When considering collection of spices and flavors, India ranks among the top countries in the world. The Indian spices have been appetizing the world for centuries. The Europeans voyaged thousands of miles to reach the land of spices. And India is still known as the land of spices and flavors.

Most of the delicious Indian dishes are made from vegetables, rice, whole-wheat flour, a variety of lentils and meat. Several different types of spices are used to add to the taste and delicacy of the dishes. Some of the common and widely used Indian spices include cardamom, clove, cassia bark (Chinese cinnamon), saffron, turmeric, fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds, coriander, cumin, and so on.

How many food recipes would be there in the country known for its spices? You won’t perhaps believe but these are in hundreds. Most of them are easy and quick to cook. Others involve so many ingredients and usually take hours to prepare. Some are quite strange by name and have a peculiar taste that may not appeal to everyone.

Just have a look at one of the strange Indian recipes that has great medicinal significance. If you are not an Indian, you wouldn’t probably have heard about “Gahat Ka Shorba”? It takes around 35 minutes for cooking and preparation. Here “Gahat” is a Hindi word for horse gram, also known as magic pulse.

It includes ingredients which may not be easily available everywhere, like horse gram, Jakhiya (local mustard of Uttarakhand), asafetida, coriander root and peppercorn. Other ingredients are easily available, like salt, ginger, garlic, cumin, onion and coriander seed.

For preparation, you need to add onion, coriander seed, chopped ginger and garlic and cumin in heated oil and sauté it. Then add asafetida. When asafetida starts releasing flavor, add chopped tomato and coriander root, and sauté it. Add water and horse gram and cook on a slow flame until it gets mushy. After straining, adjust seasoning and serve the ‘Shorba’ hot.

Some other special Indian recipes are Bread Upma, Beerkaya Pachadi, Pashtooni Zarda Pulao, Dal Dafla, Kache Kele Ki Tikki, Bangali Dal Bori, Auriya Kaddu, and so on.