Indian Cuisine

The cuisine of India is one of the world's most diverse cuisines, which is
characterized by its sophisticated. The cuisine of each geographical region
includes a wide assortment of dishes and cooking techniques. India's unique
blend of cuisines evolved through large - scale cultural interaction with
neighbouring Persia, ancient Greece. Mongols and West Asia. India's religious
beliefs and culture have played an influential role in the evolution of it's cuisine.

Indian cuisine reflect an 8,000-year history of various groups and cultures

interacting with the Indian subcontinent. It has led diversity towards flavour and
regional cuisines found in modern- day India.

Early diet in India mainly consisted of legumes, vegetables, fruits, grains,dairy

products, and honey. Over time, segments of the population embraced
vegetarianism during the Sramana movement. The Bhagavad Gita proscribes
certain dierltary practices, consumption of beef is taboo, due to cows being
considered sacred in Hinduism.

Staple foods of Indian cuisine include pearl millet ( bajra), rice, whole-wheat flour
(atta), and a variety of lentils, such as masoor ( most often red lentils), tier (pigeon
peas), urad ( black gram), and moving ( mung beans). The most important and
frequently used spices and flavouring in Indian cuisine are whole or powdered
chilli pepper ( mirch), black mustard seed ( sarso), cardamom (elaichi), cumin
( jeera), turmeric ( haldi), asafoetida ( Hing) , ginger ( adrak), coriander ( dhania),
and garlic ( lasoon). One popular spice mix garam masala, a powder that typically
includes seven dried spices in a particular ratio, including black cardamom,
cinnamon ( dalchini), clove ( lung), cumin ( jeera), black peppercorn, coriander
seeds and anise star.

North Indian cuisine is distinguished by the proportionally high is eof dairy

products such as milk, paneer, ghee (clarified butter), and yoghurt, there cooking
features involves the use of the 'tawa' ( griddle) for baking flat breads like roti and
paratha. " Tandoori" for baking breads such as naan , and kulcha. Other breads
like Puri and bhatoora, which are deep fried in oil, are also common. Goat and
lamb meat are favoured ingredients of many northern Indian recipes. East Indian
cuisine is famous for desert, especially sweets such as rasagulla, chumchum,
aandeah, rasabali, chhena poda, chhena gaja, and kheeri. Many of sweet dishes
are now popular in Northern India initially originated in the Bengal and Orissa
regions. Fish is commonly consumed in the Eastern part of India, most especially
in Bengal. Rice is the staple grain in Eastern India, as it is basic South India.

South Indian cuisine is distinguished by a greater emphasis on rice as the staple

grain, the ubiquity of sambar and rasam, a variety of pickles, and the liberal use of
coconut and particularly coconut oil and curry leaves. Hyderabadi briyani, a
popular type of briyani, reflects the diversity of South Indian cuisine. A typical
meal, served on a banana leaf, includes steamed rice along with a variety of
vegetable dishes like sambar, dry curry, rasam and kootu. Meals are often
accompanied by crisp appalams.

Western India has three major food groups: Gujarati, Maharashtra and Goan.
There are two main type of Maharashtrian cuisine, defined by geographical
cricumstances. The coastal regions, geographically similar to Goa, consume more
rice, coconut, and fish. Maharashtra cuisine covers a range from mild to very spicy
dishes. Some of the popular traditional dishes include puram Poli, ukdiche modak,
and batta wada. Misal Pav, Pav Bhai and Vada pav. Many Gujarati dishes have a
hint of sweetness due to use of sugar or brown sugar. The typical Gujarati meal
consist of Roti ( a flat bread made from wheat flour), daal or kadhi, rice, and
sabzi/shaak (a dish made up of different combinations of vegetables and spices,
which may be stir fried, spicy or sweet). Goan Hindu cuisine is less spicy, use little
or no onion or garlic, and incorporates a variety of vegetables, lentils, pumpkins,
gourds, bamboo, shoots, and roots.

Tea are a beverage is generally prepared as masala chai, by boiling the tea leaves
in a mixture of water, spices such as cardamom, cloves, cinnamon,and ginger, and
large quantities of milk. Another popular beverage, coofee, is largely served in
South India, Coffea arabica is grown around Mysore, Karnataka. The practice of
drinking a beverage with a meal, or wine and food matching, is not traditional or
common in India.

Traditionally, meals are eaten while seated either on the floor or on very low
stools or cushions. Food is most often eaten without cutlery, using instead the
fingers of the rit hand. Indian culture dictates that eating with your hands is
pleasurable experience, activating a so-called sixth sense. A universal presentation
is the Thalia, a large plate with samplings of different regional dishes accompanied
by raita, breads such as naan, Puri, or roti, and rice.

Indian cuisine is one of the most popular cuisines across the globe. The cuisines is
enjoyed not only among the large Indian diaspora but also by the general
populatio in North America, Europe, Australia and parts of Africa. Historically,
Indians spices and herbs were one of the most sought -after trade commodities.
The spice trade between Indian and Europe led to the rise and dominance of Arab
traders to such an extent that European explores, such as Vasco da Gama and
Christopher Columbus, set out to find new trade routes with India, lunching the
Age of Discovery.