Year 3-4

Indian Cooking
Desi Khana

2011 Compiled By Mala Mehta OAM, Kristine Horan and Kulvinder Kaur for use by students at IABBV Hindi School
Year 3-4 Bawarchi Indian Kitchen - Unit of Work 2011

FOOD OF INDIA
Indian cuisine is influenced by religion, geography and climate variations. Indian food is
also very unique compared to other cuisines in regard to spices, aroma, and way of cooking.
There are many more kinds of styles under Indian cuisine
Indian cuisine is considered to be spicy by many. Most Indian dishes contain a delicate blend
of spices. The basic spices are ginger, garlic, chilli powder, turmeric, cardamom, cinnamon,
cloves, coriander powder, and cumin powder. Other items are mustard seeds, cumin seeds,
fenugreek seeds, dried red chillies, and curry leaves.
Indian cuisine changes across the geography of India. Most of the coastal areas use fish and
coconuts in cooking. The desert states, Rajasthan and Gujarat areas use an immense variety
of daals and achaars (preserves) to substitute for the relative lack of fresh vegetables.
Another state Andhra Pradesh, located in the south part of India, is accused sometimes
unfairly of using excessive amounts of chillies. In the coastal states of West Bengal and
Kerala, the people consume a lot of fish.
All along the northern plain, from Punjab through Uttar Pradesh, to the eastern side of India,
the main crop cultivated is wheat. People from these areas use wheat flour to make chapattis
(Indian bread) and other closely related breads.
Rice is served with almost every meal in India, so Indians have created a variety of ways of
cooking it. The aim is to produce dry, separate grains.
On the whole Indian meals are simple yet varied. One or two dish meals are indeed rare in
India. Indians prefer to have a variety of foods in a single meal. Roti, lentils, vegetable dish,
curry and rice are items cooked almost every day in some or the other form in most
households in India. Food is not served with any drink, but with a glass of water. There are
various sides to a meal in India namely pickles, papad (thin roasted Indian wafer), chutney
(kind of salsa), salad and buttermilk (yogurt mixed with water with a dash of salt and cumin
powder). Sweet dish (dessert) is an essential if there are guests or a special occasion.
Paan is served as a digestive after some meals. The dark-green of the betel-pepper plant is
smeared with little bit of lime and wrapped around a combination of spices like crushed betel
nuts, cardamom, aniseed, sugar and grated coconut. It is an astringent and believed to help
cleaning the system.

Year 3-4 Bawarchi Indian Kitchen - Unit of Work 2011

FOOD AND DINING ETIQUETTE IN INDIA

"ANNA DEVTA" is what Indians regard food as. "ANNA" means food and
"DEVTA" means God. It is a common practice in India to thank God for providing
meals. Shunning or wasting food is looked upon as disrespect towards the almighty.
The hospitality of Indians is legendary. In Sanskrit there are three words Athithi
Devo Bhava which means The Guest is truly your GOD. Indians believe that
they are honoured if they share their mealtimes with a guest- invited or uninvited
Wash your hands before and after sitting down to a meal.
A small bowl of water will be provided in order to wash your hands of dirt and germs
prior to eating. A bowl will also be provided after the meal to allow you to cleanse
your hands.
Meals on the floor
In earlier days, food was served on a Banana leaf. Now a days it has been replaced by
plates for everyday meals. The plates are usually made of stainless steel. China or
porcelain plates are rare. Forks and knife are unheard of, since the common meal of
Roti and curry or rice and lentil soup does not need the use of them. Water is always
served with every meal. It is usually served in a stainless steel glass placed to the left
of the plate.
Dining table is regarded as a western thing. Most homes have dining tables now, but
the traditional Indian way of eating is on the floor, sitting cross legged in a circle with
all food placed in the center.
Much Indian food is eaten with the fingers. Indians like to experience food as a fully
sensuous experience as they like to taste, smell and feel the texture and flavour that is
contained in the food being consumed. Food such as Indian breads and curry - are best
enjoyed when eating with the hand but spoons are used for liquid dishes. If utensils are
used, they are generally a tablespoon, teaspoons and a fork.
Always use your right hand to eat. Do not use your left hand for eating as it is
considered unclean so even if you are left-handed try and practice to eat with right
hand. The left hand usually rests on the table or your lap while you eat.
Wait to be told where to sit and sit only once the senior people take their seat. Guests
are often served in a particular order: the guest of honour is served first, followed by
the men, and the children are served last. Women typically serve the men and eat later.
Food is served in moderate portions. The server does not mind returning to serve a
second portion. Serving a lot at one time is discouraged because it may lead to
wastage, which is much frowned upon.
Year 3-4 Bawarchi Indian Kitchen - Unit of Work 2011

Offering food from one's plate, even if the item is untouched, is a great offense and
never done. Probably this originated in ancient times to discourage the free exchange
of germs between people sharing their food. The theory behind this custom is lost, but
the practice continues.
Chatting while dining is okay, but speaking with one's mouth full is not tolerated.
Everyone waits for one another to finish up. Considering the fact that food is served
at the same time, this usually means that all are proceeding at the same pace through
the various courses of the meal.
Unless it is a very special event, each diner picks up his own plate and glass and takes
them away to be washed.
The meal finishes with everyone washing their hands with a generous amount of
water.

Year 3-4 Bawarchi Indian Kitchen - Unit of Work 2011

1. Choose a big idea as a topic: Eating in India

2. Choose a project/task for students to work on that will: Cook an Indian
dish, photograph it. Label the photographs.
1.

3. Fill in the template below:

What do I want my students to learn?

2.UL.1: A student recognises and responds to spoken texts

in Hindi in familiar contexts.
2.UL.2: A student identifies and responds to key words,
phrases and simple sentences in context in written Hindi.
2.UL.3: A student uses familiar language to share
information.
2.UL.4: A student uses models to write text to convey
personal information
2.MLC.1: A student explores relationships between
languages.
2.MBC.1: A student recognises the link between culture and
a sense of identity.
3. How well do I want them to learn it?
Well enough to:
* read recipes and locate key information
* write recipes using cues such as labeled pictures and
scaffolds
*understand that different foods are eaten in different parts of
India and on different occasions.
Setting the scene
Brainstorm with students to
find out what they know
about Indian food.
How is it different from
Australian food?
Are there things that are
the same?
Show pictures of some
Indian dishes that you will
be cooking in a later
lesson.
Practise saying the names
of them.
Bring in some ingredients
that will be used in the
recipes that you will be
making
Ask :
Do you know what this is?
Have you eaten it before?
Do you like it?
Describe the taste.
Which one of the dishes
that weve looked at do you
think would have this in it?

2. Why is that learning important?

* It is important that students realise that it is not
possible to make stereotypical statements such as All
Indians like curry. All Australians like meat pies.
*It is important for students to understand the
traditions of their own families and those of other
families.
*Students need to learn the imperative form of the
verb for functions such as reading recipes, giving
directions
*Students need to know that instructions must follow a
logical sequence to be effective

4. How will I know when they have learnt it?

*Through classroom observation
*Through vocabulary quizzes
*By reading their recipes

Speaking

Listening

Reading

Practise saying the names of the

Indian food seen in the pictures.

The teacher says the

name of a food in
Hindi. Students point
to the pictures of the
dish that was named.

Look at the names of the

foods written in Hindi.
Ask students what they
notice about the words
Eg the letters go above and
below the lines, they have
a curly piece
If students already know
some letters, ask which
letters they recognise.

Choose five ingredients.

Students repeat names of
ingredients in Hindi.
Blind fold one student at a time.
Student is then led to one of the
foods, touches it and tries to
guess what it is.

Teacher says the

names of some of the
foods in Hindi.
Students point to the
food.

Look at the Hindi words for

five focus ingredients.
Comment on and discuss
the letters in the words.

Identify the ingredients for the

recipe.
Teacher asks;
Whats this?
What do you think well have to
do with it when we make the
Kheer?
Eg milk - heat

Year 3-4 Bawarchi Indian Kitchen - Unit of Work 2011

Match the flashcards to the

photographs.
Cut and paste the words into
the ingredients lists.

Rotis

Indian Food

Dosa & Idli

Year 3-4 Bawarchi Indian Kitchen - Unit of Work 2011

Lentils - Daals

Indian Sweets

POORI

INGREDIENTS:

1 Cups flour & wheat flour

1/4 Tsp Salt
1/2 Cup Water
Oil for deep frying

maida&aatta
namak
paani
Tel

METHOD:

Put flour(aatta)in a large bowl pour water bit by bit and mix(meelana) the flour in a rotating motion.
Mix it well to form a non-sticky dough. Keep it a bit stiff so that it could be rolled easily.
Wet hands and knead(gundhna) dough with your knuckles for a few minutes. Keep it aside for 1015 minutes covered (dhakna) with a wet towel so that the dough does not dry out.
Wet hands and knead the dough again for a minute.
Roll the dough into small pieces about half the size of table tennis ball.
Take none ball, dip the corner in oil and roll 9belna it into 3-inch diameter circle.
Heat plenty of oil (tel)in a kadhai until very hot.
Put in a poori and after a few seconds start flickering hot oil over the top of it with a spatula pressing
it at the same time till it swells up like a ball.
Flip the poori over and cook the other side until golden brown.
Remove the excess oil using a paper towel.
Serve hot with pindicholey or other vegetables.

SUJI KA HALWA
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup Semolina
suji
1 cup Ghee
ghee
2 cups Sugar
cheeni
4 cups Water
paani
2 Cardamoms, crushed
Iillaichi
1/4 cup Raisins (optional)
kishmish
1/4 cup Almonds, chopped (optional)
badam
METHOD:
In a pan, mix water(paani)and sugar (cheeni) and put them to boil.
Heat ghee in another pan addsuji and fry until it turns golden brown.
Add cardamom(Iillaichi), raisins(kishmish) and almonds(badam)to the fried suji and
mix well for 30 seconds
Now, add the sugar syrup slowly to the mixture stirringconstantly to avoid the
formation of lumps.
As the mixture starts to froth, remove it from the flame.
Serve it hot sprinkled with chopped almond.
Year 3-4 Bawarchi Indian Kitchen - Unit of Work 2011

ALOO KI SABZI
INGREDIENTS:
2 Potatoes (boiled and peeled)
tsp Turmeric Powder
tsp Red Chilli Powder
tsp Mustard Seeds
1 bayleaf
1 Green chilies( optional)
2 Tomatoes ( puree)
1 tsp gingerpaste
Coriander leaves (chopped)
Salt to taste
1 tbsp Oil
1 cup Water

aloo
haldi
lalmirchi
sarson
tejpatta
harimirchi
tamaatar
aadrak
dhaniyapatta
namak
tel
paani

METHOD:

Boil potato and cut them into small chunks and slightly mash them. Keep it aside.
Heat oil over medium heat in a non stickheavy base skillet and add mustardseeds(sarson).
Allow spluttering and then add ginger (aadrak) paste and green chilli and fry till it turns light
golden brown.
Add turmeric powder(haldi) , red chili powder(lalmirchi), salt (namak)and wait for 10 seconds.
Now add the tomato (tamaatar) puree and saute for 5-7 minutes until oil appears on the sides of
the skillet.
Add potatoes (aloo) and 1 cups of water(paani).
Simmer it for about 10 minutes.
Garnished with coriander leaves(dhaniyapatta) .
Serve hot with poori and halwa.

Kheer
Ingredients
coconut milk
milk
sugar
rice
raisins
Method
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

cardamom
rose water
almonds
pistachio nuts

Boil the coconut milk, milk and sugar

Add rice
Cook for about 20 minutes
Add the raisins, cardamom and rose water
Cook for a few minutes
Sprinkle with almonds and pistachios

Raita
Ingredients

yoghurt
cucumber

mint
pepper

Method :

Add the cucumber and mint to the yoghurt and stir

Year 3-4 Bawarchi Indian Kitchen - Unit of Work 2011

COMMON SPICES USED IN INDIAN COOKING

Turmeric/
Haldi

Chillie
powder/

mirchi

Salt/
Namak

Cummin
Seeds/
Jeera

Mustard
Seeds/

Cardamom
Illachi

Sarson

Ginger
Adrak

Garlic
Lasun

Corriander
Dhania

Garam
masala

Mixture of clove,
cardamom, cinnamon,
corriander and pepper
corn powder

Kulwinder Kaur 2011

Year 3-4 Bawarchi Indian Kitchen - Unit of Work 2011

COMMON SPICES USED IN COOKING KHEER

pistachio
nuts

Almonds/
Badaam

rose
water

Cardamom

raisins

urad dal

rice

Sugar/
Cheeni

milk

coconut
milk

Illachi

Kristine Horan & Mala Mehta 2011

Year 3-4 Bawarchi Indian Kitchen - Unit of Work 2011

10

VOCABULARY USED IN INDIAN COOKING

ROTI/
Lentils/
Daal

Rice/
Chawal

Tea
Rus

Mixed
Vegetables
/ Sabzi

Non
Vegetarian

Yoghurt
Dahi

Pickle
Aachar

Water
Pani

Milk

Tea
Chai

Coffee

Year 3-4 Bawarchi Indian Kitchen - Unit of Work 2011

11

UTENSILS USED IN INDIAN COOKING

Wok/
Karahi

Pressure
Cooker

Rolling Board
and Pin/
Chakla aur
Belna

Masala
Dani

Indian
Plate /
Thali

Glass/
Gilaas

Knife
Churi
Fork
Kaanta
Spoon
Chamach

Pincers or
tongs/

Pot/Dechki

Pot/Dechki

Blender/
Grinder

Tawa/

Pakar

Sarashi

Year 3-4 Bawarchi Indian Kitchen - Unit of Work 2011

12

Traditional Indian Cooking Utensils

Chaki belon (round pastry board and rolling pin)

Belan is a wooden cylinder and chaki

is a flat, rounded wooden platform.
Belan chaki is used for making flat
breads like roti, paratha and puri.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dechki

Dechki is used mainly for boiling. It is

prepared from Aluminium.
The shape of dechki helps to distribute the
heat evenly and the food boils quickly.
The dechki always has a definite cover, like
handi. The covers of dechki and handi
differ in shape and size.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jhanjri / Chhanta (perforated spoon)

Jhajri is used for deep frying.

The pores help to sieve the
excess oil.
It is made from steel/
iron/aluminum/brass.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Year 3-4 Bawarchi Indian Kitchen - Unit of Work 2011

13

Handi

Handi is a popular and common cooking utensil in

India. It is generally used for cooking rice or meat.
Did you know that samples of earthen handi were
found in the remains of ancient Mohenjodoro
civilization?.
In ancient times handi was made out of clay. Now it
is mostly prepared from Aluminum (because it is a
good conductor of heat) and sometimes steal or
brass. Handis externally copper coated are also
found. Handis made of brass are mainly used for
preparation of 'prasad' (food offered to indian god).

convection of air inside a handi

The structure of handi helps to increase the

convection current of air inside, hence helping to
cook any food quickly.
Cover of Handi is called 'Shara'.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Khunti (metal spatula)

Khunti is used only for frying, the flat head

of a khunti is ideal for changing the sides
of the item that is being fried.
Just like hata, it is made from
steel/iron/aluminum/brass/wood.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sharashi (pincers or tongs)

Sharashi is Indian tong. It is used to hold hot cooking pots.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Year 3-4 Bawarchi Indian Kitchen - Unit of Work 2011

14

Shil Noda ( Indian stone grinder )

Shil Noda is used for grinding or making

paste of different spices and cooking
ingrediants.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Boti (Bengali cutting tool )

Boti is a cutting tool used mostly in Bengal. Boti

has a wooden or metallic rest on which the blade
can be folded down. Women using boti grab it by
putting a foot on that rest. Since both hands
remain free, it provides excellent grip.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Karais (woks)

Kadai: Kadai is mainly used for frying. It is

mostly prepared from Aluminium (because it is
a good container of heat) and sometimes Iron.
Externally copper coated Kadais are also there.
The boat shape of a kadai helps to prevent the
food (mainly fish) from sticking to the bottom.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hatha (ladle)

Hata is used for serving or cooking liquid food like dal,

curry etc. It has the shape of a large spoon, but rice
serving hatas are flat like hand.
Generally hatas, that are used for cooking purpose are
made from steel, iron, aluminium, brass, wood and
serving hatas are made up of german silver.
Year 3-4 Bawarchi Indian Kitchen - Unit of Work 2011

15

Commonly used Equipment for Australian Cooking

Why would you use each of the following pieces of equipment?

Sieve
.
.

Chopping board
.
.

Cooks knife
.
.

Saucepan with lid

.
.

Scales
.
.

Year 3-4 Bawarchi Indian Kitchen - Unit of Work 2011

Fish slice
.
.

Grater
.
.

Mixing bowl
.
.

Blender
.
.

Measuring jug
.
.

16