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Ethnic Gifts, Inc
Welcome to Ethnic Gifts, Inc
Indian Sweets and Snacks
India, more than in any other country in the world, has a colorful and diverse range of food and tastes to offer. For centuries, Indian food and spices have been known far and wide for their authentic taste and rich quality. India has a variety of dishes, be it North Indian food or South Indian food, that use spices and herbs such as coriander, ginger, garlic, cinnamon, cardamoms, cloves, aniseed and asafetida - that are used in different combinations and flavors to enhance the pleasure of a meal. Click here to read more on history of India food
Traditional Indian Sweets
While Indians are great lovers of food, their second love without a doubt, is the love for ‘traditional Indian sweets’ and Indian beverages.India is a country of sweets, and Indians, if they can afford, would like to have sweets with almost every meal. Each region has its own specialties. Basically, various regional recipes are only different forms of rice puddings, milk puddings, vegetables & fruits dipped in sweet syrup. Besides, there are a variety of milk-based Barfis and pastries. These are decorated with raisins, almonds, pistachio and the like. Various combinations of all the above delicacies offer hundreds of varieties of Indian traditional sweets to choose from. Most Indian sweets are made by boiling down milk to remove the moisture. It is called khoa. Adding butter, sugar and many other flavours, these are turned into barfi, malai, kheer, rasgulla and sandesh. In North India, lassi is the most popular drink may it be sweet or salty, made from yoghurt. The south and the west offer fresh coconut. Special and typical sweets that come from Bengal are Sandesh and Rasgullas, made in different ways from cottage Cheese. One notable exception of Bengali sweets is misti doi (sweetened yogurt), in terms of the fact that Bengali cuisine is the only Indian cuisine where plain yogurt is missing. Some very popular Indian sweets are :- Kheer, Halwa (pudding), Rasgulla (spongy cheese balls, dipped in sugar syrup), Gulabjamun, Rasmalai, Sandesh and many more. 'Kulfi', a creamy preparation of frozen milk and sugar, is the Indian version of ice-cream and is extremely popular with the old as well as the new generation.
Indian Refreshments and Snacks
The variety of refreshments available in India is as diverse as the country itself. Each region has its typical and local specialty but some common features are that they are usually spicy, easily available, and inexpensive!! The most popular and commonly known is 'chat' - a spicy mix of different ingredients, topped with tangy chutneys (sauce). Indians are very fond of chat and it is available across the country in one form or other. 'Bhel puri' is type of chat famous in Mumbai. Similar ‘chats’ such as ‘Sev Puri’, ‘Chana Masala’ are available across the country. Some other well known snacks which can be savoured are: 'Samosa' 'Pakoras' 'Alu Tikki' 'Kachori' (very common in Uttar Pradesh) 'Pao Bhaji'(very common in Maharashtra) 'Gol Gappa' 'Dhokla' (very common in Gujarat). Samosas and pakoras are mostly enjoyed with a cup of hot Indian tea in the company of friends and family. To relish these snacks, one should develop the taste for them…but once you do, you want them again and again and again…..
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