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 ndian
food is conquering the world. And why not? India's cuisine is as diverse as
its culture, languages, regions, and climate. Yes it is spicy,
but not always hot. Traditionally cooked with tastes rather than with
recipes, Indian cuisine has very wholesome tastes designed to satisfy
not only the taste buds but also the human physiology.
Indian food has evolved over centuries and has flourished under the many
rulers that India had. Chefs vied with one another to create exotic
delicacies for their Maharajas. The result is centuries
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of
patronage to the art of cooking and a large repertoire of delicious recipes.
Probably India is the only land on earth that boasts of such a wide variety of
vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. Every region of India has its own
unique dishes as well as subtle variations to popular dishes.
Taste of any
Indian dish could not be delightful without the aromatic spices, the
essence of Indian cuisine. Spices such as Coriander, Cumin, Cinnamon,
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Clove,
etc., give Indian food its distinct flavour but the skill lies in the subtle
blending of a variety of spices to enhance the basic flavour of a particular
dish.
Indian
cuisine also uses plenty of milk products like ghee (clarified
butter) and dahi (yoghurt), a variety of dals (lentils) and
regional vegetables. Depending on the region and the season the variety of
vegetables available differ and the way the vegetable is cooked depends on
the main dish being served. For example Sarson ka saag (mustard
greens) is a perfect complement for the Makke ki Roti (corn flat
bread) eaten in Punjab, while sambhar (lentil soup) and coconut
chutney are a staple with idlis (steamed rice cakes) and
dosas (rice pancakes).
Although a number of religions
exist in India, the two most influential to Indian cuisine are
the Hindu and the Muslim traditions. The latter
is most evident in dishes like Mughlai food, Kababs, |
Kormas,
Koftas (meat-balls), Biryani (rice with meats),
Rogan Josh, and barbecued preparations like tandoori rotis
and tandoori chicken, which are made in clay ovens popularly
known as the tandoor. A majority of these are staple foods
in the
North
India, which was mainly
ruled by Mughals.
Hindu cuisine in the North mainly comprises rotis (unleavened flat
bread) or parathas (unleavened fried flat bread), rice and an
assortment of dishes like dals, fried vegetables, curries, chutney, and
pickles.
South Indian cuisine is rice based. Rice is combined with
lentils to make |
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wonderful dosas, idlis, vadas and uttapams. These items
are glorious and delicious besides being nourishing and digestible (due to the
fermenting process). They are combined with sambhar (lentil soup),
rasam (tamarind dal), dry and curried vegetable and pachadi
(yoghurt).
A typical traditional meal in
South India
is served on a banana leaf. Size of the leaf varies from one
community to another. The top half of the leaf is reserved for
accessories, the lower half for the rice. The lower right portion of the
leaf may have a scoop of warm sweet, milky rice payasam,
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should be lapped up quickly. While the top left includes a pinch of salt,
a dash of pickle and a thimbleful of salad, or a smidgen of chutney. In
the middle of the leaf there may be an odd number of fried items like
small circles of chips, either banana, yam or potato, hard round discs of
spiced, ground dal known as VADA, thin papads, or frilly
wafers.
Indians are also renowned for their sweet teeth. In India one can
easily see sweetmeat shops by the roadside. The range of sweets,
which are displayed in these shops, is breathtaking. Fairyland silver and
gold, rich yellow, deep brown, and pale milky white confections are made
from the simplest of ingredients (ghee, milk, sugar) but make the most
unbelievably rich sweet, decadent concoctions. |
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