An inside look of Indian Cuisine

East Asian Cultures
9 min readJan 18, 2019

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Indian Cuisine Overview

A perfect blend of herbs and spices, with a varied range of grains, vegetables, and meats, sets Indian cuisine a precedent for the foodies from the remote reaches of the world.

As it’s said the cultural diversity of India changes with every 100-mile geographical shift, same is the case with cuisines that induce its influence from every wide gap in climate, people, and their combined effect on the way of treating locally found sources of nutrition.

With a broad history that carries its printed proof since the 16th century of the Mughals arrival and then fusion with overseas trade through the 21st century, narrates the nobility of architecting Indian cuisine to its optimum current state.

If we overlook the damage it bore from the extensive immigration, colonial periods, and Islamic ruler invasions, the Indian subcontinent has gained a vast influence in its cuisine configuration, that makes it tempting and fanciful for the food lovers, worldwide.

As the world witnessed a massive flow of globalization throughout distinct human cravings, Indian cuisine, too, got paint in its widespread force, exchanging cuisine pertinent information with rest of the world, to grease the pathway toward a trend of international cuisines’ food joints.

Every part of a nation has its own set of methods for cooking foods. Wrapping the worldwide available cuisine style in one landmass, India serves a variety of dishes that are too local in either Australia or Brazil or the US, making its cuisine versatile in every possible way.

Misconceptions busted about Indian Food

It’s a common misbelief rooted in the mindset of foreigners that make them dislike Indian food for any reason. But, as a traveler and food enthusiast, you need to bust the myths, to enjoy the finger-licking food experience offered by this land of a billion people.

Indian Food is too hot to consume

Most people prefer another cuisine over Indian because they inherit the widely spread misconception that it’s intolerable to bear the heat of Indian food.

But, in reality, the level of chilly choice is totally up to the customer, and one can adjust the taste preorder. Indians use spices like cinnamon, cardamom, and turmeric to keep food-borne bacteria at bay from order and nutrients spoilage.

Indian Food breaks your dieting routine

Not true at all and makes little sense when we’re dealing with a landmass covering a total geographical area of 1,269,299 sq miles. Whereas some food carries rich, luscious, and anti-dieting ingredients, some are extremely light and rich in fiber and protein.

In fact, thanks to the fusion of spices, Indian food can be a fabulous choice for dieters, for its flavorsome taste.

Indian food makes you ‘Gassy’

The cause of gas differs from person to person. For some, it could be trying a huge variety of distinct foods, while for others it could be dairy products or cruciferous vegetables.

In Indian foods, lentils and chickpeas are mostly blamed for the formation of gas, but it’s totally up to a body how it reacts and adjusts. The matter of the fact is “not all Indian food imparts gas.”

Indians restaurants don’t serve beef

Beef and pork are forbidden for Hindus and Muslims, respectively. In India, the cow is considered a sacred animal, and it is haram to eat pork by Muslims, as stated in their Quran.

If you try restaurants overseas, like in Australia, Indian cuisines readily serve beef. On a side note, McDonald’s has a customized menu for Indian customers, as they try to keep beef out of Indian sight.

Top spices widely used in Indian dishes

What makes Indian food so special in taste is a unique blend of spices. It’s hard to cook the way they do in Indian cuisines, but if you know the key spices they use, you can accomplish the same tantalizing aromas, vibrant colors; and spicy, sweet, and tangy flavors that the Indian foods are mostly known for.

The key to generating exact features, as served in restaurants and Indian homes, is to utilize the mix of spices in an appropriate proportion. To bring out the right flavor, bloom them in oil, butter, or ghee. These spices act not only as a cooking ingredient but also supplements your health benefit. Check out the top spices:

Cumin

For any sort of curry creation, in India, cumin is extensively used as a strong, aromatic spice. It’s available as either seeds or toasted. Because of its sharp taste and flavor, it’s sometimes characterized as warm, earthy, and bitter.

Coriander

It’s described by many people as nutty and fruity. Coriander features in Indian cuisine as a spice and garnishing material. Coriander is the key component in Garam masala, which is the key ingredient to spice up the taste of any dish and soothe an upset stomach.

Ginger

With its homeland in India, ginger is now found in Fiji, Australia, Jamaica, and Indonesia. Gingers are known for generating a delicious and peppery flavor in recipes. The spicy and zesty taste of ginger accounts for its use in stir-fries, baked goods, vegetables, and beverages.

Mustard Seeds

It can be found in many colors, such as black, brown, and yellow. Mustard seeds get the right flavor when they’re crushed, or cooked in oil. Mustard oil is produced from mustard seeds and is commonly found and used in India. The smoky and nutty flavor of mustard seeds enhances the taste of curries.

Turmeric

Whereas in one hand there is a vast health benefit associated with the application of turmeric, it imparts a yellowish color and flavor as its feature to a mix of spices and curries on the other hand. It’s a close relative of ginger and is widely known for its anti-inflammatory properties.

Garam masala

A blend of spices-like coriander, cumin, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg-constitute the garam masala. Acting as a staple for Indian cuisine, garam masala serves the same purpose as de Provence in French cuisine. It’s sensitive to heat and, therefore, is sprinkled at the last moment when the recipe gets almost done.

Black Pepper

Black pepper is primarily native to India. As there need many natural cycles and a fixed amount of rainfall for its production, it takes intense labor work to grow. For the ultimate release of its taste, black pepper needs toasting before blending. It can also be used as the salad dressing, with salt.

Nutmeg and mace

Once the outer covering of nutmeg gets cracked off, mace becomes ready for grating. When it turns dry, it gains a golden-orange tint and adds a hint of warm flavor. Like other spices, nutmeg doesn’t require toasting before blending into spices. Doing so would spoil its flavor.

Top delicious Indian dishes, made for satisfying your appetite

Sarso ka Saag and Makki ki Roti

Sarson Ka Saag and Makki ki Roti complete each other and are inseparable for a fused taste and finger-licking appetite achievement. It’s popular almost in all northern states, with Rajasthan and Punjab as the original state where a true sense of its importance is shared traditionally. To profuse the lust of mouth, white butter, jaggery, or honey work as the best accompaniment.

Pav Bhaji

Evolving from Maharashtra, Pav Bhaji has become one of the most popular vegetarian recipes of India, as it requires minimal time and efforts to cook and taste the best, which all food lovers readily relate their choice with.

This delicious recipe is full of spices and veggies, which make it full of nutrients and popular regardless of age and gender.

All it takes, in extra, for completing a mouth full serve is pav (bun bread) and mint chutney.

Chicken Biryani

Chicken biryani, a pairing of chicken and rice, has permeated the culinary Indian culture, to stretch its aroma around the world.

It’s a mouth-watering savory dish packed with spicy marinated chicken, flavored saffron rice, and caramelized onions.

It’s an intensely aromatic and well-seasoned dish, incorporating veggies, rice, and chicken in such perfect balance that provokes the taste buds of any food lover to extremities. It’s easy to cook, consumes less cooking time than expected, and serves high calorie.

Idli Sambar

Idli and sambar complete each other. Sambar is basically a hot and spicy lentil soup that covers most of the masalas/spices that southern region is loaded with.

Although Idli Sambar, for its tasteful diet, has gained a significant name in the northern part, the taste that homemade masalas create in southern India, beats all practices no matter how hard north Indians try.

Unlike all Indian foods which rely largely on frying in oil, Idli and Sambar are mostly boiled and include a lot of veggies which combine together to surge full the taste and nutrition.

Butter Chicken

Believe it or not, but this Punjabi dish has spread all around India, gaining a prominent place in most Indian kitchens.

Also called Murgh Makhani, it first originated in the early 20th century, to soften the leftover tandoori chicken with tomatoes, butter, and cream.

In India, still bone-in chicken is in wide trend because of the flavor preference; in abroad, boneless chicken is commonly used.

It’s a very easy recipe to cook as it doesn’t require more efforts and cook within 30 minutes.

(recipes for all above dishes are available in the article)

The tremendous power of Indian cuisine: Overview of constitution & Health Aspect

The very first thought that conjures you up about Indian food it is hot, spicy, unhealthy, fatty, greasy, and gas-causing features.

Is it so? No.

Myth busted! Set free the perspective that’s biased and globally accepted. From now, the thing that should emerge in your mind is that Indian foods are nourishing, wholesome, healthy, and full of spices, which have plenty of health benefits and healing powers.

No, don’t listen to those crackpots who have framed such false and fabricated theories about what this vast peninsula offers.

Had they been true, Indians would have extinct. But, are they? They’re over a billion and second most populous land after China.

The health aspect is such a trait that goes unnoticed by all and so, it’s important to be aware of what actually Indian foods offer.

An array of fresh vegetables and fruits fuse in together to form a variety of dish.

These ingredients are cooked using traditional practices that help to retain their freshness and nutrients, unlike that processes-followed in developed countries-that pull the life out of vegetables.

Indians are close to nature and so does the organic method of farming reflect in their cuisine.

Best Indian vegan dishes

Do you also support the vegan movement and prefer to switch to food prepared without the aid of animal products? India, the country with the core of diversity, is a storehouse of innumerable vegan Indian dishes prepared without the use of animal products.

We bring you some of the popular vegan dishes that add equal nutrition and give astonishing savor to your tongue in comparison to the non-vegan dishes.

Have a brief insight into some of the popular vegan Indian dishes:

Rajma- chawal

Rajma is one of the most popular Indian vegan dishes made from red Kidney beans. Eaten with bread/chapati or cooked rice, it is a mouth-watering dish loved by folks of all ages.

The cooking time is usually 45 minutes, but you need to soak the rajma for a few hours before boiling it for around 20 minutes.

After successfully boiling, add the red kidney beans in a gravy of onion, tomato and popular Indian spices like turmeric, dry coriander, salt, red chilli, heeng, etc. It is a highly nutritious dish rich in dietary fibers and protein, with zero cholesterol.

Click here to keep reading and learning about Indian Cuisine

Originally published at https://east-asian-cultures.com on January 18, 2019.

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East Asian Cultures
East Asian Cultures

Written by East Asian Cultures

It’s all about East Asian countries and cultures.

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