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Indian cuisine is possibly the major global cuisine of the modern day
mainly due to its depth and variety and the multitude of historical
influences that have created it.
The cuisine of India is characterized by the use of a wide variety of
spices, herbs and other vegetables grown in India and also for the
widespread practice of vegetarianism across many sections of its
society. Each family of Indian cuisine is characterized by a wide
assortment of dishes and cooking techniques. As a consequence, it
varies from region to region and sometimes village to village,
reflecting the varied demographics of the ethnically diverse Indian subcontinent.
As a land that has experienced extensive immigration and
intermingling through many millennia, India's cuisine has benefited
from numerous food influences. The diverse climate in the region,
ranging from deep tropical to alpine, has also helped considerably
broaden the set of ingredients readily available to the many schools
of cookery in India.
Around 7,000 BC, sesame, eggplant, and humped cattle had been
domesticated in the Indus Valley. By 3000 BC, turmeric, cardamom,
black pepper and mustard were harvested in India. Many recipes first
emerged during the initial Vedic period, when India was still heavily
forested and agriculture was complemented with game hunting and
forest produce. In Vedic times, a normal diet consisted of fruit,
vegetables, meat, grain, dairy products and honey.[ Later, invasions
from Central Asia, Arabia, the Mughal Empire, Persia, and elsewhere
had a deep and fundamental effect on Indian cooking. Influence from
traders such as the Arabs and Portuguese diversified subcontinental
tastes and meals. As with other cuisines, Indian cuisine has absorbed
New World vegetables such as tomato, chilli, and potato, as staples
and styles were further adapted with the influence of France and Britain.
The most important/frequently used spices in Indian cuisine are
chilli pepper, black mustard seed (rai), cumin (jeera), turmeric
(haldi, manjal), fenugreek (methi), asafoetida (hing, perungayam),
ginger (adrak, inji), coriander (dhania), and garlic (lassan,
poondu). Popular spice mixes are garam masala, which is usually a
powder of five or more dried spices, commonly including cardamom,
cinnamon, and clove. Common knowledge indicates that Garam masala is
a single iniform spice mix but, in fact, each region, and sometimes
each individual chef, has a distinctive blend of garam masala.
Indian cuisine is one of the most popular cuisines across the globe.
The cuisine is popular not only among the many areas around South
Asia but also among the mainstream population of North America and
Europe.There are as many as 9,500 restaurants serving the cuisine of
the Indian sub-continent in England, Scotland and Wales alone.(for
details www.fedrest.com)
Tea is a staple beverage throughout India; the finest varieties being
grown in Darjeeling and Assam. It is generally prepared as masala
chai, wherein the tea leaves are boiled in a mix of water, spices
such as cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, and ginger, and large quantities
of milk to create a thick, sweet, milky concoction. India also has
many indigenous alcoholic beverages, including palm wine, fenny and
Indian beer. Wine is of increasing popularity but the sub-continent
still has a huge market for beer as well as spirits (especially
Johnnie Walker Black Label amongst the Punjabi community).
Regional cuisines include :
North India Awadhi - Punjabi - Mughlai - Kashmiri - Sindhi
Rajasthani - Uttar Pradeshi
South India Andhra - Karnataka - Kerala - Tamil - Hyderabadi -
Udupi - Mangalorean
East India Bengali - Oriya - Bihari - Bhojpuri - Assamese
North-East India Meghalayan - Manipuri - Mizo - Naga -
Sikkimese - Tripuri
Arunachalese
West India Goan - Gujarati - Marathi - - Malvani & Konkani
- Parsi
Other Indian Chinese - Nepali - Jain (Satvika) - Anglo-Indian
- Chettinad
For information on the history of Indian cuisine and the growth of
restaurants in UK link to "Curry Spice & All Things Nice by
Peter & Colleen Grove from the headline page. |
