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Indian Cuisine
Guides to
Indian Cooking Indian Food
A Melting Pot - Varied Culianry Influences, Aspects of Indian Cuisine, Emperor Ashoka's Influence on Indian Cuisine, History of India - Jai Hind, Indian Cooking Techniques, Indian Curry , Indian Entertaining, Kashmiri Indian Cuisine, Mindful Eating, North Indian Cuisine, North Indian Restaurant Guide, Punjabi Indian Cuisine, Rajasthani Indian Cuisine, Role of Spices in Indian Cooking, Sacred Cow - Symbol of a mother and good nature, South India Cuisine, South Indian Restaurant Guide, Tastes of Western India, The Guest is considered God, The People of India, Uttar Pradesh Cuisine, Why Choose Indian Cuisine, Why India became mostly Vegetarian.
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Indian food
has evolved over centuries and has 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.
We want to share the history and nuances of Indian cuisine so the world may be more
intimate with our cuisine. |
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The different aspects of Indian Cuisine
Indian Cuisine is becoming popular due to its exotic flavors and healthful
preparations. The repertoire of Indian Cuisine is vast and the following are interesting
aspects of the cuisine.
- Cooking according to tastes : There exists no
written recipes in India and the individual is encouraged to orchestrate a dish by using
fresh, seasonal and local vegetables. We use spices sparingly and our foods are not
necessarily hot. Besides spices we use lots of herbs and other natural seasonings to make
our 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 cuisine's 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. |
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Why Indian Cuisine?
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Indian cuisine is gaining popularity around globe. It is easy to prepare, tasty and it's
mainstay is grains which is what people want today. They want meals that are high in
carbohydrates, have ample amounts of a variety of vegetables and contain complete proteins
and sparse amounts of Indian food provides this and more - it also has the health
promoting properties of various herbs, ginger and spices. Yogurt, an accompaniment to
Indian meals introduces good flora (acidophilus) into the digestive system. Many of our
menus are vegetarian, which tend to be more alkaline than non-vegetarian menus. Fresh
fruit follows Indian meals, which also contributes to an alkaline balance.
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Indian cuisine saves time. Many items can be cooked in crockpots,
in a pressure cooker or in electric pans. Beans can be soaked overnight. The whole wheat
dough for chappatis and rotis can be made ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator. Full
menus can be prepared within half an hour. Indian Cuisine is also very easy to prepare and
we have included many easy recipes.
Since traditionally we cook with tastes rather than with recipes, Indian
cuisine has very wholesome tastes designed to satisfy not only the taste buds but also the
human physiology.
Note: Lentils and beans combined with rice or wheat form complete proteins
that have all of the eight amino acids.
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Aspects of Indian cuisine
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The hospitality of the Indians is legendary. In Sanskrit Literature the three famous words
'Atithi Devo Bhava' or 'the guest is truly your god' are a dictum of
hospitality in India. Indians believe that they are honored if they share their mealtimes
with guests. Even the poorest look forward to guests and are willing to share their meager
food with guest. And of particular importance is the Indian host's pride that they will
not let a guest go away un-fed or unhappy from her home. Indians are known for their
incredible ability to serve food to their guests invited or uninvited.
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Spices
Spices are an integral part of Indian food. This does not mean that Indian dishes are
always hot. It does mean that they are well seasoned and aromatic. There are some hot
dishes especially in the South of India, but, overall the dishes of India are skillfully
prepared with the cook having a mastery over the properties of spices and how they are
blended. The cook will use cooling spices as well as warming spices, bland spices as well
as pungent spices, sweet spices as well as hot spices. The cook will also use spices for
color and healthful properties. Most cooks in India also know how to use spices
seasonally. In everyday cooking in India spices are used very sparingly or the dishes are
seasoned with very few spices and are supplemented with fresh herbal seasonings.
Oils
In India, ghee (clarified butter) is favored for frying and seasoning. This is because
it can take very high temperatures without becoming rancid unlike virgin oil or unrefined
cooking oils. Besides ghee, mustard oil is also used in Bengal and coconut oil is used in
the south. Sesame oil is also used especially in sweets.
Condiments
Fresh herbal chutneys, dried fruit chutneys and hot pickles complement an Indian meal.
These small additions to the meal take the Indian menu to a higher level of taste
experience. They lend strong flavor impact to the meal. They also balance tastes as they
are sweet, pungent, hot, and sour all at the same time. the fresh herbal chutneys make the
meal very fresh and tasty. Popular fresh chutneys are cilantro, mint, amla, coconut
chutneys and popular pickles include lime, mango, and eggplant. Indian pickles are
preserved in oil as opposed to vinegar. |
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Click here for subscribing Culinary
Journeys
Indian
Cook Books and their Reviews
Akoori - Scrambled Eggs (Parsi) , Alu Methi - Potato Fenugreek Hash Potato Recipe , Aromatic Chicken with Raisins and Cashews , Asparagus, Peas, and Fenugreek Leaves , Avial - Mixed Veggies Kerala Style , Baingan
Raita or Eggplant Raita Dip Recipe , Besan Ladoo - Indian Cookie Balls , Black Chick Peas in Yogurt Curry , Boondi
Raita Recipe - Great for Entertaining , Carrot Pachadi Kerala Style , Carrot
Pachadi Recipe - Kerla Style , Carrot Potato Dill , Carrot Pudding or Gajjar Halwa , Chicken Curry - Simple and Easy to make , Chicken Jalfrezi , Chicken Tikka Makhani - Butter Chicken , Chicken with Coconut Milk , Chilka Urad Dal with Squash , Cucumber
Raita - Summer Yogurt Salad Recipe , Cucumber,
Garlic and Mint Raita Recipe , Dal Makhani - Black Dal Chili or Mah ki Dal , Date Pistachio (Ladoo) Treats , Eggplant Puree / Baingan Bharta Recipe from Punjab , Fragrant Chori Lentils , Fragrant
White Urad Dal - Dry Pilaf Texture , Goan Fish Curry , Icecream Topped with mango and Pistachios , Indian
Flat Breads and Equipment , Jalebi - Sweet Crispy Swirls , Kala Channa - Black Garbanzo Salad , Karela Subzi - Bitter gourd in Coconut Milk , Kavita's Herbal Salad , Kavita's Kachumber , Kebab Burger Recipe , Lamb Yogurt Curry from Kashmir , Layered Icecream Dessert - Falooda , Louki (Zucchini) Channa Dal , Madras Chicken Curry , Madras Coconut Chicken Curry , Making
dough for Indian Flatbreads , Masala
Bhindi (Okra in Spicy Gravy) , Masoor Dal with Fried Onion Garnish , Mixed
Lentil (Dal) Chili Recipe , Moong Dal Tadka - Yellow Split Moong Lentils , Moong Dal Whole (Green Gram Lentil) , Mung dal flavored with Black Mustards Seeds , Okra cooked Delhi Style , Onion,
Tomato, Cucumber Raita -Yogurt Salad Recipe , Pakoda , Pan Fried Potato Hash with fresh Fenugreek leaves , Pan
Fried Potato Hash with Indian Spices , Pan Sauteed Okra with Cumin , Paneer Corn Curry , Parsi Poro Recipe - Pan Omelet , Potato
Raita -Yogurt Salad Recipe , Potatoes
crusted with Fennel, Mustard and Nigella , Punjabi Kadhi , Punjabi Kidney Bean Curry - Rajmah , Recipe
- Sprouted Moong Dal , Recipe - Steamed Cauliflower , Recipe for Chapati or Roti or Pulka , Recipe for Plain Parantha , Rice
Lentil Medley - India's popular Kedgeree , Sambhar or Lentil Vegetable Stew - South Indian , Shammi
Kebab Recipe , Sheek
(Skewer) Kebab Recipe , Shrimp Curry in Coconut Milk , South
Indian potatoes with Mustard Seeds , Spiced Tomato Dish - Tamatar Bartha Recipe , Spicy Shrimp Curry , Spicy Sweet and Sour Tamarind Coconut Shrimp , Spinach and Paneer - Palak Paneer Punjabi Style , Spinach
Raita - Yogurt Salad Recipe , Spinach with Scallions India's North West Frontier , Spring Greens Bengali Style - Recipe , Spring Vegetable Soup - Recipe , Steamed Carrot and Beans Recipe , Steamed Carrots and Peas Lightly Spiced , Steamed Zucchini Recipe - Indian Style , Stir
Fry Indian Cabbage Vegetable Recipe , Stir Fry Mustard Greens and Spinach Indian Style , Stir Fry Spinach Indian Style , Sweet and Sour Gujarati Tuvar Dal , Sweet and Sour Hubbard or Acorn Squash , Tandoori Salmon Recipe , Vegetable Lentil Medley - Recipe , Vegetables Gujarati Style or Shak , Vegetarian Kebab (4 Spinach and Green Pea Patties) , Vegetarian Tikka Makhani - Butter Chicken , Vermicelli Dessert called Payasam or Kheer , Whole Brown Lentill - Masoor Dal Biryani , Yogurt
with Bananas Raita - Yogurt Salad Recipe .
This
work is dedicated to my mother Shanta who taught me the tenants of Ayurvedic Cuisine and
Knowledge.
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©
1990 to 2001 - Kavita Mehta. All Rights Reserved.
Kavita has been giving classes on Indian Cuisine in Minneapolis for the
past 10 years. She now shares her work on her website for all to enjoy. |
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