Indian food has a colorful history that is a melange of numerous cultures and tastes. The British rule, trade routes, invasions, and colonies have led to food influences by the Persians, Greeks, Chinese, Turks, Arabs, Egyptians, Dutch, Portuguese English, and French who came to India. Basic to Indian cooking is an assortment variety of flavors: astringent, sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and pungent.
Ayurveda also influences Indian food in a great way. In Ayurveda, food is seen as having positive and negative forces with properties of being cooling or heating to the body. Indian meals typically are neutral by offering both cooling and heating foods.
Indian influence in Asian cuisine started in the 19th century when Indians migrated to different parts of Asia for work related purposes. Some did take the opportunity to set up trade in the food industry. Indian cuisine can be divided into two mainstreams, Northern and Southern Indian cuisine.
North Indian cuisine boasts of a diet rich in meat and uses spices and ingredients such as yogurt and ghee in dishes that are elaborate without being overly spicy. Here, bread and chapati (wheat-flour pancakes) replaces rice, which is the center of most South Indian meals. Coconut milk, tamarind, mustard seeds, and chilies are also widely used in the Southern province.
Spices are the heart and soul of Indian cooking. But the quantity and proportions vary with the geographical boundaries. Curry powder is almost never used. Spices are freshly grounded and added in many different combinations. Spices commonly used are coriander, turmeric, cumin, chilies, fennel, and fenugreek.
Indian food is traditionally served on a thali, a circular metal tray on which a number of small bowls called katori, also made from metal, are placed. Eaten with fingers, rice or bread are placed directly on the thali while curries and other dishes are served in the bowls.
For South Indian cuisine, banana leaves are often used as plates where rice is served in the center, followed by various curries and accompaniments around it. These include dried fish, pappadams (lentil wafers), fresh chutneys made from herbs, coconut, and acid fruits among others.
Bread is the main item in most meals in North Indian cuisine. Therefore, a wide variety of bread dishes is found in different parts of Asia. Nann (leavened bread with poppy seeds) is a popular choice. The bread dough is rolled out and then slapped on the inside of the tandoori, near the top where it cooks very quickly in the fierce heat.
It is then flavored with onion or garlic. Paratha, meanwhile, is rich, flaky, and flavored with ghee. It can be eaten as an accompaniment or by itself, filled with potatoes and peas. Chapati is another leavened bread. It resembles flat discs and has a delightful flavor and chewy texture.
Tandoori dishes are the most popular main courses in North Indian restaurants. Tandoori chicken is always a favorite, where a whole baby chicken or chicken quarter are roasted in the clay oven for several hours in advance and then finished off on the barbecue.
Chutneys and pickles accompany many Indian meals and can be made from mangos, lemons, limes, coconut, cilantro, mint, and various vegetables and spices. These sweet/sour condiments balance the flavors of Indian meals.
There is as diverse an assortment of food practices in India as there are people. Indians have absorbed the foods and spices and vegetables from all over the world throughout our history, to give rise to one of the most rich and sophisticated culinary traditions in the world.
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