INDIAN FOOD

A NOTE ABOUT INDIAN FOOD:

Many people only know Indian cuisine, incorrectly as (hot) curries, or by their experience of restaurant dishes that are diluted, formulaic versions of North or South Indian cooking, and have rarely experienced or tasted the subtlety and variety of Indian food that is determined by geography, religion and tradition.

The vast traditions of Indian cuisine has evolved over centuries and flourished under the many rulers that India had. Chefs vied with one another to create exotic delicacies for their rajah's. The result is centuries of patronage to the art of cooking and a large repertoire of delicious recipes

The different aspects of Indian Cuisine

- Cooking according to tastes: There traditionally exists no written recipes in India and the individual is encouraged to orchestrate a dish by using fresh, seasonal and local vegetables. Spices are used sparingly and their foods are not necessarily hot. Besides spices lots of herbs and other natural seasonings are used to make foods sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent and astringent.

- Cultural Influences: Many Indians are vegetarians having been influenced by Buddha (Indian King and founder of Buddhism), Mahavir (founder of Jainism) and King Ashoka. Our cuisine has been influenced by the Aryans settlers, the Arab and Chinese traders and conquerors such as the Persians, Mongolians, Turks, the British and the Portuguese.

- Ayurveda : India's ancient science system, has given India a comprehensive system of health, diet and nutrition. India's cuisine has been shaped by this science. Ayurveda is the common thread that runs through the various sub cultures/regions of India. Otherwise, the cuisine can be vastly different from region to region.

- Diversity: India is a large country, almost the size of Europe, and has a greater diversity of people, language, climate, cultures and religion than almost any country in the world. Consequently, Indian cuisine is also diverse.

- Indian Restaurant Cuisine: Many Indian restaurants around the globe are influenced by North Indian Cuisine. Indian restaurant cuisine has been influenced by Indian chefs that had their culinary training in France. They created a fusion of the two great cuisines by adopting cream sauces in their Indian recipes.
- Royal Kitchens of India: Under the patronage of the rajahs of India the art of food was elevated to a high level of advancement and professionalism. The royal chefs understood the finer points of food, the art of presentation and created exquisite preparations.

Rajasthani cooking was influenced by the war-like lifestyles of its inhabitants and the availability of ingredients in this region. Food that could last for several days and could be eaten without heating was preferred, more out of necessity than choice. Scarcity of water, fresh green vegetables have all effect on the cooking. In the desert belt of Jaisalmer, Barmer and Bikaner, cooks use the minimum of water and prefer, instead, to use more milk, buttermilk and clarified butter. Dried lentils, beans from indigenous plants like sangri, ker, etc are liberally used. Gram flour is a major ingredient here and is used to make major ingredient here and is used. Gram flour is a major ingredient here and is used to make some of the delicacies like khata, gatta ki sabzi, pakosi, powdered lentils are used for mangoli, papad. Bajra and corn is used all over the state for preparations of rabdi, Kheechi and rotis. Various chutneys are made from locally available spices like turmeric, coriander, mint and garlic.