Indian cuisine is not a single ethnic cuisine; instead, it represents the country's national culinary identity. It consists of the regional and ethnic cuisines native to the Indian subcontinent. Indian food has been influenced by religion, cultural choices and traditions.
Agriculture spread to the Indus Valley Civilisation around 7000 BCE, bringing cereal cultivation. Spices such as turmeric and cardamom were being grown in India by 3,000 BCE. Indian cooking uses simple equipment such as a burner, and labour-intensive processes such as grinding flavourings by hand. Techniques unique to the area include frying of a paste of onion, garlic, and ginger in oil, then browning the meat or vegetables in that oil, and then adding liquid stepwise; and adding fried spices to cooked dishes. Many dishes are specific to India's many religious festivals. Religious faiths influence the region's cuisines, since Hindus often do not eat beef; Muslims avoid pork; and Jains are strict lacto-vegetarians.
History
Indian cuisine reflects an 8,000-year history of groups and cultures interacting with the Indian subcontinent, creating the diversity of flavours and regional cuisines found in modern-day India. After 9000 BCE, a first period of indirect prehistoric contacts between the Fertile Crescent and the Indus Valley seems to have occurred as a consequence of the Neolithic Revolution and the diffusion of agriculture. Around 7000 BCE, agriculture spread from the Fertile Crescent to the Indus Valley, and wheat and barley began to be grown. Sesame and humped cattle were domesticated in the local farming communities. Mehrgarh is one of the earliest sites with evidence of farming and herding in South Asia.UNESCO World Heritage. 2004. ". Archaeological Site of MehrgarhHirst, K. Kris. 2005. "Mehrgarh" . Guide to Archaeology By 3000 BCE, turmeric, cardamom, black pepper and mustard were harvested in India. From around 2350 BCE, evidence for imports from the Indus to Ur in Mesopotamia appears, while cloves from the Moluccas were found in Terqa. Akkadian Empire records mention timber, carnelian and ivory imported from Meluhha, meaning the Indus Valley Civilisation."The wide distribution of lower Indus Valley seals and other artifacts from the Persian Gulf to Shortughaï in the Amu Darya/ Oxus River valley in Badakhshan (northeastern Afghanistan) demonstrates long-distance maritime and overland trade connections until ca. 1800 BCE." in
The Mahabharata mentions rice and vegetable cooked together, and the word "pulao" is used to refer to the dish in works such as Yājñavalkya Smṛti. Filipino cuisine was influenced by Indian cuisine."Philippine Cuisine." Balitapinoy.net . Retrieved July 2011.
Later, arrivals from Arabia, Central Asia,The Cuisine of North India , about.com and centuries of trade relations and cultural exchange resulted in a significant influence on each region's cuisines, such as the adoption of the tandoor in the Middle East from northwestern India.
A major influence was the rule of the Mughal dynasty in India. Mughlai cuisine combined Persian and Hindu cooking, resulting in a range of characteristic dishes such as pilau, biryani, and kebabs. The Portuguese and British during their rule introduced techniques such as baking, and foods from the New World and Europe. New-world vegetables include tomato, potato, sweet potato, peanut, squash, and chilli. The British introduced cauliflower in 1822. Around the end of the 18th century, the Scotsman Robert Lindsay mentions a Sylheti man cooking a curry for his family.
Common approaches
Ingredients
Staple foods of Indian cuisine include pearl millet (bājra), rice, whole-wheat flour (aṭṭa), and a variety of lentils, such as masoor (most often red lentils), tuer (pigeon peas), urad (black gram), and moong (mung beans). Lentils may be used whole, dehusked—for example, dhuli moong or dhuli urad—or split. Split lentils, or dal, are used extensively.
Many Indian dishes are cooked in vegetable oil, but peanut oil is popular in northern and western India, mustard oil in eastern India, and coconut oil in southern India. Gingelly (sesame) oil is common in the south since it imparts a fragrant, nutty aroma. sunflower, safflower, cottonseed, and soybean oils have become popular across India in the 21st century. Hydrogenated vegetable oil, known as Vanaspati ghee, is another popular cooking medium.
The most important and frequently used spices and flavourings in Indian cuisine are whole or powdered chilli pepper (mirch, introduced by the Portuguese from Mexico in the 16th century), black mustard seed (sarso), cardamom (elaichi), cumin (jeera), turmeric (haldi), asafoetida (hing), ginger (adrak), coriander (dhania), and garlic (lasoon). Panch phoron is popular in eastern India. Goda masala is a sweet spice mix popular in Maharashtra. Leaves commonly used for flavouring include bay leaves (tejpat), coriander leaves, fenugreek (methi) leaves, and mint leaves. The use of curry leaves and roots for flavouring is typical of Gujarati and South Indian cuisine.
Cooking techniques
Indian cooking uses simple equipment, but is extremely labour-intensive. Food is cooked over a burner, whether gas or using a traditional fuel such as charcoal or dried cowpats. Pressure cookers are widely used to cook the food more quickly. Two techniques are unique to the region. In one, a paste is made from onion, garlic, ginger and oil, and fried until soft; then the meat or vegetables are browned in that oil; and finally, liquid is added stepwise, stirring all the time, giving a result that in Colleen Taylor Sen's view merges sauteing, stir-frying, and stewing. In the other technique, named variously bagar, chhauk, or takar, spices are fried in ghee or oil, and added to a cooked dish of dal or curry.
Dishes are often accompanied by pickles, made by soaking food such as meat, vegetables, or fruit in vinegar or in concentrated salt water. The equipment used for cooking is often limited, from traditional earthenware pots to modern cast iron or stainless steel vessels such as the two-handled karahi. Herbs, spices and garlic are often crushed with a stone rolling pin or with a pestle and mortar.
National and regional cuisines
Cuisine differs across India's regions and states. The cook Madhur Jaffrey writes that India, larger than Europe (excluding Russia), has cuisines in its states as diverse as those of European countries, while the climates which govern what foods can be grown range from the coconut palm-rich tropical south to the mountains of the Himalayas in the North. Alan Davidson states that there is, all the same, an underlying unity in Indian cuisine, since meals are based on cereal (rice or wheat) accompanied by savoury dishes often containing pulses and vegetables, and carefully applied spices "especially ginger and garlic". Another distinctive feature is India's widespread vegetarianism. Davidson notes that international perception of Indian cuisine is clouded by the fact that Indian restaurants, both in India and abroad, are often operated by Punjabis and people from Bangladesh. Punjabis have for instance helped to make tandoori dishes popular.
Street food
Indian street food varies by region, with specialties particular to the street food of Chennai, of Old Delhi, and of Mumbai among others. Muslim influence in Delhi has resulted in meat snacks such as kebabs, while Kolkata has kati rolls with chicken and egg. Vada pav, a potato dumpling inside a bun, is a characteristic street snack in Mumbai, while idli and sambar is popular in Chennai.
North
In North India, such as in Uttar Pradesh, a main meal is usually wheat bread such as chapatis, dal, and vegetable dishes such as cauliflower; some people may have a meat curry instead of a vegetable. The Indo-Persian technique of dum pukht is widespread in North India. It places meat and vegetables in a pot whose lid is sealed up with dough, and cooks them over a low heat. Kashmir's wazwan banquets feature an array of rich meat dishes of goat, lamb (such as rogan josh), and chicken, but avoid dal.
West
In West India, such as in Maharashtra, meals are served with sweets like shrikhand (a strained yoghurt pudding) and main dishes simultaneously in a thali. The prevalence of Jainism in Gujarat means that most of that state's food is vegetarian, as in the characteristic undhiyu stew of five vegetables. The food historian K. T. Achaya names rice, khichdi with mung beans, vegetable pulao, and flatbreads made with sorghum (jowar), pearl millet (bajra), and maize as widespread in the region. The cuisine of Goa blends Portuguese and Indian influences, with pork curries including vindaloo and sorpotel.
East
In East India, as in West Bengal, fish such as carp, hilsa, and barramundi (bhekti) and sweets such as sandesh (a sweetened milk or cheese dessert) are favoured. Vaishnavite cuisine of Bengal is strictly vegetarian, even avoiding onions. Rice is the state's staple, while mustard is used as an oil, as fried seeds, and as a spicy paste. The classic meal of Bihar is litti chokha, a dish of balls of dough stuffed with sattu black chickpea flour, with spiced vegetables.
South
In South India, steaming is a widespread cooking technique, while coconut is a characteristic ingredient. Most of the South has rice as a staple, but Karnataka's staples are a balance of rice, wheat, and finger millet (ragi). A traditional Karnataka dish is Bisi Bele Bhat, a spiced mixture of lentils, rice, and vegetables.
Diet for religious observations and festivals
The Hindu calendar has many festivals and religious observations, and dishes specific to that festival are prepared.Ferro-Luzzi, G. Eichinger. “Food for the Gods in South India: An Exposition of Data.” Zeitschrift Für Ethnologie 103, no. 1 (1978): 86–108. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25841633.Babb, L. A. (1975). The divine hierarchy: Popular Hinduism in central India. Columbia University Press.pages=137-139
Prasāda and Naivedya
A material offering to a deity is called , it is tasted by the deity and becomes , and the food is then returned as a gift and distributed among the devotees as prasāda; these terms are often used interchangeably. Vaiṣṇava and Śaiva offerings are typically vegetarian, whereas some Śākta practices include non-vegetarian offerings, involving animal sacrifices.
Festival dishes
Hindus prepare special dishes for different festivals. Kheer and Halwa are two desserts popular for Diwali. Puran poli and Gujia are prepared for Holi in different parts of India.
Diet on fasting days
Hindus fast on several days of the year in honour of different gods. Only certain kinds of food are allowed to be eaten during the fasting period. These include milk and other dairy products such as curd, fruit and starchy Western food items such as sago, potatoes, purple-red sweet potatoes, amaranth seeds, nuts and shama millet. Popular fasting dishes include Farari chevdo, Sabudana Khichadi or peanut soup.
Popular fasting dishes include farari chevdo, sabudana khichadi, and peanut soup.
Diaspora and fusion cuisines
The Indian diaspora has spread its culinary traditions throughout the world. These cuisines have been adapted to local tastes, and have affected local cuisines. The international appeal of curry has been compared to that of pizza. Indian tandoor dishes such as chicken tikka enjoy widespread popularity.
Indian Chinese
Indian Chinese cuisine originated in the 19th century among the Chinese community of Calcutta, during the immigration of Hakka Chinese from Canton (present-day Guangzhou) seeking to escape the First and Second Opium Wars and political instability in the region. Upon exposure to local Indian cuisine, they incorporated many spices and cooking techniques into their own cuisine, thus creating a unique fusion of Indian and Chinese cuisine.