India

Geographic position

The Republic of India is situated in southern Asia and it covers the majority of the Indian sub-continent. India borders on Pakistan, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar while it is surrounded to the south by the Indian Ocean, where its nearest neighbours are Sri Lanka and the Maldives. The largest urban centres are Mumbai in the southeast and Calcutta on the River Ganges.

Each region contributes to the developed culinary tradition with its specificities, and those who know say that the secrets lie in the abundance of spices and herbs.

India is a country of great variety and diversity, beginning with the magnificent Himalayas in the north, across the wondrous “holy” River Ganges, the bare deserts of Rajasthan, Punjaba (the land of five rivers) to the lush greenery of Keral. Like its landscape, India also abounds in diverse climatic areas, as well as religions, races and languages.

Historical influence

The diversity of Indian cuisine is the result of the diversity of its population and its historical influence. For centuries, each new wave of immigrants, traders and conquerors left behind new culinary practices which, over time, assimilated into the Indian cuisine we know today.

The dominant influences on Indian cuisine came from the Arab and Chinese traders and the Persian, Mongolian, Turkish, British and Portuguese conquerors.

Characteristics of the cuisine

India is a nation of extremes, that amazes with its grandness and unpredictability. The only thing predictable about India is that it will not leave you indifferent. The same is true for Indian cuisine, which has a tradition dating back 3000 years. The course of time, new religions and ideas, the influences of immigrants and conquerors, new ingredients and products, resulted in amazing contrasts, like those of the Indian peninsula itself.

The dominant influences on Indian cuisine came from the Arab and Chinese traders and the Persian, Mongolian, Turkish, British and Portuguese conquerors.

Stretching from the snowy mountains of Cashmere, the dense greenery of southern Keral, the deserts of Rajasthan to the west, across the scattered tribal regions of the Assama on the border with Myanmar, India encompasses enormous diversity of climatic and natural influences. Each region contributes to the developed culinary tradition with its specificities, and those who know say that the secrets lie in the abundance of spices and herbs.

In India, spices are used to refresh and warm, and are also beneficial to the organism. Turmeric, cardamom, pepper and mustard were already in use 3000 years before Christ. At about the same time, rice was introduced along the mouth of the River Ganges, and today India is a nation which uses rice to fee two of the world’s largest religions, Hindu and Buddhism.

Despite the differences, there is a common denominator to all Indian cuisines. The foundations of Indian cuisine are the cereals - rice, wheat, corn or proso, depending on the region, and these are eaten with lentils or beans (dal), vegetables, aromatic marinades and chutney. Additions include meat dishes, poultry, fish, yogurt and coconut. Generally speaking, rice is primarily the main dish in the north, while Gujarat and Rajasthan are dependent on proso and corn.

Culinary specificities

In the far north lies the magical land of Kashmir. The valley of Kashmir, ringed by the Himalaya Mountains, is a forested area of lakes, trees and gardens and home to the Tibetan antelope, whose wool is used to make the famous cashmere scarves. There the almond trees grow in March, the chinar in April, strawberries and cherries abound in May, apricots in June and the pomegranate and pear blossom in August.

Nested in the Himalayas, Kashmir relies on the Srinigar Valley for the production of its agricultural products. The food of Kashmir is characterised by a subtle blend of spices, particularly saffron, and the use of asafoetida, a resin that gives food flavour and aids digestion.

The best known specialties include lamb marinated in yogurt, mutton cooked in milk and flavoured with nutmeg, the rich meat curry and the famous Goshtabu or cooked meatloaf. A Kashmir wedding is incomplete without Mishani or a 7 course lamb meal. A large selection of breads, leavened and unleavened, are an essential part of every Kashmir meal.

The plains of the Ganges in the central and eastern part of India form a belt where the staples are rice and cereals, though proso and corn are occasionally consumed. A normal meal in this region consists of an abundance of rice and vegetables fried with spices, dala, unleavened bread, full-fat yogurt and milk-based desserts. Chutney and marinades are a typical accompaniment to dishes, while fruit is consumed seasonally. Chutney is an aromatic, sweet-sour sauce in Indian cuisine. It has a pulpy appearance and is made of pieces of fruit and vegetables. The sweet-sour flavour comes from adding sugar and lemon juice or vinegar.

Salt, pepper, coriander, oriental cumin and turmeric can be added to chutney, while chilli or fresh ginger can also be added. Chutney is prepared by cooking, similar to marmalade, and it is served as an accompaniment to curry dishes, in order to give the sharply seasoned food additional aroma.
Meat and fish are primarily consumed by the upper middle class and are not a common part of the diet, except in the east and northeast.

The east , with the Bay of Bengal, its lakes and rivers, is the region where fish is most consumed, and the eastern belt of India, with its fertile alluvial land, is also the region of the greatest rice production.

There are two different types of cuisine in Bengal. Eastern Bengal prefers fish from the larger rivers, where in the west, Calcutta receives food from the lakes and river fjords. Hilsa, a fish from the herring family, is the most popular fish of this region, despite its many small bones. Bengal is well known for its use of mustard and poppy seeds. Mustard is used not only as a spice, but is used to obtain oil which flavours Bengali cuisine .

Bengal is the only region in India where food is served in courses, by a chronology based on the belief that such courses aid in digestion. Tart greens and squashes are served first, followed by rice, dal, chutney and the ever-present fish. Vegetarians in Bengal avoid meat, but eat fish and crustaceans. Mishti Doi, a sweetened yogurt in a clay bowl, is a Bengali delicacy served at the end of the meal, often with other dairy dessert.

The land of southern India is made up of tough, iron-rich lava soil that is 50 million years old or more. It is known that rice has been cultivated in this region since 500 B.C., as an effective means of irrigation. Food is a part of the traditional perspective of the south, and the people here always sit cross-legged on a floor mat and eat from stainless steel dishes (thali) or part of a banana leaf. Rice, prepared either by cooking or shaped into patties as thin as paper, known as Dosa or Idli, are eaten in abundance. Dosa and Idli are also prepared by soaking rice, and these two dishes are eaten with different spices, vegetables and light dal soup known as Sambar. In Karntaki, the central southern part of the country , Mandige is cultivated and cooked on a heated ceramic dish and filled with ingredients such as sugar, ground cardamom and pieces of coconut. The basic meal consists of vegetables, accompanied by the universally popular Dosa/em>, Idli or cooked rice.

Eggplant is a favourite vegetable in the south. Equally popular is the bitter squash which is salted and filled with numerous spices before frying in oil or cooking in unrefined sugar (jaggery) syrup, which takes away all traces of bitterness.

Balaka is made from red chilli peppers soaked in salted water, dried and fried in oil to make them crispy. Papad or poppadum are wheat, rice or lentil patties that are thin as paper, fried and eaten as a meal.

Tip: If you want to try any of these delicacies, look for a restaurant where they serve Indian dishes in the traditional way – bringing all dishes to the table at once, including dessert.

Travel tips

• While in India, be sure not to insult any cows. The milk giver is a sacred animal in India.
• Visit India between November and mid February.
• The season of attractive Indian weddings is between November and March.
• India has three seasons – hot, wet (monsoon) and cold.
• India has about one billion inhabitants.
• The basic spices in Indian cuisines are used raw.