The food available in India is as diverse as its culture, its racial
structure, its geography and its climate. The essence of good Indian cooking
revolves around the appropriate use of aromatic spices. The skill lies
in the subtle blending of a variety of spices to enhance rather than overwhelm
the basic flavor of a particular dish. These spices are also used as appetisers
and digestives.
Besides spices, the other main ingredients of Indian cooking and Indian
meals are milk products like ghee (used as a cooking medium) and curd or
dahi
Lentils or dals are also common across the country and regional
preferences and availability determine the actual use in a particular area.
Vegetables naturally differ across regions and with seasons. The style
of cooking vegetables is dependent upon the main dish or cereal with which
they are served. Whereas the Sarson ka saag (made with mustard leaves)
is a perfect complement for the Makke ki Roti (maize bread) eaten
in Punjab, the sambhar (lentil) and rice of Tamil Nadu taste best
eaten with deep-fried vegetables.
Although a number of religions
exist in India, the two cultures that have influenced Indian cooking and
food habits are the Hindu and the Muslim traditions. Each new wave of settlers
brought with them their own culinary practices. However, over time they
adopted a lot of specialties and cooking methods from the Indian cuisine
and blended the two to perfection. The Portuguese, the Persians and the
British made important contributions to the Indian culinary scene. It was
the British who started the commercial cultivation of tea in India.
The Hindu vegetarian tradition is widespread in India, although many Hindus
eat meat now. The Muslim tradition is most evident in the cooking of meats.
Mughlai food, kababs, rich Kormas (curries) and nargisi
koftas (meat-balls), the biryani (a layered rice and meat preparation),
rogan josh, and preparations from the clay oven or tandoor like
tandoori rotis and tandoori chicken are all important contributions
made by the Muslim settlers in India.
A
typical North-Indian meal would consist of chapatis or rotis
(unleavened bread baked on a griddle) or parathas (unleavened
bread fried on a griddle), rice and an assortment of accessories like dals,
fried vegetables, curries, curd, chutney, and pickles. For dessert
one could choose from the wide array of sweetmeats from Bengal like rasagulla,
sandesh, rasamalai and gulab-jamuns. North Indian desserts are
very similar in taste as they are derived from a milk pudding or rice base
and are usually soaked in syrup. Kheer a form of rice pudding, shahi
tukra or bread pudding and kulfi, a nutty ice-cream are other
common northern desserts.
South Indian food is largely
non-greasy, roasted and steamed.
Rice is the staple diet and forms
the basis of every meal. It is
usually served with sambhar,
rasam (a thin soup), dry and
curried vegetables and a curd
preparation called pachadi. Coconut is an important
ingredient in all South Indian food. The South Indian
dosa (rice pancakes), idli (steamed rice cakes) and vada,
which is made of fermented rice and dal, are now
popular throughout the country. The popular dishes
from Kerala are appams (a rice pancake) and thick stews.
Desserts from the south include the Mysore pak and the
creamy payasum.
A meal is rounded off with the after-dinner paan or betel
leaf which holds an assortment of digestive spices like
aniseed, cloves, arecanut, and cardamom.
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