The food of India is varied and comes from mixing different cultures; the flavors depend on the great variety of spices and vegetables that the country has. Hindus do not touch food with their left hand as it is a dirty hand. They also do not chop anything with their teeth or take more than a proper bite into their mouths.
Summary
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- 1 Its Ingredients
- 1 Agriculture
- 2 India, its divisions
- 1 Northern
- 2 The Southern kitchen
- 3 The food
- 4 The Sacred
- 5 Traditions
- 6 Curry
- 7 Its Inhabitants
- 8 Sources
Its ingredients
The main ones are rice , whole wheat flour for breads, legumes (lentils and chick peas), curries, peanut, mustard, coconut and, lately, sunflower and soybean oils. The most commonly used condiments are cumin, cardamom, coriander (coriander seed), mustard, and chili. The ‘garam masala’ is a widely used mixture made up of cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and black pepper . There are other mixtures based on chili, ginger , [[sesame, bay leaf, fennel and turmeric.
- They use the fresh leaves of a native bush called curry, which provide a pungent and pungent flavor and, perhaps for this reason, confusion was created with that commercial mixture also called curry. The ‘chapati’ is a bread made with whole wheat flour dough , in 12 cm discs, cooked on the griddle or in the pan, which are put on direct heat and inflated.
- Goa is a state on the west coast of India and its cuisine originates from fish and seafood. It is a region with Portuguese influence, which remained for more than 400 years, unlike the other regions dominated by the Muslims and the English. Bengal, located on the eastern coast of India, meanwhile, has a cuisine with a long tradition based on seafood, grains, fish and rice . Despite so much immigration , they keep their original recipes, with mustard-based sauces and other mixtures of different spices.
The Agriculture
Potatoes that arrived in the 16th century, paprika and tomato are essential. Agriculture is the base of the economy, with abundant production of rice, wheat, millet and sorghum. The production of barley, corn, tea, coffee, sugar cane, cotton and sesame is also important. Gujarati cuisine uses sugar as a condiment, defends the tradition of recipes that are passed down from generation to generation, and uses a lot of the ‘tempering’ technique, which consists of extracting the flavors of spices and stir-fried herbs in ‘ghee’ (butter clarified), those that are immediately transferred to meals. Punjab is a very fertile region of India, located in the north-western state on the border with Pakistan.. The most important mixture of spices in that region is called ‘masala’, made from onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric, coriander, cumin and tomato.
Knowing India through its cuisine reveals the common trait to all the multiple aspects of its culture. Authentic Hindu traditions have a single source of inspiration, the Vedas, which are the holy books.
India stands out among all for its “curries” known throughout the world, but the diversity of dishes that reflect its geography is wide.
India, its divisions
Northern
that of the north, the best known in the Hindu restaurants in the world, influenced by Mughals and Muslims , with the consumption of meat, such as goats , lambs , chickens, never cows since it is considered sacred throughout the territory, typical preparations such as ” tandooris ”(the meats are macerated in yogurt and spices then cooked at high temperatures) made in the“ tandoor ”ovens, the koftas (spicy meatballs), kormas (meats cooked together with yogurt and fruit or nut sauces ), the garam masala (mixture of spices), roti (breads), chapati (flat bread), etc .; using ghee (clarified butter) as the base fat of all cooking.
Southern cuisine
that of the South, with areas such as Bengal, Gujarat, Tamil, Nadu, Goa with predominantly vegetarian preparations, using grains and legumes, spices and condiments such as chili peppers, coconut milk, tamarind, cinnamon, curry leaves, etc … The basic fatty medium is oil, not ghee, although it is frequently steamed. All those preparations called dhal, a mixture of legumes and spices, are also very common (although the word dhal designates peas, such as Greek lentils, black beans, mung, and fiery vindaloo (meats spiced and marinated in wine and vinegar .
Food
the Vedic tradition, begin with very nutritious breakfasts, with chickpeas, puris, chutneys, ginger, … continuing with lunch as the strongest meal of the day, with rice, dhal, chapatis, …, a whole set of preparations in combination that ensure good digestion, providing energy and health. End the day with a lighter dinner than lunch, with chutneys, vegetables, salty hors d’oeuvres, sweet and bread.
Very spicy food favors perspiration and therefore heat loss, combining extra-spicy preparations with fresh fruits or raita as morigerante.
Rice, especially basmati, grown at the base of the Himalayas, is also widely used as a garnish.
A series of prohibitions, based on religious and cultural motives, weigh over the whole of India, the first prohibition directly affects meat, prohibiting the consumption of meat of: pork, cow and monkey.
The sacred
Considered as sacred cow and impure pig and monkey .
Traditions
According to the branches of Hinduism and Islamism, these prohibitions vary, for example, for Jainism, killing a minimum insect would be considered an aberration, extreme vegetarians; others avoid the consumption of eggs (because they contain the germ of life), they can also go to extremes of not eating tubers to avoid damaging underground insects or even consuming tomatoes due to the blood color of their skin and pulp.
As for the utensils used for the consumption of the preparations, the fingers are used, only those of the right hand, since the left hand is considered impure, which should not even touch the food container containers.
Curry
Curry.jpeg
The word curry , which in a way identifies Hindu cuisine, derives from Tamil: KARI (means sauce), which by phonetic deviation of the English derived in curry. All curries involve the balanced grinding of various spices, especially spicy and aromatic, modifying their formula according to each family, religion, cook, etc., it can integrate up to 17 components, the best known curry is garam massala (which differs of the rest of the curries because their ingredients are toasted), but a curry can be based on: cinnamon, coriander, cumin , cloves, cardamom and black pepper, depending on the proportions according to the taste of each one.
The massala or curries can be dry, like the previous ones, or wet, in this case they are part of the preparation, apart from the spices, vinegars, herbs, and hot oil.
All curries must include turmeric in its preparation, which gives it its characteristic color. Besides, it can have grated ginger, coconut, tamarind, saffron, garlic, nutmeg, chillies, or cayenne, etc. …
Yogurt is one of the base ingredients, which helps to soften the preparations, especially in the raita preparations (fresh salads seasoned with yogurt.
Their habitants
In general, the standard of living of the inhabitants is very precarious, hence the reason for their meals, the use of milk by-products such as ghee, yogurt or a few cheeses, this does not need cold maintenance and is carried out On a daily basis, spicy preparations, the use of marinades, curries, etc., help to maintain a balance between the population and natural selection.
All Hindu cuisine service is carried out on banana leaves, or on large tahalí trays where the katori (small bowls that contain the various preparations that comprise a meal) are arranged.
Each meal consists of a varied series of preparations that are accompanied with tea.
