Indian cuisine

Indian cuisine is not a single ethnic cuisine but the national culinary identity of India, made up of the regional and ethnic cuisines of the Indian subcontinent. It is built on cereals, pulses, vegetables and a wide range of spices, and its influence has spread across Asia, the Middle East, Britain and many other countries.

History

Archaeological evidence points to the arrival of agriculture in the Indus Valley around 7000 BCE, spreading from the Fertile Crescent with wheat and barley, while sesame and humped cattle were domesticated locally. By 3000 BCE, turmeric, cardamom, black pepper and mustard were being harvested in India. From around 2350 BCE there is evidence of trade with Mesopotamia, and Akkadian records mention timber, carnelian and ivory imported from Meluhha, a name usually identified with the Indus Valley Civilisation.

The Mahabharata mentions rice and vegetables cooked together, and the word pulao appears in works such as the Yājñavalkya Smṛti, which documents an antecedent of the rice dishes still common today. Centuries of trade and arrivals from Arabia and Central Asia left their mark on regional kitchens. Under the Mughal dynasty, Mughlai cuisine combined Persian and Hindu cooking, producing dishes such as pilau, biryani and kebabs.

The Portuguese and the British introduced baking techniques and New World foods, among them tomato, potato, sweet potato, peanut, squash and chilli, which the Portuguese brought from Mexico in the 16th century. The British introduced cauliflower in 1822. During colonial rule, Anglo-Indian cuisine emerged as an eclectic style that British officials learned from their Indian cooks. In 1810 the Hindoostanee Coffee House opened in London, which is considered Britain's first Indian restaurant. The cuisine then spread through Britain, where balti cooking in Birmingham grew popular in the 1970s, and later to the United States, Canada, Australia and Ireland, whose first Indian restaurant opened in Dublin in 1908.

Culture

Indian meals are usually built around a cereal, rice in the south and east and whole-wheat bread in the north, served with pulses in the form of dal, vegetables, pickles and sauces. Pulses are essential: they are eaten whole, split or ground into flour, and chickpeas are cooked for breakfast or turned into besan. Dairy products such as milk, paneer, yoghurt and ghee are widely used in the north, while coconut and curry leaves are characteristic of the south. Cooking fats also vary by region: mustard oil in the north and east, peanut oil in the west and coconut oil in the south, with sunflower and soybean oils gaining ground in the 21st century.

A characteristic technique begins with a paste of onion, garlic and ginger fried in oil, followed by browning the meat or vegetables in that oil and adding liquid gradually. Many dishes finish with spices fried in ghee or oil and poured over the cooked food, a method known by names such as tadka or chhauk. Spices are often crushed by hand with a stone mortar, and garam masala, a blend of five or more spices, is among the best-known mixes.

Religion shapes the table. Many Hindu communities avoid beef, Muslims do not eat pork, and Jains and Vaishnavites follow strict lacto-vegetarian diets. Festivals have their own dishes, such as kheer and halwa for Diwali or puran poli and gujia for Holi. Fasting days allow foods such as sago, potatoes and milk, and sabudana khichadi is a popular fasting dish.

Tea is the most widespread drink, and masala chai is boiled with milk and spices. Coffee is especially popular in the south, while lassi and coconut milk are everyday drinks. Among alcoholic drinks are beer and fenny, a Goan liquor distilled from coconut or cashew apple. Today Indian food is found in most large cities around the world, and it remains part of daily life in Indian homes, from the idli and dosa breakfasts of the south to the chaat street snacks of the north.

Trivia