Salem witch trials of 1692. The Witch House is owned and operated by the City of Salem as a historic house museum.


title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: Hamilton Hall is located on Chestnut Street, where many grand mansions can be traced to the roots of the Old China Trade. Hamilton Hall was built in 1805 by Samuel McIntire and is considered one of his best pieces. It was declared a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service in 1970.


title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: In recent years, tourism has been an occasional source of debate in the city, with some residents arguing the city should downplay witch tourism and market itself as a more upscale cultural center. In 2005, the conflict came to a head over plans by the cable television network TV Land to erect a bronze statue of Elizabeth Montgomery, who played the comic witch "Samantha" in the 1960s series "Bewitched". A few special episodes of the series were actually filmed in Salem, and TV Land said that the statue commemorated the 35th anniversary of those episodes. The statue was sculpted by StudioEIS under the direction of brothers Elliott and Ivan Schwartz. Many felt the statue was good fun and appropriate to a city that promotes itself as "The Witch City", and contains a street named "Witch Way". Others objected to the use of public property for what was transparently commercial promotion.


title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: There is also a memorial to the victims of the infamous Witch Trials at Proctor's Ledge, the execution site from that time. The memorial is "meant to be a place of reflection" for the city, a reminder that we are capable of these things. This according to


title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: In 2000, the replica tall ship "Friendship of Salem" was finished and sailed to Salem Harbor, where she sits today. The "Friendship of Salem" is a reconstruction of a three-masted East Indiaman trading ship, originally built in 1797, which traveled the world over a dozen times and returned to Salem after each voyage with goods from all over the world. The original was taken by the British during the War of 1812, then stripped and sold in pieces.


title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: In 2006, with the assistance of a 1.6 million dollar grant and additional funds provided by the City of Salem, Mayor Driscoll launched "The Nathaniel Bowditch", a 92-foot catamaran with a top speed of 30 knots which makes the trip between Salem and Boston in just under an hour.


title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: Waterfront redevelopment – The first step in the redevelopment was in 2006, when the State of Massachusetts gave Salem $1,000,000. Bowditch, who was born in Salem and had a home on North Street, is considered the founder of modern maritime navigation. His book, "Bowditch's American Practical Navigator", first published in 1802, is still carried on board every commissioned U.S. naval vessel.


title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: The original "Fame" was a fast Chebacco fishing schooner that was reborn as a privateer when war broke out in the summer of 1812. She was arguably the first American privateer to bring home a prize, and she made 20 more captures before being wrecked in the Bay of Fundy in 1814.


title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: The new "Fame" is a full-scale replica of this famous schooner. Framed and planked of white oak and trunnel-fastened in the traditional manner, the replica of Fame was launched in 2003. She is now based at Salem's Pickering Wharf Marina, where she takes the paying public for cruises on Salem Sound.


title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: Salem Harborwalk opened in July 2010 to celebrate the rebirth of the Salem waterfront as a source of recreation for visitors as well as the local community. The walkway extends from the area of the Salem Fire Station to the Salem Waterfront Hotel.


title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: The Peabody Essex Museum is a leading museum of Asian art and culture and early American maritime trade and whaling; its collections of Indian, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese art, and in particular Chinese export porcelain, are among the finest in the country. Founded in 1799, it is one of the oldest continuously operating museums in the United States. The museum owns and exhibits a number of historic houses in downtown Salem. In 2003, it completed a massive $100 million renovation and expansion, designed by architect Moshe Safdie, and moved a 200-year-old 16-room Chinese home from Xiuning County in southeastern China to the grounds of the museum.


title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: In 2011, the Peabody Essex Museum announced it had raised $550 million with plans to raise an additional $100 million by 2016. The Boston Globe reported this was the largest capital campaign in the museum's history vaulting the Peabody Essex into the top tier of major art museums. The Peabody Essex Museum trustees co-chairs Sam Byrne and Sean Healey with board president Robert Shapiro led the campaign.$200 to $250 million will fund the museum's 175,000-square-foot expansion bringing the total square footage to 425,000 square feet.


title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: The Misery Islands is a nature reserve located in Salem Sound that was established in 1935. It is managed by the Trustees of Reservations. The islands' name come from shipbuilder Robert Moulton who was stranded on the islands during a winter storm in the 1620s. The islands, in the past, have been home to a club with a golf course and about two dozen cottages. The islands are now uninhabited.


title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: The Pioneer Village, created in 1930, was America's first living-history museum. The site features a three-acre re-creation of a Puritan village and allows visitors the opportunity to participate in activities from the lives of Salem's earliest English settlers.


title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: The Old Salem Jail, an active correctional facility until 1991, once housed captured British soldiers from the War of 1812. It contains the main jail building (built in 1813, renovated in 1884), the jail keeper's house (1813) and a barn (also about 1813). The jail was shuttered in 1991 when Essex County opened its new facility in Middleton. In 2010, a $12 million renovation was completed. One feature of the reconstruction is the jail keeper's house, a three-story brick, Federal-period building originally built in 1813. The project went into a long phase of stagnation when in 1999 the county government was dissolved, resulting in the sale of Salem Jail by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to the City of Salem for $1. The Old Salem Jail complex was renamed 50 Saint Peter Street and is now private property, with private residences.


title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: Salem Willows is an oceanfront neighborhood and amusement park. It is named for the European white willow trees planted there in 1801 to form a shaded walk for patients convalescing at a nearby smallpox hospital. The area became a public park in 1858, and in the twentieth century became a summer destination for residents of Boston's North Shore, many of whom escaped the heat of the city on newly popular streetcars. The beaches are also a common place to watch the 4th of July fireworks since you can see three sets of fireworks; Salem, Beverly, and Marblehead. The Willows also has a famous popcorn stand, Hobbs, which is known around the North Shore as one of the best places to get popcorn and ice cream.


title: Salem, Massachusetts

text: In 1855, located on 210 Essex Street, was founded the Salem Five Cents Bank, one of the oldest still functioning American banks.


title: Mount Sinai

text: Mount Sinai ( "Har Sinai"; Aramaic: ܛܘܪܐ ܕܣܝܢܝ "Ṭūrāʾ Dsyny"), traditionally known as Jabal Musa (, translation: Mount Moses), is a mountain on the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. It is possibly the location of the biblical Mount Sinai, the place where, according to the Torah, Bible, and Quran, Moses received the Ten Commandments.


title: Mount Sinai

text: It is a , moderately high mountain near the city of Saint Catherine in the region known today as the Sinai Peninsula. It is surrounded on all sides by higher peaks in the mountain range of which it is a part. For example, it lies next to Mount Catherine which, at , is the highest peak in Egypt.


title: Mount Sinai

text: Mount Sinai's rocks were formed during the late stage of the evolution of the Arabian-Nubian Shield. Mount Sinai displays a ring complex that consists of alkaline granites intruded into diverse rock types, including volcanics. The granites range in composition from syenogranite to alkali feldspar granite. The volcanic rocks are alkaline to peralkaline, and they are represented by subaerial flows and eruptions and subvolcanic porphyry. Generally, the nature of the exposed rocks in Mount Sinai indicates that they were formed at different depths from one another.


title: Mount Sinai

text: Immediately north of the mountain is the 6th-century Saint Catherine's Monastery. The summit has a mosque that is still used by Muslims, and a Greek Orthodox chapel, constructed in 1934 on the ruins of a 16th-century church, that is not open to the public. The chapel encloses the rock which is considered to be the source for the biblical Tablets of Stone. At the summit also is "Moses' cave", where Moses was said to have waited to receive the Ten Commandments.


title: Mount Sinai

text: The Jabal Musa is associated with the Islamic prophet Musa (Moses). In particular, numerous references to Jabal Musa exist in the Quran, where it is called "Ṭūr Sīnāʾ", "Ṭūr Sīnīn", and "aṭ-Ṭūr" and "al-Jabal" (both meaning "the Mount"). As for the adjacent "Wād Ṭuwā" (Valley of Tuwa), it is considered as being "muqaddas" (sacred), and a part of it is called "Al-Buqʿah Al-Mubārakah" ("The Blessed Place"). It is the place where Musa spoke to his Lord.


title: Mount Sinai

text: There are two principal routes to the summit. The longer and shallower route, "Siket El Bashait", takes about 2.5 hours on foot, though camels can be used. The steeper, more direct route ("Siket Sayidna Musa") is up the 3,750 "steps of penitence" in the ravine behind the monastery.


title: Tom Bombadil

text: Tom Bombadil is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He first appeared in print in a 1934 poem called "The Adventures of Tom Bombadil", which also included "The Lord of the Rings" characters Goldberry (Tom's wife), Old Man Willow (an evil tree in Tom's forest) and the Barrow-wight, from whom Tom rescues the hobbits. They were not then explicitly part of the older legends that became "The Silmarillion", and are not mentioned in "The Hobbit".


title: Tom Bombadil

text: Bombadil is best known from his appearance as a supporting character in Tolkien's high fantasy epic "The Lord of the Rings", published in 1954 and 1955. In the first volume, "The Fellowship of the Ring", Frodo Baggins and company meet Bombadil in the Old Forest. The idea for this meeting and the appearances of Old Man Willow and the Barrow-wight can be found in some of Tolkien's earliest notes for a sequel to "The Hobbit". Bombadil is also mentioned, but not seen, near the end of "The Return of the King", with Gandalf planning to pay him a long visit.


title: Tom Bombadil

text: Bombadil has been omitted in radio adaptations of "The Lord of the Rings", the 1978 animated film, and Peter Jackson's film trilogy, as non-essential to the story.


title: Tom Bombadil

text: Commentators have debated the role and origins of Tom Bombadil. A likely source is the demigod Väinämöinen in the 1849 Finnish epic poem "Kalevala", with many points of resemblance. Scholars have stated that he is the spirit of a place, a "genius loci".


title: Tom Bombadil

text: The original version of Tolkien's poem "The Adventures of Tom Bombadil" was published in 1934 in "The Oxford Magazine". The poem depicts Bombadil as a "merry fellow" living in a small valley close to the Withywindle river, where he wanders and explores nature at his leisure. Several of the valley's mysterious residents, including the "River-woman's daughter" Goldberry, the malevolent tree-spirit Old Man Willow, the Badger-folk and a Barrow-wight, attempt to capture Bombadil for their own ends, but quail at the power of Tom's voice, which defeats their enchantments and commands them to return to their natural existence. At the end of the poem, Bombadil captures and marries Goldberry. Throughout the poem, Bombadil is unconcerned by the attempts to capture him and brushes them off with the power in his words.


title: Tom Bombadil

text: Bombadil makes it clear that he found Goldberry in the Withywindle river, calling her "River-woman's daughter". The Tolkien critic John D. Rateliff suggests that, at least in terms of Tolkien's early mythology, she should be seen as one of the fays, spirits, and elementals (including the Maia): "Thus Melian is a 'fay', (as, in all probability, are Goldberry and Bombadil; the one a nymph, the other a "genius loci")".


title: Tom Bombadil

text: The later poem "Bombadil Goes Boating" anchors Bombadil in Middle-earth, featuring a journey down the Withywindle to the Brandywine river, where hobbits ("Little Folk I know there") live at Hays-end. Bombadil is challenged by various river-residents on his journey, including birds, otters and hobbits, but charms them all with his voice, ending his journey at the farm of Farmer Maggot, where he drinks ale and dances with the family. At the end of the poem, the charmed birds and otters work together to bring Bombadil's boat home. The poem includes a reference to the Norse lay of Ótr, when Bombadil threatens to give the hide of a disrespectful otter to the Barrow-wights, who he says will cover it with gold apart from a single whisker. The poem mentions Middle-earth locations including Hays-end, Bree and the Tower Hills, and speaks of "Tall Watchers by the Ford, Shadows on the Marches".


title: Tom Bombadil

text: In "The Fellowship of the Ring", Tom Bombadil helps Frodo Baggins and his hobbit companions on their journey. Tom and his wife Goldberry, the "Daughter of the River", still live in their house by the source of the Withywindle, and some of the characters and situations from the original poem reappear.


title: Tom Bombadil

text: Tom first appears when Merry and Pippin are trapped in the Old Forest by Old Man Willow, and Frodo and Sam cry for help. Tom commands Old Man Willow to release them, singing him to sleep.


title: Tom Bombadil

text: The hobbits spend two nights in Tom Bombadil's house. Here it is seen that the One Ring has no power over Bombadil; he can see Frodo when the Ring makes him invisible to others, and can wear it himself with no effect. He even tosses the Ring in the air and makes it disappear, but then produces it from his other hand and returns it to Frodo. The idea of giving him the Ring for safekeeping is rejected in Book Two's second chapter, "The Council of Elrond". Gandalf says that it is unwise to consider Tom as having power over the Ring, and that rather, "the Ring has no power over him...". He suggests that Tom would not find the Ring to be very important, and so might simply misplace it.


title: Tom Bombadil

text: Before sending the hobbits on their way, Tom teaches them a rhyme to summon him if they fall into danger again within his borders. This proves fortunate, as the four are trapped by a barrow-wight. After rescuing them, Tom gives each hobbit a long dagger taken from the treasure in the barrow. He refuses to pass the borders of his own land, but he directs them to The Prancing Pony Inn at Bree.


title: Tom Bombadil

text: Towards the end of "The Return of the King", when Gandalf leaves the hobbits, he mentions that he wants to have a long talk with Bombadil, calling him a "moss-gatherer". Gandalf says, in response to Frodo's query of how well Bombadil is getting along, that Bombadil is "as well as ever", "quite untroubled" and "not much interested in anything that we have done and seen", save their visits to the Ents. At the very end of "The Lord of the Rings", as Frodo sails into the West and leaves Middle-earth forever, he has what seems to him the very experience that appeared to him in the house of Bombadil in his dream of the second night.


title: Tom Bombadil

text: Tolkien stated that he invented Tom Bombadil in memory of his children's Dutch doll. His Bombadil poems far pre-date the writing of "The Lord of the Rings", into which Tolkien introduced Tom Bombadil from the earliest drafts. In response to a letter, Tolkien described Tom in "The Lord of the Rings" as "just an invention" and "not an important person – to the narrative", even if "he represents something that I feel important, though I would not be prepared to analyse the feeling precisely. I would not, however, have left him in, if he did not have some kind of function." Specifically, Tolkien connected Tom in the letter to a renunciation of control, "a delight in things for themselves without reference to yourself," "Botany and Zoology (as sciences) and Poetry". In another letter, Tolkien writes that he does not think Tom is improved by philosophizing; he included the character "because I had already 'invented' him independently" (in "The Oxford Magazine") "and wanted an 'adventure' on the way".


title: Tom Bombadil

text: Tolkien commented further that "even in a mythical Age there must be some enigmas, as there always are. Tom Bombadil is one (intentionally)". In a letter to Stanley Unwin, Tolkien called Tom Bombadil the spirit of the vanishing landscapes of Oxfordshire and Berkshire. However, this 1937 letter was in reference to works which pre-dated the writing of "The Lord of the Rings".


title: Tom Bombadil

text: Tolkien said little of Tom Bombadil's origins, and the character does not fit neatly into the categories of beings Tolkien created. Bombadil calls himself the "Eldest" and the "Master". He claims to remember "the first raindrop and the first acorn", and that he "knew the dark under the stars when it was fearless—before the Dark Lord came from Outside". When Frodo asks Goldberry just who Tom Bombadil is, she responds simply by saying "He is". Some critics have taken this dialogue as a reference to God's statement "I Am that I Am" in the Book of Exodus, but Tolkien explicitly rejected this.


title: Tom Bombadil

text: The Tolkien scholar David Elton Gay writes that Tolkien was inspired by the Finnish writer Elias Lönnrot's 1849 epic poem "Kalevala", a work of modern mythology. Gay suggests with a detailed comparison that Tom Bombadil was directly modelled on the poem's central character, the demigod Väinämöinen.


title: Tom Bombadil

text: The Tolkien scholar Verlyn Flieger writes that if there was an opposite to Sauron in "The Lord of the Rings", it would not be Aragorn, his battlefield opponent, nor Gandalf, his spiritual enemy, but Tom Bombadil, the earthly Master who is entirely free of the desire to dominate, and hence cannot be dominated. The Christian scholar W. Christopher Stewart sees Bombadil as embodying the pursuit of knowledge purely for its own sake, driven only by his sense of wonder. In his view, this goes some way to explaining Tom Bombadil's indifference to the One Ring, whose only purpose is power and domination.


title: Tom Bombadil

text: Jane Beal, in the "Journal of Tolkien Research", writes that Bombadil can be considered using "the four levels of meaning found in medieval scriptural exegesis and literary interpretation". These are different ways of understanding a text, rather than necessarily contradicting each other.


title: Tom Bombadil

text: The psychologist, fiction author and camouflage expert Timothy R. O'Neill interpreted Bombadil from a Jungian perspective in "The Individuated Hobbit: Jung, Tolkien, and the Archetypes of Middle-Earth" (1979). O'Neill finds Bombadil to be the manifestation of the Self archetype and a vision of man's beginning and destiny:


title: Tom Bombadil

text: The Tolkien scholar Patrick Grant notes that "Jung also talks of a common figure, the 'vegetation numen,' king of the forest, who is associated with wood and water in a manner that recalls Tom Bombadil."


title: Tom Bombadil

text: The Tolkien scholar and philosopher Gene Hargrove argued in "Mythlore" in 1986 that Tolkien understood who Bombadil is, but purposefully made him enigmatic. Nevertheless, Tolkien left clues that Bombadil is a Vala, a god of Middle-Earth, specifically Aulë, the archangelic demigod who created the dwarves. Robert Foster suggested in 1978 that Bombadil is one of the Maiar, angelic beings sent from Valinor.


title: Tom Bombadil

text: Bombadil is absent from Peter Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings" film trilogy; Jackson explained that this was because he and his co-writers felt that the character does little to advance the story, and including him would make the film unnecessarily long. Christopher Lee concurred, stating the scenes were left out to make time for showing Saruman's capture of Gandalf.


title: Tom Bombadil

text: Bombadil has appeared in other radio and film adaptations. He was played by Norman Shelley in the 1955–1956 BBC radio adaptation of "The Lord of the Rings", a performance that Tolkien thought "dreadful"; in his view even worse was that Goldberry was announced as his daughter and Willowman "an ally of " (his emphasis). He was portrayed by Esko Hukkanen in the 1993 Finnish miniseries "Hobitit". He appeared, too, in the 1979 Mind's Eye recordings, where he was played by Bernard Mayes, who also voiced Gandalf. He was included, along with Goldberry and the Barrow-wight, in the 1991 Russian adaptation of "The Fellowship of the Ring", "Khraniteli".


title: Tom Bombadil

text: Although Tom Bombadil was not portrayed in Ralph Bakshi's or Jackson's films, a Tom Bombadil card exists in "The Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game" by Decipher, Inc. (part of the trilogy's merchandise). The model portraying Bombadil on this card is Harry Wellerchew.


title: Tom Bombadil

text: Tom Bombadil is an NPC in the MMORPG game "", serving as a main character in Book 1 of the epic quests.


title: Tom Bombadil

text: Tom Bombadil appears as a playable character in the LEGO "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" video games. Tom Bombadil has no impact in the main story for either game, as the games are direct adaptations of the Peter Jackson films rather than the original novels, but he later appears as an unlockable character in the Middle Earth hub world and can be used in free-play mode.


title: Tom Bombadil

text: The 1969 "Harvard Lampoon" novel "Bored of the Rings" parodies Bombadil as "Tim Benzedrine", a stereotypical hippie married to "Hash-berry".


title: Indian cuisine

text: Indian cuisine consists of a variety of regional and traditional cuisines native to India. Given the diversity in soil, climate, culture, ethnic groups, and occupations, these cuisines vary substantially and use locally available spices, herbs, vegetables, and fruits.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Indian food is also heavily influenced by religion, in particular Hinduism and Islam, cultural choices and traditions.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Historical events such as invasions, trade relations, and colonialism have played a role in introducing certain foods to this country. The Columbian discovery of the New World brought a number of new vegetables and fruit to India. A number of these such as potatoes, tomatoes, chillies, peanuts, and guava have become staples in many regions of India.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Indian cuisine has shaped the history of international relations; the spice trade between India and Europe was the primary catalyst for Europe's Age of Discovery. Spices were bought from India and traded around Europe and Asia. Indian cuisine has influenced other cuisines across the world, especially those from Europe (especially Britain), the Middle East, Southern African, East Africa, Southeast Asia, North America, Mauritius, Fiji, Oceania, and the Caribbean.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Indian cuisine reflects an 8,000-year history of various groups and cultures interacting with the Indian subcontinent, leading to diversity of flavours and regional cuisines found in modern-day India. Later, trade with British and Portuguese influence added to the already diverse Indian cuisine.


title: Indian cuisine

text: After 9000 BCE, a first period of indirect contacts between Fertile Crescent and Indus Valley civilizations seems to have occurred as a consequence of the Neolithic Revolution and the diffusion of agriculture. Around 7000 BCE, agriculture spread from the Fertile Crescent to the Indus Valley, and wheat and barley began to be grown. Sesame, and humped cattle were domesticated in the local farming communities. Mehrgarh is one of the earliest sites with evidence of farming and herding in South Asia. From circa 4500 to 1900 BC the rulers of Lower Mesopotamia were Sumerians who spoke a non-Indo-European and non-Semitic language, may have initially come from India and may have been related to the original Dravidian population of India.


title: Indian cuisine

text: From Around 2350 BCE the evidence for imports from the Indus to Ur in Mesopotamia have been found, as well as Clove heads which are thought to originate from the Moluccas in Maritime Southeast Asia were found in a 2nd millennium BC site in Terqa. Akkadian Empire records mention timber, carnelian and ivory as being imported from Meluhha by Meluhhan ships, Meluhha being generally considered as the Mesopotamian name for the Indus Valley Civilization.


title: Indian cuisine

text: The ancient Hindu text "Mahabharata" mentions rice and vegetable cooked together, and the word "pulao" or "pallao" is used to refer to the dish in ancient Sanskrit works, such as Yājñavalkya Smṛti. Ayurveda, ancient Indian system of wellness, deals with holistic approach to the wellness, and it includes food, dhyana (meditation) and yoga.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Early diet in India mainly consisted of legumes, vegetables, fruits, grains, dairy products, and honey. Staple foods eaten today include a variety of lentils ("dal"), whole-wheat flour ("aṭṭa"), rice, and pearl millet ("bājra"), which has been cultivated in the Indian subcontinent since 6200 BCE.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Over time, segments of the population embraced vegetarianism during the Śramaṇa movement while an equitable climate permitted a variety of fruits, vegetables, and grains to be grown throughout the year.


title: Indian cuisine

text: A food classification system that categorised any item as "saatvic", "raajsic", or "taamsic" developed in Yoga tradition. The "Bhagavad Gita" proscribes certain dietary practices (chapter 17, verses 8–10).


title: Indian cuisine

text: Consumption of beef is taboo, due to cows being considered sacred in Hinduism. Beef is generally not eaten by Hindus in India except for Kerala, parts of southern Tamil Nadu and the north-east.


title: Indian cuisine

text: While many ancient Indian recipes have been lost in history, one can look at ancient texts to see what was eaten in ancient and pre-historic India.


title: Indian cuisine

text: During the Middle Ages, several Indian dynasties were predominant, including the Gupta dynasty. Travel to India during this time introduced new cooking methods and products to the region, including tea.


title: Indian cuisine

text: India was later invaded by tribes from Central Asian cultures, which led to the emergence of Mughlai cuisine, a mix of Indian and Central Asian cuisine. Hallmarks include seasonings such as saffron.


title: Indian cuisine

text: The Portuguese and British during their rule introduced cooking techniques such as baking, and foods from the New World and Europe. The new-world vegetables popular in cuisine from the Indian subcontinent include tomato, potato, sweet potatoes, peanuts, squash, and chilli. Most New World vegetables such as sweet potatoes, potatoes, Amaranth, peanuts and cassava based Sago are allowed on Hindu fasting days. Cauliflower was introduced by the British in 1822. In the late 18th/early 19th century, an autobiography of a Scottish Robert Lindsay mentions a Sylheti man called Saeed Ullah cooking a curry for Lindsay's family. This is possibly the oldest record of Indian cuisine in the United Kingdom.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Staple foods of Indian cuisine include pearl millet ("bājra"), rice, whole-wheat flour ("aṭṭa"), and a variety of lentils, such as "masoor" (most often red lentils), "tuer" (pigeon peas), "urad" (black gram), and "moong" (mung beans). Lentils may be used whole, dehusked—for example, "dhuli moong" or "dhuli urad"—or split. Split lentils, or "dal", are used extensively. Some pulses, such as "channa" or "cholae" (chickpeas), "rajma" (kidney beans), and "lobiya" (black-eyed peas) are very common, especially in the northern regions. "Channa" and "moong" are also processed into flour ("besan").


title: Indian cuisine

text: Many Indian dishes are cooked in vegetable oil, but peanut oil is popular in northern and western India, mustard oil in eastern India, and coconut oil along the western coast, especially in Kerala and parts of southern Tamil Nadu. "Gingelly" (sesame) oil is common in the south since it imparts a fragrant, nutty aroma.


title: Indian cuisine

text: In recent decades, sunflower, safflower, cottonseed, and soybean oils have become popular across India. Hydrogenated vegetable oil, known as "Vanaspati ghee", is another popular cooking medium. Butter-based ghee, or "deshi ghee", is used commonly.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Many types of meat are used for Indian cooking, but chicken and mutton tend to be the most commonly consumed meats. Fish and beef consumption are prevalent in some parts of India, but they are not widely consumed except for coastal areas, as well as the north east.


title: Indian cuisine

text: The most important and frequently used spices and flavourings in Indian cuisine are whole or powdered chilli pepper ("mirch", introduced by the Portuguese from Mexico in the 16th century), black mustard seed ("sarso"), cardamom ("elaichi"), cumin ("jeera"), turmeric ("haldi"), asafoetida ("hing"), ginger ("adrak"), coriander ("dhania"), and garlic ("lasoon").


title: Indian cuisine

text: One popular spice mix is "garam masala", a powder that typically includes seven dried spices in a particular ratio, including black cardamom, cinnamon ("dalchini"), clove ("laung)," cumin (jeera), black peppercorns, coriander seeds and anise star.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Each culinary region has a distinctive "garam masala" blend—individual chefs may also have their own. "Goda masala" is a comparable, though sweet, spice mix popular in Maharashtra. Some leaves commonly used for flavouring include bay leaves ("tejpat"), coriander leaves, fenugreek ("methi") leaves, and mint leaves. The use of curry leaves and roots for flavouring is typical of Gujarati and South Indian cuisine. Sweet dishes are often seasoned with cardamom, saffron, nutmeg, and rose petal essences.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Cuisine differs across India's diverse regions as a result of variation in local culture, geographical location (proximity to sea, desert, or mountains), and economics. It also varies seasonally, depending on which fruits and vegetables are ripe.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Seafood plays a major role in the cuisine of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Staples of the diet of the Indigenous Andamanese traditionally include roots, honey, fruits, meat, and fish, obtained by hunting and gathering. Some insects were also eaten as delicacies. Immigration from mainland of India, however, has resulted in variations in the cuisine.


title: Indian cuisine

text: The cuisine of Andhra Pradesh belongs to the two Telugu-speaking regions of Rayalaseema and Coastal Andhra and is part of Telugu cuisine. The food of Andhra Pradesh is known for its heavy use of spices, and the use of tamarind.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Seafood is common in the coastal region of the state. Rice is the staple food (as is with all South Indian states) eaten with lentil preparations such as "pappu" (lentils) and "pulusu "(stew) and spicy vegetables or curries.


title: Indian cuisine

text: In Andhra, leafy greens or vegetables such as bottle-gourd and eggplant are usually added to "dal". Pickles are an essential part of the local cuisine; popular among those are mango-based pickles such as "avakaya" and "maagaya", "gongura" (a pickle made from sorrel leaves), "usirikaya" (gooseberry or "amla")," nimmakaya "(lime), and tomato pickle.


title: Indian cuisine

text: "Perugu" (yogurt) is a common addition to meals, as a way of tempering spiciness. Breakfast items include "dosa, pesarattu" (mung bean "dosa"), "vada", and "idli".


title: Indian cuisine

text: The staple food of Arunachal Pradesh is rice, along with fish, meat, and leaf vegetables. Native tribes of Arunachal are meat eaters and use fish, eggs, beef, chicken, pork, and mutton to make their dishes.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Many varieties of rice are used. Boiled rice cakes wrapped in leaves are a popular snack. "Thukpa" is a kind of noodle soup common among the Monpa tribe of the region.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Lettuce is the most common vegetable, usually prepared by boiling with ginger, coriander, and green chillies.


title: Indian cuisine

text: "Apong" or rice beer made from fermented rice or millet is a popular beverage in Arunachal Pradesh and is consumed as a refreshing drink.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Assamese cuisine is a mixture of different indigenous styles, with considerable regional variation and some external influences. Although it is known for its limited use of spices, Assamese cuisine has strong flavours from its use of endemic herbs, fruits, and vegetables served fresh, dried, or fermented.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Rice is the staple food item and a huge variety of endemic rice varieties, including several varieties of sticky rice are a part of the cuisine in Assam. Fish, generally freshwater varieties, are widely eaten. Other non-vegetarian items include chicken, duck, squab, snails, silkworms, insects, goat, pork, venison, turtle, monitor lizard, etc.


title: Indian cuisine

text: The region's cuisine involves simple cooking processes, mostly barbecuing, steaming, or boiling. "Bhuna", the gentle frying of spices before the addition of the main ingredients, generally common in Indian cooking, is absent in the cuisine of Assam.


title: Indian cuisine

text: A traditional meal in Assam begins with a "khar", a class of dishes named after the main ingredient and ends with a "tenga", a sour dish. Homebrewed rice beer or rice wine is served before a meal. The food is usually served in bell metal utensils. "Paan", the practice of chewing betel nut, generally concludes a meal.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Mughal cuisine is a universal influencer in the Bengali palate, and has introduced Persian and Islamic foods to the region, as well as a number of more elaborate methods of preparing food, like marination using ghee. Fish, meat, rice, milk, and sugar all play crucial parts in Bengali cuisine.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Bengali cuisine can be subdivided into four different types of dishes, "charbya" (চারব্য), or food that is chewed, such as rice or fish; "choṣya", or food that is sucked, such as "ambal" and "tak"; "lehya" (লেহ্য), or foods that are meant to be licked, like "chuttney"; and "peya" (পেয়ে), which includes drinks, mainly milk.


title: Indian cuisine

text: During the 19th century, many Odia-speaking cooks were employed in Bengal, which led to the transfer of several food items between the two regions. Bengali cuisine is the only traditionally developed multi-course tradition from the Indian subcontinent that is analogous in structure to the modern service à la russe style of French cuisine, with food served course-wise rather than all at once.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Bengali cuisine differs according to regional tastes, such as the emphasis on the use of chilli pepper in the Chittagong district of Bangladesh However, across all its varieties, there is predominant use of mustard oil along with large amounts of spices.


title: Indian cuisine

text: The cuisine is known for subtle flavours with an emphasis on fish, meat, vegetables, lentils, and rice. Bread is also a common dish in Bengali cuisine, particularly a deep-fried version called "luchi" is popular. Fresh aquatic fish is one of its most distinctive features; Bengalis prepare fish in many ways, such as steaming, braising, or stewing in vegetables and sauces based on coconut milk or mustard.


title: Indian cuisine

text: East Bengali food, which has a high presence in West Bengal and Bangladesh, is much spicier than the West Bengali cuisine, and tends to use high amounts of chilli, and is one of the spiciest cuisines in India and the World.


title: Indian cuisine

text: "Shondesh" and "Rashogolla" are popular dishes made of sweetened, finely ground fresh cheese. For the latter, West Bengal and neighboring Odisha both claim to be the origin of dessert. Each state also has a geographical indication for their regional variety of "rasgulla".


title: Indian cuisine

text: Bihari cuisine may include "litti chokha", a baked salted wheat-flour cake filled with "sattu" (baked chickpea flour) and some special spices, which is served with "baigan bharta", made of roasted eggplant ("brinjal") and tomatoes.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Among meat dishes, meat "saalan" is a popular dish made of mutton or goat curry with cubed potatoes in "garam masala".


title: Indian cuisine

text: "Dalpuri" is another popular dish in Bihar. It is salted wheat-flour bread, filled with boiled, crushed, and fried gram pulses.


title: Indian cuisine

text: "Malpua" is a popular sweet dish of Bihar, prepared by a mixture of "maida", milk, bananas, cashew nuts, peanuts, raisins, sugar, water, and green cardamom. Another notable sweet dish of Bihar is "balushahi", which is prepared by a specially treated combination of "maida" and sugar along with "ghee", and the other worldwide famous sweet, "khaja" is made from flour, vegetable fat, and sugar, which is mainly used in weddings and other occasions. Silao near Nalanda is famous for its production.


title: Indian cuisine

text: During the festival of Chhath, "thekua", a sweet dish made of "ghee", jaggery, and whole-meal flour, flavoured with aniseed, is made.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Other food items that are quite prominent in Bihar are, Pittha, Aaloo Bhujiya, Reshmi Kebab, Palwal ki mithai, and Puri Sabzi.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Chandigarh, the capital of Punjab and Haryana is a city of 20th-century origin with a cosmopolitan food culture mainly involving North Indian cuisine. People enjoy home-made recipes such as "paratha", especially at breakfast, and other Punjabi foods like "roti" which is made from wheat, sweetcorn, or other glutenous flour with cooked vegetables or beans. "Sarson da saag" and "dal makhani" are well-known dishes among others. Popular snacks include "gol gappa" (known as "panipuri" in other places). It consists of a round, hollow "puri", fried crisp and filled with a mixture of flavoured water, boiled and cubed potatoes, bengal gram beans, etc.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Chhattisgarh cuisine is unique in nature and not found in the rest of India, although the staple food is rice, like in much of the country. Many Chhattisgarhi people drink liquor brewed from the mahuwa flower palm wine ("tadi" in rural areas). Chhattisgarhi cuisines varies as per special occasions and festivals like Thethari and Khurmi, fara, gulgule bhajiya, chausela, chila, aaersa are prepared in regional festivals. The tribal people of the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh eat ancestral dishes such as mushrooms, bamboo pickle, bamboo vegetables, etc.


title: Indian cuisine

text: The local cuisine resembles the cuisine of Gujarat. "Ubadiyu" is a local delicacy made of vegetables and beans with herbs. The common foods include rice, "roti", vegetables, river fish, and crab. People also enjoy buttermilk and chutney made of different fruits and herbs.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Daman and Diu is a union territory of India which, like Goa, was a former colonial possession of Portugal. Consequently, both native Gujarati food and traditional Portuguese food are common. Being a coastal region, the communities are mainly dependent on seafood. Normally, "rotli" and tea are taken for breakfast, "rotla" and "saak" for lunch, and "chokha" along with "saak" and curry are taken for dinner. Some of the dishes prepared on festive occasions include "puri", "lapsee", "potaya", "dudh-plag", and "dhakanu". While alcohol is prohibited in the neighbouring state of Gujarat, drinking is common in Daman and Diu. Better known as the "pub" of Gujarat. All popular brands of alcohol are readily available.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Delhi was once the capital of the Mughal empire, and it became the birthplace of Mughlai cuisine. Delhi is noted for its street food. The Paranthewali Gali in Chandani Chowk is just one of the culinary landmarks for stuffed flatbread ("parathas").


title: Indian cuisine

text: Delhi has people from different parts of India, thus the city has different types of food traditions; its cuisine is influenced by the various cultures. Punjabi cuisine is common, due to the dominance of Punjabi communities.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Delhi cuisine is actually an amalgam of different Indian cuisines modified in unique ways. This is apparent in the different types of street food available. "Kababs", "kachauri", "chaat", Indian sweets, Indian ice cream (commonly called "kulfi"), and even Western food items like sandwiches and patties, are prepared in a style unique to Delhi and are quite popular.


title: Indian cuisine

text: The area has a tropical climate, which means the spices and flavours are intense. Use of "kokum" is a distinct feature of the region's cuisine.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Goan cuisine is mostly seafood and meat-based; the staple foods are rice and fish. Kingfish ("vison" or "visvan") is the most common delicacy, and others include pomfret, shark, tuna, and mackerel; these are often served with coconut milk. Shellfish, including crabs, prawns, tiger prawns, lobster, squid, and mussels, are commonly eaten.


title: Indian cuisine

text: The cuisine of Goa is influenced by its Hindu origins, 400 years of Portuguese colonialism, and modern techniques.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Bread, introduced by the Portuguese, is very popular, and is an important part of the Goan breakfast, most frequently in the form of toast.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Gujarati cuisine is primarily vegetarian. The typical Gujarati "thali" consists of "roti" ("rotlii" in Gujarati), "daal" or "kadhi", rice, "sabzi"/"shaak", "papad" and "chaas" (buttermilk).


title: Indian cuisine

text: "Sabzi" is a dish of different combinations of vegetables and spices which may be stir fried, spicy or sweet. Gujarati cuisine can vary widely in flavour and heat based on personal and regional tastes. North Gujarat, Kathiawad, Kachchh, and South Gujarat are the four major regions of Gujarati cuisine.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Many Gujarati dishes are simultaneously sweet, salty (like "handvo"), and spicy. In mango season, "keri no ras" (fresh mango pulp) is often an integral part of the meal. Spices also vary seasonally. For example, "garam masala" is used much less in summer.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Gujarati snacks include "sev khamani", "khakhra", "dal vada", "methi na bhajiya", "khaman", "bhakharwadi" and more.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Specific regional dishes include "kadhi", "pakora", "besan masala roti", "bajra aloo roti", "churma", "kheer", "bathua raita", "methi gajar", "singri ki sabzi", and tomato chutney.


title: Indian cuisine

text: In the past, its staple diet included "bajra khichdi", "rabdi", onion chutney, and "bajra ki roti". In non-vegetarian cuisine it includes "kukad kadhai" and chicken "tikka masala".


title: Indian cuisine

text: "Lassi", "sharbat", "nimbu pani" and "labsi" (a mixture of "bajra" flour and "lassi") are three popular non-alcoholic beverages in Haryana. However, liquor stores are common there, which cater to a large number of truck drivers.


title: Indian cuisine

text: The daily diet of Himachal people is similar to that of the rest of North India, including lentils, broth, rice, vegetables, and bread, although non-vegetarian cuisine is preferred. Some of the specialities of Himachal include "sidu", "patande", "chukh", "rajmah", and "til" chutney.


title: Indian cuisine

text: The cuisine of Jammu and Kashmir is from two regions of the state: Jammu division and Kashmir Valley. Kashmiri cuisine has evolved over hundreds of years. Its first major influence was the food of the Kashmiri Hindus and Buddhists.


title: Indian cuisine

text: The cuisine was later influenced by the cultures which arrived with the invasion of Kashmir by Timur from the area of modern Uzbekistan. Subsequent influences have included the cuisines of Central Asia and the North Indian plains.


title: Indian cuisine

text: The most notable ingredient in Kashmiri cuisine is mutton, of which over 30 varieties are known. "Wazwan" is a multicourse meal in the Kashmiri tradition, the preparation of which is considered an art. Kashmiri pandit food is elaborate, and an important part of the Pandits' ethnic identity. Kashmiri pandit cuisine usually uses "dahi" (yogurt), oil, and spices such as turmeric, red chilli, cumin, ginger, and fennel, though they do not use onion and garlic. "Birayanis" are quite popular, and are the speciality of Kashmir.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Dogri food includes "ambal" (sour pumpkin dish), "khatta" meat, "kulthein di dal", "dal chawal", "maa da madra" (black gram lentils in yogurt) and Uriya.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Many types of pickles are made including mango, "kasrod", and "girgle". Street food is also famous which include various types of "chaats", specially "gol gappas", "gulgule", "chole bhature", "rajma kulcha" and "dahi bhalla".


title: Indian cuisine

text: Staple foods in Jharkhand are rice, "dal" and vegetables. Famous dishes include "chirka roti", "pittha", "malpua", "dhuska", "arsa roti" and "litti chokha".


title: Indian cuisine

text: Local alcoholic drinks include "handia", a rice beer, and "mahua daru", made from flowers of the "mahua" tree ("Madhuca longifolia)".


title: Indian cuisine

text: A number of dishes, such as "idli, rava idli", Mysore "masala dosa", etc., were invented here and have become popular beyond the state of Karnataka. Equally, varieties in the cuisine of Karnataka have similarities with its three neighbouring South Indian states, as well as the states of Maharashtra and Goa to its north. It is very common for the food to be served on a banana leaf, especially during festivals and functions.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Karnataka cuisine can be very broadly divided into Mysore/Bangalore cuisine, North Karnataka cuisine, Udupi cuisine, Kodagu/Coorg cuisine, Karavali/coastal cuisine, and Saraswat cuisine.


title: Indian cuisine

text: This cuisine covers a wide spectrum of food from pure vegetarian and vegan to meats like pork, and from savouries to sweets.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Typical dishes include "bisi bele bath", "jolada rotti", "badanekai yennegai", "holige", "kadubu", "chapati", "idli vada", "ragi rotti", "akki rotti", "saaru", "huli", "kootu", "vangibath", "khara bath", "kesari bhath", "sajjige", "neer dosa," "mysoore", "haal bai", "chiroti", "benne dose", "ragi mudde," and "uppittu."


title: Indian cuisine

text: The Kodagu district is known for spicy pork curries, while coastal Karnataka specialises in seafood. Although the ingredients differ regionally, a typical "Kannadiga oota" (Kannadiga meal) is served on a banana leaf. The coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi have slightly varying cuisines, which make extensive use of coconut in curries and frequently include seafood.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Contemporary Kerala food includes vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. Fish and seafood play a major role in Kerala cuisine, as Kerala is a coastal state. An everyday Kerala meal in most households consists of rice with fish curry made of sardines, mackerel, "seer" fish, king fish, pomfret, prawns, shrimp, sole, anchovy, or parrotfish, (mussels, oysters, crabs, squid, scallops are not rare), and vegetable curry and stir-fried vegetables with or without coconut traditionally known as "thoran" or "mizhukkupiratti". As Kerala has large number of inland water bodies, freshwater fish are also abundant, and part of regular meals. It is common in Kerala to have a breakfast with non-vegetarian dishes in restaurants, in contrast to other states in India. Chicken or mutton stews, lamb, chicken, beef, pork, egg curry, and fish curry with tapioca for breakfast are also widely enjoyed.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Kerala cuisine reflects its rich trading heritage. Over time, various cuisines have blended with indigenous dishes, while foreign ones have been adapted to local tastes. Significant Arab, Syrian, Portuguese, Dutch, Jewish, and Middle Eastern influences exist in this region's cuisine.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Coconuts grow in abundance in Kerala, so grated coconut and coconut milk are commonly used for thickening and flavouring. Kerala's long coastline and numerous rivers have led to a strong fishing industry in the state, making seafood a common part of the meal. Starchy food like Rice and tapioca forms the major part of Kerala's staple food. Having been a major region of spice cultivation and trade for thousands of years, the spices like black pepper, cardamom, clove, ginger, cumin and cinnamon finds extensive use in Kerala cuisine. Kerala "sadhya", an elaborate vegetarian banquet prepared for festivals and ceremonies. A full-course "sadhya", which consists of rice with about 20 different accompaniments and desserts is the ceremonial meal, eaten usually on celebrations such as marriages, Onam, Vishu, etc. and is served on a plantain leaf.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Most of Kerala's Hindus, except its Brahmin community, eats fish, chicken, beef, pork, eggs, and mutton. The Brahmin are famed for their vegan cuisine, especially varieties of "sambar" and "rasam". A thick vegetable stew popular in South and Central India called "avial" is believed to have originated in southern Kerala. The avial, eaten widely in the state, is an important vegetarian dish in "Kerala sadya". In most Kerala households, a typical meal consists of rice served along with vegetables and fish or meat dishes. Kerala also has a variety of breakfast dishes like "idli", "dosa", "appam", "idiyappam", "puttu", parotta and "pathiri" served with sambar, coconut chutney, mutta curry (egg curry), kadala (chickpea) curry, green peas, chicken curry, beef curry and mutton curry.


title: Indian cuisine

text: The Muslim community of Kerala blend Arabian, North Indian, and indigenous Malabari cuisines, using chicken, eggs, beef, and mutton. "Thalassery biryani" is the only "biryani" variant, which is of Kerala origin having originated in Talassery, in Malabar region. The dish is significantly different from other "biryani" variants. Snacks like "Pazham nirachathu", "Unnakkai", "Bread pola"— made of bread, eggs, milk and a simple masala, Iftar preparations like "Thari kanji", "Kozhi pichuporichathu" (shredded chicken), "Pidi"— a preparation of rice dumplings dunked in gravy,"Irachi pathiri, Chatti pathiri, Meen pathiri, Neriya pathiri and Kannu vecha pathiri" — roti varieties usually made of powdered rice, dishes like Kaai curry etc., are also contributions of Muslim community to the broad Kerala cuisine.


title: Indian cuisine

text: The Pathanamthitta region is known for "raalan" and fish curries. "Appam" along with wine and curries of duck, pork and cured beef are popular among Syrian Christians in Central Kerala.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Popular desserts are "payasam" (pudding) and "halwa". Payasam, especially "Ambalappuzha Paalpayasam" also known as Gopala Kashayam (Krishnan's potion) prepared at the 17th century Ambalappuzha Sri Krishna swami temple, is a delicacy known for its unique and flavourful taste. Interestingly, on each day the paalpayasam is prepared only after (ritualistically) seeking due permission from the presiding deity — Shri Krishna. Kerala has a number of paayasam varieties including but not limited to "Paalpayasam, Vermicelli Payasam, Pradhaman, Ada Pradhaman, Chakka (Jackfruit) Pradhaman, Parippu Paayasam" and more. Paayasam like Vermicelli Payasam (Semiya payasam) also finds a place in Iftar feast of Muslim communities in Kerala.


title: Indian cuisine

text: "Halva" is one of the most commonly found or easily recognized sweets in bakeries throughout Kerala, and originated from the Gujarathi community in Calicut. Europeans used to call the dish "sweetmeat" due to its texture, and a street in Kozhikode where became named Sweet Meat Street during colonial rule. This is mostly made from "maida" (highly refined wheat), and comes in various flavours, such as banana, "ghee" or coconut. However, "karutha haluva" (black "haluva") made from rice is also very popular.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Ladakhi cuisine is from the two districts of Leh and Kargil in the union territory of Ladakh. Ladakhi food has much in common with Tibetan food, the most prominent foods being "thukpa" (noodle soup) and "tsampa", known in Ladakhi as "ngampe" (roasted barley flour). Edible without cooking, "tsampa" makes useful trekking food.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Strictly Ladakhi dishes include "skyu" and "chutagi", both heavy and rich soup pasta dishes, "skyu" being made with root vegetables and meat, and "chutagi" with leafy greens and vegetables. As Ladakh moves toward a cash-based economy, foods from the plains of India are becoming more common.


title: Indian cuisine

text: As in other parts of Central Asia, tea in Ladakh is traditionally made with strong green tea, butter, and salt. It is mixed in a large churn and known as "gurgur cha", after the sound it makes when mixed. Sweet tea ("cha ngarmo") is common now, made in the Indian style with milk and sugar. Most of the surplus barley that is produced is fermented into "chang", an alcoholic beverage drunk especially on festive occasions.


title: Indian cuisine

text: The cuisine of Lakshadweep prominently features seafood and coconut. Local food consists of spicy non-vegetarian and vegetarian dishes.


title: Indian cuisine

text: The culinary influence of Kerala is quite evident in the cuisines of Lakshadweep, since the island lies in close proximity to Kerala. Coconut and sea fish serve as the foundation of most meals.


title: Indian cuisine

text: The people of Lakshadweep drink large amounts of coconut water, which is the most abundant aerated drink on the island. Coconut milk is the base for most of the curries. All the sweet or savory dishes have a touch of famous Malabar spices. Local people also prefer to have "dosa", "idlis," and various rice dishes.


title: Indian cuisine

text: The cuisine in Madhya Pradesh varies regionally. Wheat and meat are common in the north and west of the state, while the wetter south and east are dominated by rice and fish. Milk is a common ingredient in Gwalior and Indore.


title: Indian cuisine

text: The street food of Indore is well known, with shops that have been active for generations. Bhopal is known for meat and fish dishes such as "rogan josh", "korma", "qeema", "biryani", "pilaf", and "kebabs". On a street named Chatori Gali in old Bhopal, one can find traditional Muslim nonvegetarian fare such as "paya "soup, "bun kabab", and "nalli-nihari" as some of the specialties.


title: Indian cuisine

text: "Dal bafla" is a common meal in the region and can be easily found in Indore and other nearby regions, consisting of a steamed and grilled wheat cake dunked in rich" ghee", which is eaten with "daal" and "ladoos".


title: Indian cuisine

text: The culinary specialty of the Malwa and Indore regions of central Madhya Pradesh is "poha" (flattened rice); usually eaten at breakfast with "jalebi".


title: Indian cuisine

text: Beverages in the region include "lassi", beer, rum and sugarcane juice. A local liquor is distilled from the flowers of the mahua tree. Date palm "toddy" is also popular. In tribal regions, a popular drink is the sap of the "sulfi" tree, which may be alcoholic if it has fermented.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Maharashtrian cuisine is an extensive balance of many different tastes. It includes a range of dishes from mild to very spicy tastes. "Bajri", wheat, rice, "jowar", vegetables, lentils, and fruit form important components of the Maharashtrian diet.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Popular dishes include "puran poli", "ukdiche modak", "batata wada", "sabudana khichdi", "masala bhat", "pav bhaji", and "wada pav". "Poha" or flattened rice is also usually eaten at breakfast. "Kanda poha" and "aloo poha" are some of the dishes cooked for breakfast and snacking in evenings.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Popular spicy meat dishes include those that originated in the Kolhapur region. These are the Kolhapuri "Sukka" mutton, "pandhra rassa", and "tabmda rassa". "Shrikhand", a sweet dish made from strained yogurt, is a main dessert of Maharashtrian cuisine. The cuisine of Maharashtra can be divided into two major sections, the coastal and the interior. The Konkan, on the coast of the Arabian Sea, has its own type of cuisine, a homogeneous combination of Malvani, Goud Saraswat Brahmin, and Goan cuisine. In the interior of Maharashtra, the Paschim Maharashtra, Khandesh, Vidarbha and Marathwada areas have their own distinct cuisines.


title: Indian cuisine

text: The cuisine of Vidarbha uses groundnuts, poppy seeds, jaggery, wheat, "jowar", and "bajra" extensively. A typical meal consists of rice, "roti", "poli", or "bhakar", along with "varan" and "aamtee"—lentils and spiced vegetables. Cooking is common with different types of oil.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Savji food from Vidarbha is well known all over Maharashtra. Savji dishes are very spicy and oily. Savji mutton curries are very famous.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Like other coastal states, an enormous variety of vegetables, fish, and coconuts exists, where they are common ingredients. Peanuts and cashews are often served with vegetables. Grated coconuts are used to flavour many types of dishes, but coconut oil is not widely used; peanut oil is preferred.


title: Indian cuisine

text: "Kokum", most commonly served chilled, in an appetiser-digestive called "sol kadhi", is prevalent. During summer, Maharashtrians consume "panha", a drink made from raw mango.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Malwani cuisine is a specialty of the tropical area which spans from the shore of Deogad Malwan to the southern Maharashtrian border with Goa. The unique taste and flavor of Malwani cuisine comes from Malwani "masala" and use of coconut and "kokam".


title: Indian cuisine

text: The staple foods are rice and fish. Various kinds of red and green fish, prawns, crab, and shellfish curries (also called "mashacha sar" in the Malwani language) are well known, along with "kombadi" (chicken) "wade" and mutton prepared Malwani style. "Mohari" mutton is also one of the distinct delicacies of Malwani cuisine.


title: Indian cuisine

text: A large variety of fish is available in the region, which include "surmai", "karali", "bangada", "bombil" (Bombay duck), "paplet" (pomfret), "halwa", "tarali", "suandale", "kolambi" (prawns), "tisari" (shellfish), "kalwa" (stone fish) and "kurli" (crab).


title: Indian cuisine

text: All these fish are available in dried form, including prawns, which are known as "sode". Local curries and "chatanis" are also prepared with dried fish.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Different types of rice breads and pancakes add to the variety of Malwani cuisine and include "tandlachi bhakari", "ghawane", "amboli", "patole", "appe", "tandalachi" and "shavai" (rice noodles). These rice breads can be eaten specially flavored with coconut milk, fish curries, and chicken or mutton curries.


title: Indian cuisine

text: For vegetarians, Malwani delicacies include "alloochi bhaji", "alloochi gathaya", "kalaya watanyacha", and "sambara" (black gram stew).


title: Indian cuisine

text: The sweets and desserts include "ukadiche modak", "Malawani khaje", "khadakahde kundiche ladu", "shegdanyache ladu", "tandalchi kheer", and "tandalachi shavai ani ras" (specially flavored with coconut milk).


title: Indian cuisine

text: Manipuri cuisine is represented by the cuisine of the Meitei people who form the majority population in the central plain. Meitei food are simple, tasty, organic and healthy. Rice with local seasonal vegetables and fish form the main diet.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Most of the dishes are cooked like vegetable stew, flavored with either fermented fish called "ngari", or dried and smoked fish.


title: Indian cuisine

text: The most popular Manipuri dish is "eromba", a preparation of boiled and mashed vegetables, often including carrots, potatoes or beans, mixed with chilli and roasted fermented fish.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Another popular dish is the savory cake called "paknam", made of a lentil flour stuffed with various ingredients such as banana inflorescence, mushrooms, fish, vegetables etc., and baked covered in turmeric leaves.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Along with spicy dishes, a mild side dish of steamed or boiled sweet vegetables are often served in the daily meals. The Manipuri salad dish called "singju", made of finely julienned cabbage, green papaya, and other vegetables, and garnished with local herbs, toasted sesame powder and lentil flour is extremely popular locally, and often found sold in small street side vendors.


title: Indian cuisine

text: "Singju" is often served with "bora", which are fritters of various kinds, and also "kanghou", or oil-fried spicy veggies. Cooked and fermented soybean is a popular condiment in all Manipuri kitchens.


title: Indian cuisine

text: The staple diet of Manipur consists of rice, fish, large varieties of leafy vegetables (of both aquatic and terrestrial). Manipuris typically raise vegetables in a kitchen garden and rear fishes in small ponds around their house. Since the vegetables are either grown at home or obtained from local market, the cuisines are very seasonal, each season having its own special vegetables and preparations.


title: Indian cuisine

text: The taste is very different from mainland Indian cuisines because of the use of various aromatic herbs and roots that are peculiar to the region. They are however very similar to the cuisines of Southeast, East, and Central Asia, Siberia, Micronesia and Polynesia.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Meghalayan cuisine is unique and different from other Northeastern Indian states. Spiced meat is common, from goats, pigs, fowl, ducks, chickens, and cows. In the Khasi and Jaintia Hills districts, common foods include "jadoh", "ki kpu", "tung-rymbai", and pickled bamboo shoots.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Other common foods in Meghalaya include "minil songa" (steamed sticky rice), "sakkin gata", and "momo" dumplings.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Like other tribes in the northeast, the Garos ferment rice beer, which they consume in religious rites and secular celebrations.


title: Indian cuisine

text: The cuisine of Mizoram differs from that of most of India, though it shares characteristics to other regions of Northeast India and North India.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Rice is the staple food of Mizoram, while Mizos love to add non-vegetarian ingredients in every dish. Fish, chicken, pork and beef are popular meats among Mizos. Dishes are served on fresh banana leaves. Most of the dishes are cooked in mustard oil.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Meals tend to be less spicy than in most of India. Mizos love eating boiled vegetables along with rice. A popular dish is "bai", made from boiling vegetables (spinach, eggplant, beans, and other leafy vegetables) with "bekang" (fermented soya beans) or "sa-um", fermented pork fat served with rice. "Sawhchiar" is another common dish, made of rice and cooked with pork or chicken.


title: Indian cuisine

text: The cuisine of Nagaland reflects that of the Naga people. It is known for exotic pork meats cooked with simple and flavourful ingredients, like the extremely hot "bhut jolokia" (ghost chili) pepper, fermented bamboo shoots, and "akhuni" ( fermented soya beans). Another unique and strong ingredient used by the Naga people, is the fermented fish known as "ngari".


title: Indian cuisine

text: Fresh herbs and other local greens also feature prominently in the Naga cuisine. The Naga use oil sparingly, preferring to ferment, dry, and smoke their meats and fish.


title: Indian cuisine

text: A typical meal consists of rice, meat, a chutney, a couple of stewed or steamed vegetable dishes, flavored with "ngari" or "akhuni". Desserts usually consist of fresh fruits.


title: Indian cuisine

text: The cuisine of Odisha relies heavily on local ingredients. Flavours are usually subtle and delicately spiced. Fish and other seafood, such as crab and shrimp, are very popular, and chicken and mutton are also consumed.


title: Indian cuisine

text: "Panch phutana", a mix of cumin, mustard, fennel, fenugreek and "kalonji" ("nigella"), is widely used for flavouring vegetables and "dals", while "garam masala" and turmeric are commonly used for meat-based curries.


title: Indian cuisine

text: "Pakhala", a dish made of rice, water, and "dahi" (yogurt), that is fermented overnight, is very popular in summer in rural areas. Oriyas are very fond of sweets, so dessert follows most meals.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Popular Oriya dishes include "anna", "kanika", "dalma", "khata" ("tamato" and "oou"), "dali" (different types of lentils, i.e. "harada" <nowiki>[</nowiki>red gram<nowiki>]</nowiki>, "muga" <nowiki>[</nowiki>green gram<nowiki>]</nowiki>, "kolatha" <nowiki>[</nowiki>horsegram<nowiki>]</nowiki>, etc.), spinach and other green leaves, and "alu-bharta" (mashed potato) along with "pakhala".


title: Indian cuisine

text: Odisha and neighboring West Bengal both claim to be the origin of "rasgulla", each state having a geographical indication for their regional variety of the dessert. Odisha is also known for its "chhena"-based sweets, including "chhena poda", "chhena gaja", "chhena jhili", and "rasabali".


title: Indian cuisine

text: The union territory of Puducherry was a French colony for around 200 years, making French cuisine a strong influence on the area. Tamil cuisine is eaten by the territory's Tamil majority. The influence of the neighbouring areas, such as Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, is also visible on the territory's cuisine.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Some favourite dishes include coconut curry, "tandoori" potato, "soya dosa", "podanlangkai" (snake gourd chutney), curried vegetables, stuffed cabbage, and baked beans.


title: Indian cuisine

text: The cuisine of Punjab is known for its diverse range of dishes. It is closely related to the cuisine of the neighbouring Punjab province of Pakistan.


title: Indian cuisine

text: The state, being an agriculture center, is abundant with whole grains, vegetables, and fruits. Home-cooked and restaurant Punjabi cuisine can vary significantly.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Restaurant-style Punjabi cooking puts emphasis on creamy textured foods by using "ghee", butter and cream, while home-cooked meals center around whole wheat, rice, and other ingredients flavored with various kinds of "masalas".


title: Indian cuisine

text: Common dishes cooked at home are "roti" with "daal" and "dahi" (yogurt) with a side chutney and salad that includes raw onion, tomato, cucumber, etc.


title: Indian cuisine

text: The meals are also abundant of local and seasonal vegetables usually sautéed with spices such as cumin, dried coriander, red chili powder, turmeric, black cloves, etc. Masala chai is a favorite drink and is consumed in everyday life and at special occasions.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Many regional differences exist in the Punjabi cuisine based on traditional variations in cooking similar dishes, food combinations, preference of spice combination, etc. It is clear that "the food is simple, robust, and closely linked to the land."


title: Indian cuisine

text: Certain dishes exclusive to Punjab, such as "makki di roti" and "sarson da saag", "dal makhani", and others are a favorite of many.


title: Indian cuisine

text: The "masala" in a Punjabi dish traditionally consists of onion, garlic, ginger, cumin, "garam masala", salt, turmeric, tomatoes sauteed in mustard oil. "Tandoori" food is a Punjabi specialty. Dishes like Bhatti da murgh also known as "tandoori chicken", Chicken hariyali kabab, Achari paneer tikka, fish ajwaini tikka and Amritsari kulcha are some popular tandoori foods from Punjab.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Common meat dishes in this region are Bhakra curry (goat) and fish dishes. Dairy products are regularly enjoyed and usually accompany main meals in the form of "dahi", milk, and milk-derived products such as "lassi", "paneer", and more.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Punjab has a large number of people following the Sikh religion who traditionally follow a vegetarian diet (which includes plant-derived foods, milk, and milk by-products. See diet in Sikhism) in accordance to their beliefs.


title: Indian cuisine

text: No description of Punjabi cuisine is complete without the myriad of famous desserts, such as "kheer", "gajar ka halwa", "sooji" (cream of wheat) "halwa", "rasmalai", "gulab jamun" and "jalebi". Most desserts are "ghee" or dairy-based, use nuts such as almonds, walnuts, pistachios, cashews, and, raisins.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Many of the most popular elements of Anglo-Indian cuisine, such as "tandoori" foods, "naan", "pakoras" and vegetable dishes with "paneer", are derived from Punjabi styles.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Punjabi food is well liked in the world for its flavors, spices, and, versatile use of produce, and so it is one of the most popular cuisines from the sub-continent. Last but not least are the "chhole bhature" and "chhole kulche" which are famous all over the North India.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Cooking in Rajasthan, an arid region, has been strongly shaped by the availability of ingredients. Food is generally cooked in milk or "ghee", making it quite rich. Gram flour is a mainstay of Marwari food mainly due to the scarcity of vegetables in the area.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Historically, food that could last for several days and be eaten without heating was preferred. Major dishes of a Rajasthani meal may include "daal-baati", "tarfini", "raabdi", "ghevar", "bail-gatte", "panchkoota", "chaavadi", "laapsi", "kadhi" and "boondi". Typical snacks include "bikaneri bhujia", "mirchi bada", "pyaaj kachori", and "dal kachori".


title: Indian cuisine

text: "Daal-baati" is the most popular dish prepared in the state. It is usually supplemented with "choorma", a mixture of finely ground baked "rotis", sugar and "ghee".


title: Indian cuisine

text: Rajasthan is also influenced by the Rajput community who have liking for meat dishes. Their diet consisted of game meat and gave birth to dishes like "laal maans", "safed maas", "khad khargosh" and "jungli maas".


title: Indian cuisine

text: In Sikkim, various ethnic groups such as the Nepalese, Bhutias, and Lepchas have their own distinct cuisines. Nepalese cuisine is very popular in this area.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Rice is the staple food of the area, and meat and dairy products are also widely consumed. For centuries, traditional fermented foods and beverages have constituted about 20 percent of the local diet.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Depending on altitudinal variation, finger millet, wheat, buckwheat, barley, vegetables, potatoes, and soybeans are grown. "Dhindo", "daal bhat", "gundruk", "momo", "gya thuk", "ningro", "phagshapa", and "sel roti" are some of the local dishes.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Sindhi cuisine refers to the native cuisine of the Sindhi people from the Sindh region, now in Pakistan. While Sindh is not geographically a part of modern India, its culinary traditions persist, due to the sizeable number of Hindu Sindhis who migrated to India following the independence of Pakistan in 1947, especially in Sindhi enclaves such as Ulhasnagar and Gandhidam.


title: Indian cuisine

text: A typical meal in many Sindhi households includes wheat-based flatbread ("phulka") and rice accompanied by two dishes, one with gravy and one dry. Lotus stem (known as "kamal kakri") is also used in Sindhi dishes. Cooking vegetables by deep frying is common.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Some regular Sindhi dishes are "sindhi kadhi", "sai bhaji", "koki" and "besan bhaji". Ingredients frequently used are mango powder, tamarind, "kokum" flowers, and dried pomegranate seeds.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Tamil Nadu is noted for its deep belief that serving food to others is a service to humanity, as is common in many regions of India. The region has a rich cuisine involving both traditional non-vegetarian and vegetarian dishes.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Tamil food is characterised by its use of rice, legumes, and lentils, along with distinct aromas and flavours achieved by the blending of spices such as mustard, curry leaves, tamarind, coriander, ginger, garlic, chili pepper, cinnamon, clove, cardamom, cumin, nutmeg, coconut and rose water.


title: Indian cuisine

text: The traditional way of eating involves being seated on the floor, having the food served on a plantain leaf, and using the right hand to eat. After the meal the plantain leaf is discarded but becomes food for free-ranging cattle and goats.


title: Indian cuisine

text: A meal (called "saapadu") consists of rice with other typical Tamil dishes on a plantain leaf. A typical Tamilian would eat on a plantain leaf as it is believed to give a different flavour and taste to food. Also growing in popularity are stainless-steel trays, plates with a selection of different dishes in small bowls.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Tamil food is characterized by "tiffin", which is a light food taken for breakfast or dinner, and meals which are usually taken during lunch. The word "curry" is derived from the Tamil "kari", meaning something similar to "sauce".


title: Indian cuisine

text: Southern regions such as Tirunelveli, Madurai, Paramakudi, Karaikudi, Chettinad and Kongu Nadu are noted for their spicy non-vegetarian dishes. "Dosa", "idli", "pongal" and "biryani" are some of the popular dishes that are eaten with "chutney" and "sambar". Fish and other seafoods are also very popular, because the state is located on the coast. Chicken and goat meat are the predominantly consumed meats in Tamil Nadu.


title: Indian cuisine

text: A typical Tamil vegetarian meal is heavily dependent on rice, vegetables and lentil preparations such as "rasam" and "sambar", but there are variations. They have influenced Kerala as well in their "kootu", "arachi vitta sambhar" and "molagootals" (mulligatawny soup).


title: Indian cuisine

text: As mentioned above, the Chettinad variety of food uses many strong spices, such as pepper, garlic, fennel seeds and onions. Tamil food tends to be spicy compared to other parts of India so there is a tradition of finishing the meal with "dahi" (yogurt) is considered a soothing end to the meal.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Notably, Tamil Brahmin cuisine, the food of the Iyers and Iyengar community, is characterized by slightly different meal times and meal structures compared to other communities within the state.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Historically vegetarian, the cuisine is known for its milder flavor and avoidance of onion and garlic (although this practice appears to be disappearing with time).


title: Indian cuisine

text: After a light morning meal of filter coffee and different varieties of porridges (oatmeal and "janata kanji" are immensely popular), the main meal of the day, lunch/brunch is usually at 11 am and typically follows a two-three course meal structure. Steamed rice is the main dish, and is always accompanied by a seasonally steamed/sauteed vegetable ("poriyal"), and two or three types of tamarind stews, the most popular being "sambhar" and "rasam". The meal typically ends with "thair sadham" (rice with yogurt), usually served with pickled mangoes or lemons.


title: Indian cuisine

text: "Tiffin" is the second meal of the day and features several breakfast favorites such as "idli", "rava idli", "upma", "dosa" varieties, and "vada", and is usually accompanied by "chai".


title: Indian cuisine

text: Dinner is the simplest meal of the day, typically involving leftovers from either lunch or "tiffin". Fresh seasonal fruit consumed in the state include bananas, papaya, honeydew and canteloupe melons, jackfruit, mangos, apples, "kasturi" oranges, pomegranates, and "nongu" (hearts of palm).


title: Indian cuisine

text: The cuisine of Telangana consists of the Telugu cuisine, of Telangana's Telugu people as well as Hyderabadi cuisine (also known as Nizami cuisine), of Telangana's Hyderabadi Muslim community.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Hyderabadi food is based heavily on non-vegetarian ingredients, while Telugu food is a mix of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian ingredients. Telugu food is rich in spices and chillies are abundantly used. The food also generally tends to be more on the tangy side with tamarind and lime juice both used liberally as souring agents.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Rice is the staple food of Telugu people. Starch is consumed with a variety of curries and lentil soups or broths. Vegetarian and non-vegetarian foods are both popular.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Hyderabadi cuisine includes popular delicacies such as "biryani", "haleem", "Baghara baingan" and "kheema," while Hyderabadi day-to-day dishes see some similarities to Telanganite Telugu food, with its use of tamarind, rice, and lentils, along with meat. "Dahi" (yogurt) is a common addition to meals, as a way of tempering spiciness.


title: Indian cuisine

text: The Tripuri people are the original inhabitants of the state of Tripura in northeast India. Today, they comprise the communities of Tipra, Reang, Jamatia, Noatia, and Uchoi, among others. The Tripuri are non-vegetarian, although they have a minority of Vaishnavite vegetarians.


title: Indian cuisine

text: The major ingredients of Tripuri cuisine include vegetables, herbs, pork, chicken, mutton, fishes, turtle, shrimps, crabs, freshwater mussels, periwinkles, edible freshwater snails and frogs.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Traditionally, Uttar Pradeshi cuisine consists of Awadhi, Bhojpuri, and Mughlai cuisine, though a vast majority of the state is vegetarian, preferring "dal", "roti", "sabzi", and rice. "Pooris" and "kachoris" are eaten on special occasions.


title: Indian cuisine

text: "Chaat", "samosa", and "pakora", among the most popular snacks in India, originate from Uttar Pradesh.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Well-known dishes include "kebabs", "dum biryani", and various mutton recipes. "Sheer qorma", "ghevar", "gulab jamun", "kheer", and "ras malai" are some of the popular desserts in this region.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Awadhi cuisine () is from the city of Lucknow, which is the capital of the state of Uttar Pradesh in Central-South Asia and Northern India, and the cooking patterns of the city are similar to those of Central Asia, the Middle East, and other parts of Northern India. The cuisine consists of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Awadh has been greatly influenced by Mughal cooking techniques, and the cuisine of Lucknow bears similarities to those of Central Asia, Kashmir, Punjab and Hyderabad. The city is also known for its Nawabi foods. The "bawarchis" and "rakabdars" of Awadh gave birth to the "dum" style of cooking or the art of cooking over a slow fire, which has become synonymous with Lucknow today. Their spread consisted of elaborate dishes like "kebabs", "kormas", "biryani", "kaliya", "nahari-kulchas", "zarda", "sheermal", "roomali rotis", and "warqi parathas".


title: Indian cuisine

text: The richness of Awadh cuisine lies not only in the variety of cuisine but also in the ingredients used like mutton, "paneer", and rich spices, including cardamom and saffron.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Mughlai cuisine is a style of cooking developed in the Indian subcontinent by the kitchens of the Mughal Empire. It represents the cooking styles used in North India (especially Uttar Pradesh).


title: Indian cuisine

text: The cuisine is strongly influenced by Central Asian cuisine, the region where the Chagatai-Turkic Mughal rulers originally hailed from, and has strongly influenced the regional cuisines of Kashmir and the Punjab region.


title: Indian cuisine

text: The tastes of Mughlai cuisine vary from extremely mild to spicy, and is often associated with a distinctive aroma and the taste of ground and whole spices.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Food from Uttrakhand is known to be healthy and wholesome to suit the high-energy necessities of the cold, mountainous region. It is a high-protein diet that makes heavy use of pulses and vegetables. Traditionally, it is cooked over wood or charcoal fire mostly using iron utensils.


title: Indian cuisine

text: While making use of condiments such as "jeera", "haldi" and "rai" common in other Indian cuisines, Uttarakhand cuisine also use exotic ingredients such as "jambu", "timmer", "ghandhraini" and "bhangira".


title: Indian cuisine

text: Although the people in Uttarakhand also make dishes common in other parts of northern India, several preparations are unique to Uttarakhand such as "rus", "chudkani", "dubuk", "chadanji", "jholi", "kapa", and more.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Among dressed salads and sauces, "kheere ka raita", "nimbu mooli ka raita", "daarim ki khatai" and "aam ka fajitha" are also popular.


title: Indian cuisine

text: The cuisine mainly consists of food from two different sub-regions, Garhwal and Kumaon, though their basic ingredients are the same. Both Kumaoni and Garhwali styles make liberal use of "ghee", lentils or pulses, vegetables and "bhaat" (rice). They also use "badi" (sun-dried "urad dal" balls) and "mungodi" (sun-dried "moong dal" balls) as substitutes for vegetables at times.


title: Indian cuisine

text: During festivals and other celebrations, the people of Uttarakhand prepare special refreshments which include both salty preparations such as "bada" and sweet preparations such as "pua" and "singal". Uttarakhand also has several sweets ("mithai") such as "singodi", "bal-mithai", and "malai laddu", native to its traditions.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Hindu people fast on days such as Ekadashi, in honour of Lord Vishnu or his Avatars, Chaturthi in honour of Ganesh, Mondays in honour of Shiva, or Saturdays in honour of Hanuman or Saturn.


title: Indian cuisine

text: Only certain kinds of foods are allowed to be eaten. These include milk and other dairy products (such as "dahi"), fruit, and Western food items such as "sago", potatoes, purple-red sweet potatoes, amaranth seeds, nuts and (shama millet).