Indian Food History

Indian cuisine consists of a variety of regional and traditional cuisines native to India.

Given the diversity in soil, climate, culture, ethnic groups, and occupations, these cuisines vary substantially and use locally available spices, herbs, vegetables, and fruits.

Indian food is also heavily influenced by religion, in particular Hinduism and Islam, cultural choices and traditions.

Historical events such as invasions, trade relations, and colonialism have played a role in introducing certain foods to this country.

The Columbian discovery of the New World brought a number of new vegetables and fruit to India.

A number of these such as potatoes, tomatoes, chillies, peanuts, and guava have become staples in many regions of India.

Indian cuisine has shaped the history of international relations; the spice trade between India and Europe was the primary catalyst for Europe's Age of Discovery.

Spices were bought from India and traded around Europe and Asia. Indian cuisine has influenced other cuisines across the world, especially those from Europe (especially Britain), the Middle East, Southern African, East Africa, Southeast Asia, North America, Mauritius, Fiji, Oceania, and the Caribbean.

Indian cuisine reflects an 8,000-year history of various groups and cultures interacting with the Indian subcontinent, leading to the diversity of flavors and regional cuisines found in modern-day India.

Later, trade with British and Portuguese influence added to the already diverse Indian cuisine.

Foods mentioned in ancient Indian scripture

While many ancient Indian recipes have been lost in history, one can look at ancient texts to see what was eaten in ancient and prehistoric India.

Barley—(known as Yava in both Vedic and Classical Sanskrit) is mentioned many times in Rigveda and other Indian scriptures as one of the main grains in ancient India

Betel leaf—primary use is as a wrapper for the chewing of areca nut or tobacco, where it is mainly used to add flavor; may also be used in cooking, usually raw, for its peppery taste

Breadfruit—fritters called jeev kadge phodi in Konkani or kadachakka varuthath in Malayalam are a local delicacy in coastal Karnataka and Kerala

Chickpeas—popular dishes are made with chickpea flour, such as mirchi bajji and mirapakaya bajji

Curd—a traditional yogurt or fermented milk product, originating from the Indian subcontinent, usually prepared from cow's milk, and sometimes buffalo milk, or goat milk

Figs—cultivated from Afghanistan to Portugal, also grown in Pithoragarh in the Kumaon hills of India; from the 15th century onwards, also grown in areas including Northern Europe and the New World

Ghee—a class of clarified butter that originated in ancient India, commonly used in the Indian subcontinent, Middle-Eastern cuisine, traditional medicine, and religious rituals

Grape wine—first-known mention of grape-based wines in India is from the late 4th-century BC writings of Chanakya

Honey—the spiritual and supposed therapeutic use of honey in ancient India was documented in both the Vedas and the Ayurveda texts

Mango—the Jain goddess Ambika is traditionally represented as sitting under a mango tree

Mustard—brown mustard is a spice that was cultivated in the Indus Valley civilization and is one of the important spices used in the Indian subcontinent today

Pomegranate—in some Hindu traditions, the pomegranate (Hindi: anār) symbolizes prosperity and fertility, and is associated with both Bhoomidevi (the earth goddess) and Lord Ganesha (the one fond of the many-seeded fruit)

Rice—cultivated in the Indian subcontinent from as early as 5,000 BC

Rice cake—quite a variety are available

Rose apple—mainly eaten as a fruit and also used to make pickles (chambakka achar)

Saffron—almost all saffron grows in a belt from Spain in the west to Kashmir in the east

Salt—considered to be a very auspicious substance in Hinduism and is used in particular religious ceremonies like house-warmings and weddings; in Jainism, devotees lay an offering of raw rice with a pinch of salt before a deity to signify their devotion, and salt is sprinkled on a person's cremated remains before the ashes are buried

Sesame oil—popular in Asia, especially in Korea, China, and the South Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu, where its widespread use is similar to that of olive oil in the Mediterranean

Sorghum—commonly called jwaarie, jowar, jola, or jondhalaa, sorghum is one of the staple sources of nutrition

Sugar—produced in the Indian subcontinent since ancient times, its cultivation spread from there into modern-day Afghanistan through the Khyber Pass

Sugarcane—the earliest known production of crystalline sugar began in northern India; the earliest evidence of sugar production comes from ancient Sanskrit and Pali texts

Turmeric—used widely as a spice in South Asian and Middle Eastern cooking

Over 10,000 years of history, India has been influenced mainly by Hindu and Muslim traditions when welcomed a multitude of settlers with different and a wide variety of belief traditions, systems.

For us, in order to understand the evolution of Indian Cuisine, it is an impetus to realize the fact that India is a homogenous country after all.

But still, the Persians, The English, and the Portuguese had also contributed a bit in certain parts of this country with their kitchen aspects at a certain point in history.

Till now and as of today, a large and wide portion of the cultural fabric of Indian food is usually made up of a variety of regions and religions.

The first and foremost thing that comes into mind the moment we think of Indian Cuisine is definitely the spicy flavors of the biryani (layered rice and meat dish), spices in the gravy curry dishes, and the fresh vegetables.

Sticking to the truth, it is the most obvious and characteristic thing always taking into consideration the vastness, enormity, and immensity of this country.

Also the wide but different styles according to the numerous regions, make the Indian Cuisine so special and famous.

Some people even have a thought that it's the smell of the Indian spices that got the British attracted to India and the Indian Cuisine.

India has a mixed and fused trend from outside with those of each corner which has given rise to the Indian Cuisine we are aware of today.

There are numerous areas and parts within India that have their own unique cooking methods, local spices, and ingredients.

This comes in with that combination of flavors, variety of textures, and different forms as the diversity of its food is as diverse as its culture and billions of people belonging to different regions.

Spices of Índia and their medicinal benefits

The dishes in the Indian Cuisine, mostly all are seasoned with ground spices (combination to make dressing called masala) and dressed with masala to enhance the flavor and aroma of the dishes.

The frequently and one of the most used spices in Indian Cuisine is Curry, where it is a blended mixture of spices such as coriander, cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, saffron and poppy seeds.

We are all well known for the fact that this curry is often referred to as a dish even in the festive menu.

The aromatic herbs and condiments complement each other in the dishes when used in combination also have a great and high medicinal value, calling them Ayurvedic for prolonging life.

One of the spices with the most medicinal value is the Black Pepper (also known as black gold in ancient India), widely used in the Indian Cuisine blended, mixed with other herbs, oils, and condiments helping to eliminate certain discomfort.

A lot of rice is used in Indian Cuisine along with legumes such as toor (chickpeas) or chana dal, moong (black and green lentils), urad dal.

Chana is used as a flour called dhuli urad or dhuli moong and bread are usually made with a particular type of whole wheat flour.

Flatbreads like paratha, roti, pulka, chapati are cooked on Tawa (grill) and bread-like kulcha, naan, khakhra are cooked on Tandoor which is a cylindrical oven that is heated with charcoal.

Other known bread-like bhatura and puri are fried in oil.

The famous and delicious Punjabi tandoori chicken is also prepared in the tandoor.

Milk (It’s derivatives)

A highlight ingredient to mention in Indian Cuisine is the milk along with its derivatives such as yogurt (curd) and ghee (clarified butter).

Few Indian curry dishes are mixed or seasoned with yogurt or some sugar or some masalas or spice mixes to get that extra delicious flavor. 

Food offerings to god

As a part of the ritual, Indians usually offer vegetarian food to Gods in the temples.

For instance, lord Krishna from the Krishna Matha temple in Udupi is offered with Udupi-style vegetarian cooking food called the practice of naivedya (naivedyam).

The chefs who prepare and cook these dishes for lord Krishna use a mixture of spices such as the popular garam masala which is also a tradition in the kitchen.

Indians loved drinks

One of the most popular and loved drinks in Indian Cuisine is definitely tea.

On the other hand, usually, Southern part inhabitants prefer coffee over tea. In most of the street stalls, you can find the famous aromatic masala chai (tea), popularly known as spicy milk tea with sugar simmered together.

Other loved summer and thirst filling drinks are a kind of lemonade called Nimbu Pani, slush cream (battered curd or yogurt with sugar blended) called Lassi, Indian beer, and coconut milk eaten directly from the fruit. 

Also, the national gin is of good quality and taste is quite famous. Undoubtedly, the national drink and also the popular drink in Indian Cuisine is the milk-sweetened tea called Lassi.

There is a lot of importance of desserts in Indian Cuisine and it is worth tough.

The desserts often include a variety of fresh fruits with custard salad having an excellent delicacy.

Also sweets such as rasgullas, jalebi, caramelized lentils are popular and quite frequently served with the cuisine. Ice creams such as Kulfi is also included in the cuisine for sure for its delicious taste.

Indian cuisine prominence

Throughout the world, Indian Cuisine has its own popularity and is well prominent as it spread widely starting from England, British officials who even opened restaurants offering exotic dishes.

The emigration of families from Bangladesh to London is known and this caused the opening of Indian restaurants in the areas of London and other countries making them famous for their restaurants serving Indian Cuisine.