Indian Indonesian cuisine facts for kids
Indian Indonesian cuisine (in Indonesian: Masakan India-Indonesia) is a mix of delicious Indian cuisine and local Indonesian cooking styles. It includes both traditional dishes from India that have been changed a bit, and new foods inspired by Indonesia's many different food cultures.
Indian flavors started appearing in Indonesia a very long time ago, around the 4th century. Later, as Islam spread and trade grew, Muslim Indian and Arab influences also came into Indonesian food. For example, Indian dishes like biryani, murtabak, curry, and paratha have shaped the food in areas like Aceh, Minangkabau, Malay, Palembang, Betawi, and Javanese cuisine.
Popular Indian Indonesian Dishes
This section lists many tasty dishes. Some are directly from India, and others are Indonesian foods that have been influenced by Indian cooking.
Main Dishes
- Apem: A traditional steamed cake made from rice flour, coconut milk, and palm sugar. It's often served with grated coconut.
- Ayam tandori: Chicken marinated in spices and yogurt, then cooked in a special clay oven.
- Chapati: A thin, flat bread from India. Indian immigrants brought it to Indonesia.
- Chutney: A group of sauces or dips, usually made with spices, vegetables, or fruits. Chutneys can be wet or dry, and smooth or chunky.
- Dosa: A thin, savory rice pancake.
- Gulai: A rich curry dish. It can be made with chicken, goat, beef, fish, seafood, or even vegetables like cassava leaves.
- Idli: A savory, patty-shaped rice cake. People often eat it for breakfast or as a snack, usually with chutney or sambar.
- Kari ayam: A classic chicken curry.
- Kari domba: A curry made with mutton (sheep meat).
- Kari kambing: A curry made with goat meat.
- Kari kepala ikan: A unique curry made with fish heads.
- Kari udang: A delicious shrimp curry.
- Korma: Chicken or mutton cooked slowly with ground spices, nuts, and coconut milk.
- Laksa: A spicy noodle soup dish.
- Mi aceh: A spicy Acehnese noodle dish. It can be served fried or in a soup.
- Mi kari: Noodles served in a curry sauce.
- Mi rebus: Boiled egg noodles in a sweet and spicy sauce, often with green chilies and a hard-boiled egg.
- Martabak HAR: An egg-murtabak served with curry and topped with chilies in a sweet-sour soy sauce.
- Murtabak: A stuffed pancake or pan-fried bread, sometimes filled with beef and green onions.
- Naan: A fluffy, oven-baked flatbread. It's usually eaten with curries and other sauces.
- Nasi biryani: A flavorful rice dish cooked or served with mutton, chicken, vegetables, or fish curry.
- Nasi kari: Simply "rice and curry."
- Nasi kabuli palaw: A pilaf rice dish with steamed rice mixed with raisins, carrots, and beef or lamb.
- Nasi kebuli: A steamed rice dish cooked in goat broth, milk, and ghee (clarified butter). It's often served during Mawlid (the Prophet Muhammad's birthday).
- Nasi megono: A Javanese rice dish influenced by Indian flavors. It has chopped young jackfruit mixed with coconut and other spices.
- Raita: A side dish made from yogurt mixed with raw or cooked vegetables, or sometimes fruit.
- Rendang: A very spicy meat curry dish that comes from the Minangkabau people.
- Roti canai: A flatbread similar to paratha, heavily influenced by Indian cooking. It's served with curry or other sauces.
- Roti tisu: A much thinner version of the traditional roti canai.
- Sambar: A vegetable stew or thick soup made with lentils.
- Soto: A traditional Indonesian soup with broth, meat, and vegetables.
- Soto betawi: A type of soto soup made with beef or beef offal, cooked in a cow milk or coconut milk broth with ghee, fried potato, and tomato.
- Tongseng: A stew dish made with goat, mutton, or beef. It's cooked in a curry-like soup with vegetables and sweet soy sauce.
Snacks and Desserts
- Adhirasam: Sweet treats from Tamil cuisine.
- Cendol: A cold, sweet dessert with green rice flour jelly, coconut milk, and palm sugar syrup.
- Halwa: A sweet confectionery (candy).
- Keripik pisang: Crispy banana chips.
- Keripik singkong: Crispy tapioca chips.
- Kheer: A creamy pudding made by boiling milk, sugar, and ingredients like rice, tapioca, or sweet corn.
- Kue laddu: Ball-shaped sweet treats.
- Kue modak: Rice flour dumplings filled with coconut and palm sugar.
- Kue putu: A traditional cylindrical, green-colored steamed cake.
- Kue putu mayang: String hoppers served with palm sugar syrup mixed with coconut milk.
- Kue pinyaram: An Indian-influenced Minangkabau traditional cake made from white sugar or palm sugar, rice flour, and coconut milk.
- Samosa: A fried or baked dumpling with a savory filling, often spiced potatoes, onions, or peas.
Drinks
- Kopi tarik: A coffee drink, dark roasted with margarine and sugar. It's sweetened with condensed milk and "pulled" (poured between two cups) to make it frothy.
- Teh tarik: A hot milk tea beverage, also "pulled" to create foam.
Gallery
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Indian Indonesian cuisine Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.