INDIAN CUISINE

History

The history of Indian cuisine dates back to the Harappan and Indus
valley Civilization. Indian cuisine has developed into a fine cuisine with the
influence of foreign cuisines and addition of ingredients that were not native
of our country. India is such a vast country that the style of cooking varies
from region to region. Geography - climate & soil- and local produce have
played a big part in forming religious culinary traditions. Man lived only on
fruits till meat entered their diets. The development of agriculture and
growing of crops changed the diet to a large extent. Tools made of stones
have been found in archaeological sites. These tools were used to collect
food. Many of the Indian food names have been derived from the Sanskrit
language.
During the Harappan period like fruits, crops, meat, oilseeds and
spices were used. Food was stored in huge granaries and weights and
measures were used. The foods were processed by the following methods-
grinding and pounding and many more methods were used. Vessels made
out of silver, gold, copper and tin were used. Salt, spices and sweet foods
made an appearance in the early Vedic times.
Soma- an exhilarating drink was consumed during this time. Water
fruit beverages and cereal- based sweets were also consumed. Kulfi- a cold
sweet was brought to India from Kabul during the Moghul period.
From about 850A.D Arabs traveled to India and they wrote about
Indians abstaining from wine and also the practice of fasting. The Arabs
introduced foods like kheer, halwa, dried fruit and meat. The Europeans
introduced soups, puddings, meats, cheese, tea, coffee, etc.

Religion:
Hindus are a majority in India, with Muslims being the largest
minority. The rest of the population is made up of Christians, Jains, Buddhists,
Sikhs, and Zoroastrians. Hindus offer food and beverages to their Gods to
express their devotion. Each God is offered different types of offerings
according to their preferences. Like-ladoos for Lord Ganesh; butter for Lord
Krishna; etc. Hindus regard the cow as sacred and therefore do not eat beef,
while Muslims do not eat pork. Jains are strictly vegetarians but avoid eating
vegetables grown underground.

TABOO
Slaughtering of cow was banned as Hindus worshipped the cow.
Only after the invasion of the Muslims cows were slaughtered in India.
However the Hindus still don’t beef and pork as it’s against their religion.
The Muslims do not eat pork.
INDIAN CUISINE

India is known for its variety and this variety is due to

diverse nature of its different regions and people. Indian cuisine is based on
three points:
 Choice of ingredients
 Quality and proportion
 Sequence of cooking

Indian cuisine has now developed many regional cuisines: Karnataka,

Kodavas (Coorgi), Hydra bad, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Bengal, Assam, Orissa,
Gujarat, Bohri, Parses, Goan, East Indian, Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan,
Uttar Pradesh.
Very few ingredients are eaten throughout India because of the climate
conditions and seasonal availability of certain ingredients.

NORTH INDIA: Vegetables are available seasonally and the area has fruit
and nut orchards. The soil to the south of Himalayas is very fertile and the
rivers Ganges and Indus irrigate the land. Wheat grows in plenty. Many
varieties of wheat and wheat products are eaten.

SOUTH INDIA: Fish and seafood are in abundant as well as coconut,

bananas, etc. Rice is grown in plenty. Rice is eaten in many forms.

A major part of the Hindus have remained vegetarians. Some vegetables

like mushrooms are not consumed but as days change people are in taking
mushrooms due to its medical values. Christians are influenced by western
food especially in Goa, Pondicherry, etc, as they were affected more by the
westerns.

Different cuisines in India

Indian food reflects the colourful and varied life led by its people as well as
the external and internal influences that have shaped its particular style of
cooking.

The Moghuls, a regal race of Muslims, invaded India from their traditional
homeland in Afghanistan and the Middle East, bringing with them exotic
spices and dry fruits and nuts, which they combined with milk and cream to
concoct “Moghlai Dishes”. These are among the finest in Indian regional
cuisine.
During their journey to India via Persia (Iran), the Moghuls adapted
the much, admired Persians cooking to their own style and later introduced
this into India. They then settled in Northern India and made Moghlai
Cuisine famous throughout the country. Dishes cooked in this particular
style with their delicately flavoured, rich, smooth sauces, include kormas,
pasandas and wonderfully fragrant biriyanis and pilaus, all of which have
become extremely popular both in India and the west.

The Kashmiris, use saffron and other rare condiments, giving Indian
sweets a festive touch. Kashmirians are mainly vegetarians, though most
will eat the beautiful fresh fish found along the vast coastline. They use lot
of fruits in their cooking as it is grown in plenty in Kashmir.

The Parsis, as they are called in India, originated from a group of Persians
who came to India 13 centuries ago to make their homes in Gujarat. They
adapted to the rich and varied culture they found there, but made their own
particular contribution to the Indian culinary world. A fine example of their
contribution is the Dhansak style- chicken or mutton cooked with lentils
and spices and served with brown rice.

Bohri Muslims, these are disciples of Abdullah, a missionary of the 11th

century AD, and converts from Hinduism. Even their vegetable
items are distinctive.

Jains, they do not eat root vegetables. Some of them do not eat even
flowers and some do not use tomatoes and beetroot as they look
like blood. They do not eat after sunset and they are strict
vegetarians.

Goan cuisine is an extraordinary amalgam of Portuguese and local

sensibilities, mainly those of the Hindus. They use vinegar,
tamarind, seafood and toddy liberally.

Karnataka, rice plays a vital role their cuisine. Wheat and ragi also plays a
major role in Karnataka. Ghee, coconuts, mustards, sugar and
spices.

The Kodavas are from Kodagu district of southern Karnataka, rice meats,
tamarind sesame seeds are among the few which are commonly used in
their cooking.

Hyderabad is known for their flair in Muslim cuisine. They use lots of
mutton and other meats. They use lots of masalas and wheat products.
Their food is basically spicy and oily.

Kerala, lots of boiled and red rice is used in their diet. They eat lot of
seafood, jackfruits, mangoes, jaggery, coconut oil and coconuts. The
Christians eat lots of beef and pork products. The Muslims of kerala are
called Moplah. The food what they serve is called Moplah cuisine.
Chettinad, the chettiar community of Tamil Nadu serves this cuisine. This
cuisine is spicy and the main ingredients are coconut, black pepper,
coriander seeds and they use freshly ground masalas for all their
preparations. They do not make their powders or gravies well in advance.

Bengal, they use mustard oil, fish potato, cashew nuts and all the
vegetables. They use lots of sesame seeds both white and black,
and mustard in their diet. Their staple diet is rice. They have a
sweet tooth and are known world wide for their sweets.

Assam, they use the usual pulses and other sweets made out of pulses.
They had a taboo to eat duck and wild games. Pork was allowed in
their diet. They use lots of green vegetables and tubers in their
meal.

Orrisa, they mainly use rice, wheat and barley. They normally pour water
in leftover rice and have the next day along with brinjal curry or
fish curry.

Gujarat is mostly filled with vegetarians, as the influence of Jainism is very

strong. Jains don’t vegetables grown under the ground and flower items.
They don’t even eat pulses, which are split into two. They don’t eat after
sunset also.

Rajasthan, They use lot of fried dry products like sev, papads etc; in their
diet. Wheat, bajra and jowar are their staple diet. They lot of moong dal
and besan for preparing many of their dishes. Many of their sweets are
pulses based.

Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, The flour of roasted pulses and barley grits are
eaten with salt and sugar. Rice, wheat, barley and roasted ragi are included
in their diet. Lots of milk and milk products, dry fruits are used.

CURRY
It is a common misconception, however, that everything that is
spicy is a curry. The word curry means sauce. Dry spiced Indian dishes
cannot be called curries. Dishes have their own identifying terms. For
example- a vegetable dish that has no gravy is known as a bhaji, while the
food cooked by the dum method, which creates little or no gravy, is simply
referred to with the style of cooking, like dum aloo.

SPICES
Spices are the main ingredients for Indian cookery. Whole spices have a
different taste from ground spices, and when the spices are dry roasted
they taste entirely different again. Simple dishes may have just one or two
spices, whereas more elaborate dishes might involve 10 or 12. By adding
spices in different ways, the entire taste of the dish can be changed.
In India, spices are normally bought whole and then ground for daily
use on a grinding stone with a little water, if needed dry, a mortar or a
pestle is used. In modern world both wet pastes and dry powders are
readily available in the market. They are stored in airtight containers as
they lose their flavours very quickly.
Spices usually add taste and texture to the dish. They integrate
totally into the sauce or gravy and cannot be identified at the end of the
cooking process: e.g.– asafetida, ginger, garam masala and most ground
ingredients. Condiments generally add flavour to the dish. They normally do
not blend when they are added whole so they are removed after they have
imparted the flavour. e.g.– whole red chillies, whole cardamom.
Spices are usually freshly ground just before cooking to ensure
that the best possible results are obtained. In many cases meat is
marinated overnight in the spice mixture so that the spices have a chance
to reach the innermost “grain” of the meat. Careful and correct use of
previously ground and stored spices, if a few tips and hints are followed will
produce perfectly good results.
Once the spices to be used are selected, the cook is faced with several
options–
a) The quantity of the spice used
b) Which of these spices to roast and grind
c) In what sequence to add these spices to the dish

Even if only three spices are chosen, it is still possible to concoct dozens of
different flavours! Obviously only a few of these have found through the
generations, but this point serves to illustrate the vast number of
combinations that is possible.

Techniques of preparing and cooking Indian food

Maintaining the delicate balance of spice mixing is an art, which can be
acquired with a little care and imagination. The taste given to any dish by
the spices depends on their combination and on the method of cooking
used. The same basic spices used in different combinations and with
different methods of cooking, will produce a dramatically different taste.
The combinations are varied, but the best results can be achieved by
following the simple guidelines below:

(i) Preparation for Cooking

a) Preparing spices:
In India, spices are usually freshly ground before
cooking each meal, as this ensures the best results. However, it is not
always possible for today’s busy cook to follow this method. Careful and
 correct use of ready ground or home ground, stored spices will produce
perfectly delicious results.
Clean the spices; remove any debris, stalks and pieces of grit. Heat a cast
iron or any other heavy bottomed pan without fat, and roast spices gently
until the aroma comes. Allow the spices to cool and grind it to a fine
powder, store it in an airtight container. Whole spices are also use directly
for tempering to avoid a strong flavour of them to impart to the food.

b) Onion paste

Heat oil in a pan and fry sliced onion in medium heat. When they
turn golden brown in colour, remove them cool and grind them to a fine
paste. They are used for many types of gravy in Indian cuisine. Whole
onion is boiled along with bay leaf, cloves and peppercorns for 15
minutes, strained and made to a fine paste and used in white gravy
based dishes.

c) Usage of yogurt

Yogurt is used many Indian dishes. It softens the meat and

allows it to cook properly, it tenderizes the flesh, Adds a subtle taste to
the dish. Used for fermentation of the dough naturally. Yogurt should
always be whisked until smooth and strained before using to avoid
lumps and give a better finish to the gravy.

d) Tomatoes in Indian kitchen

Tomatoes can be use din so many ways. They can be

boiled and made to a puree, it can be blanched deskinned and
deseeded and chopped.
It can cut and sautéed and cooked, it can be eaten raw with some
seasonings.

(ii) Techniques

a) Braising (Korma)
This is one of the most important techniques in Indian
cooking. Korma is essential braised meat or vegetables, cooked using
only a minute quantity of liquid. Traditionally, a korma is made by very
slowly cooking, and hot charcoal is placed on the lid of the pot to ensure
that even distribution of heat is maintained from both directions.
Authentically kormas are made with good aromatic stocks or yakhni

b) Pot steaming (the dum method)

 This method is similar to western pot– roasting. Here the dish
is cooked over charcoal and hot live charcoal is places on top of the lid.
The lid is sealed with atta dough which is lightly more sticky, to prevent
any loss of steam. The food is not stirred during cooking.

c) Tempering (Tadka)

It simply means crackling of spices in hot oil. These are then

incorporated into the dish after it has been cooked. Sometimes, only
whole spices like mustard seeds, cumin seeds are used, and
sometimes finely chopped onions garlic is added along with the whole
spices in tempering.

d) Tandoori cooking

The word tandoor means clay oven and all food cooked in
tandoor ids referred to as tandoori food. Tandoor is a cylindered pot in
which charcoal is placed at the bottom and the food is cooked by being
placed inside the pot in a skewer or it is stuck to the walls of the pot.
Ant thing cooked in a tandoor as a peculiar taste and aroma of the clay
pot and the charcoal, which is its specialty also.

Cooking utensils and equipment

Traditionally, cast iron and earthenware pots and pans were

used. Nowadays lot of vessels like stainless steel, ceramic, Teflon etc; are
used. Grinding stones were used to make paste or powders before, now we
have mixies and grinders.

Planning and serving an Indian meal

An Indian meal consists of several dishes. Traditionally the men eat first
and then the women of the house eat. The women of the house serve each
course individually. In some customs the food is placed in the center and
everybody sit around it and eat together. The food (rice or roti) is normally
served in large plates called thali, and the accompaniments in small bowls
called katoris.
 ASSIGNMENT

1. Find out at least 5 dishes with explanation for each region.

2. Difference between any 3 cuisines.
3. One question on this topic.
4. Pictures of different methods of cooking and different equipment used
in Indian cuisine
5. Pictures and a small explanation of ingredients used in various
cuisines of India.