Indian food terms

Indian food terms


Given below are some food items with a native touch, but common to India. Also find some item names that are called differently.
Item Description
Alu® Potato
Atta® Flour
 Badusha ®A sweet made of refined flour, fried in ghee and dipped in sugar syrup
Bathura ®A moon shaped fried snack made of wheat flour and fried in oil to puff. Normally
taken with a side dish namely ‘Chole’
Batter® Mixture of flour and water, stirred or beaten to form a thin/thick paste.
Bhajia® A snack made of sliced vegetable dipped in bengal gram flour and deep fried to
crispy form
Bhaji® Another term for green vegetables
Bhelpuri® A snack made of puffed rice, chopped onion, mild spices and pulses
Bhujia® A dish prepared in minced form
Bhurta ®A dish made of vegetable, baked on heat or fire and subsequently mashed to
prepare the dish
Bonda® A round shaped deep-fried snack that consists of potato curry covered with a layer
of bengal gram batter
Boondi ®Sieved batter of bengal gram flour fried to crispy form in the shape of pearls
Biryani® A specific method of rice preparation with select vegetables and aromatic spices
Burfi ®A sweet made in the form of a thin soft cake
Biryani® pathha Bay leaf
Chapati® A thin layer of pressed wheat flour dough, baked on a flat pan with very little oil.
The same baked without oil is termed as ‘phulka’
Chenna ®Curdled cow milk in solidified form used as a main ingredient for preparation of
some sweets also known as bengali sweets
Chutney ®A hot/spicy dish made of fried and ground spices with a choice of vegetables /
greens
Chole ®An exclusive spicy side dish that is taken with puri or bathura
Chumchum A syrup filled spongy milk sweet
Chuka® Country sorrel
Chick peas® Whole bengal gram
Curry® powder Dry ground powder made of select aromatic spices and pulses used in curries
Curd Yoghurt
Dal ®A dish made of cooked pulses with different vegetables in variant flavors
Dosa ®A moon shaped snack made of fermented batter, baked with little oil in the form
of a thin pan cake
Dhum ®The process of cooking a dish with the vessel covered and heat from both ends
Dhokla Steam cooked semolina puffs with mild spices
Deep fry ®A method of frying vegetable or a snack
Garam masala ®Dry powder made of aromatic spices used in little quantity in curries or rice
Eatable
camphor
A diluted® form of eatable camphor used in preparation of sweets
Egg plant Brinjal
Gulab jamun ®A soft round shaped sweet made of milk powder or solidified milk, deep fried in
ghee and soaked in sugar syrup
Ghee® Clarified butter
Griddle ®A flat metal plate similar to skillet
Gravy® A dish with a large quantity of thick paste made of ground spices or vegetables
Grating Shredding vegetables with the help of a vegetable grater
Garnish® Decoration given to a food item
Halwa ®A sweet in the form of thick jelly, made of ghee and flour in different flavors
Idli A snack made of fermented batter poured in small quantities into a sieved plate(
idly ®stand  and then steam cooked
Ivy ®gourd Gerkin
Jaggery ®Processed sugar cane juice in solidified form
Jilebi ®A sweet made of refined flour batter, fermented and then deep fried in ghee and
dipped in sugar syrup
Jhangri ®A sweet made of black gram batter, deep fried in ghee and soaked in sugar syrup
Kaja flat A sweet made of refined flour dough formed into layers, deep fried in ghee and
soaked in sugar syrup
Kaja round A tube shaped sweet made of refined flour dough deep fried in ghee and filled
with sugar syrup
Kesari A soft light sweet made of semolina or vermicelli
Khara Another term for hot or spicy snacks
Kheer A sweet made of nuts and condiments in different flavors. Similar to a pudding.
Khoa Sugarless solidified milk
Koottu A mild dal variety with a choice of vegetables
Kurma A spicy curry made of thick gravy and a variety of vegetables
Khofta Minced vegetables and flour mixture fried in oil as small pieces for final
preparation of a curry
Laddu A traditional round shaped sweet made in different flavors and sizes
Lassi Sweet buttermilk
Masala Dry or wet ground powder/paste that consists of various spices / pulses / pungent
vegetables. Used as add on flavor to curries or rice.
Namkeen A snack variety with a combination of pungency, sourness and sweet
Nan A typical Indian oven to bake pressed wheat flour dough similar to chpati
Okra Ladies finger
Pannir Curdled milk in solidified form
Paratha Rolled wheat or refined flour dough that form into layers and in the shape of a
moon or triangle. It is baked on a flat pan with ghee or oil and a choice of
vegetables or greens
Papad Sun dried hard pressed gram flour dough in the form of a moon with a choice of
flavors. Can subsequently roasted on heat or deep fried in oil
Payasam A traditional liquid milk sweet made in different flavors
Pulao A rice dish cooked with a choice of vegetables and aromatic spices
Peanut Groundnut
Puri Moon shaped wheat flour dough, pressed to small sizes and fried in oil with
porous formation
Pulusu A soup variety of thick cooked gram with mild spices and vegetables
Pakora/Pakoda A snack made with a choice of vegetables, mixed in bengal gram flour and deep
fried in oil to small pieces of crispy form
Riata Softened curd with a choice of vegetables and mild spices mixture
Rasam A digestive water soup in different flavors with ground pepper and coriander
powder
Rasgolla A round shaped spongy sweet made of curdled milk with lots of sugar syrup
Rawa Semolina
Sambar A thick soup variety prepared with cooked red gram and a choice of vegetables
Samosa A cone shaped popular snack made of potato and peas curry rolled in flour dough
and deep fried in oil.
Shrikand A sweet made with smoothened curd and nutmeg
Semiya Vermicelli
Sandesh A milk sweet
Sesame Gingely seeds
Sev A snack made of bengal gram flour resembling vermicelli
Syrup Sugar boiled in water to form a thin liquid of one or two string drops
Subzi Another term for vegetables
Simmer Heating food just below boiling level
Upma A light snack prepared with semolina or vermicelli
Uthappam A thick pancake made of fermented batter with or without vegetables
Vada A ring shaped snack made of fermented gram flour batter and deep fried in oil to
crispy form