Monday 26 November 2012

Food In Indian Culture

Source:-(google.com.pk)
Food In Indian Culture Biography
lthough a number of religions exist in India, the two cultures that have influenced Indian cooking and food habits are the Hindu and the Muslim traditions. Each new wave of settlers brought with them their own culinary practices. However, over time they adopted a lot of specialties and cooking methods from the Indian cuisine and blended the two to perfection. The Portuguese, the Persians and the British made important contributions to the Indian food culture. It was the British who started the commercial cultivation of tea in India.
The Hindu vegetarian tradition is widespread in India, although many Hindus eat meat now. The Muslim tradition is most evident in the cooking of meats. Mughlai food, kababs, rich Kormas (curries) and nargisi koftas (meatballs), the biryani (a layered rice and meat preparation), rogan josh, and preparations from the clay over or tandoor like tandoori rotis and tandoori chicken are all important contributions made by Muslim settlers in India.
North Indian Food
A typical North-Indian food culture would consist of chapatis or rotis (unleavened bread baked on a griddle) or paranthas (unleavened bread fried on a griddle), rice and an assortment of assessories like dals, friend vegetables, curries, curd, chutney, and pickles. For dessert one could choose from the wide array of sweetmeats from Bengal like rasagulla, sandesh, rasamalai and gulab-jamuns. North Indian desserts are very similar in taste as they are derived from a milk pudding or rice base and are usually soaked in syrup. Kheer is a form of rice pudding, shahi tukra or bread pudding and kulfi, a nutty ice cream are other common northern desserts.
South Indian Food
South Indian food culture is largely non-greasy, roasted and steamed. Rice is the staple diet and forms the basis of every meal. It is usually served with sambhar, rasam (a thin soup), dry and curried vegetables and a curd preparation called pachadi. Coconut is an important ingredient in all South Indian food. The South Indian dosa (rice pancakes), idli (steamed rice cakes) and vada, which is made of fermented rice and dal, are now popular throughout the country. The popular dishes from Kerala are appams (a rice pancake) and thick stews. Desserts from the south include the Mysore pak and the creamy payasum.ndian food is different from rest of the world not only in taste but also in cooking methods. It reflects a perfect blend of various cultures and ages. Just like Indian culture, food in India has also been influenced by various civilizations, which have contributed their share in its overall development and the present form.
Foods of India are better known for its spiciness. Throughout India, be it North India or South India, spices are used generously in food. But one must not forget that every single spice used in Indian dishes carries some or the other nutritional as well as medicinal properties.
North Indian Food
Food in the north India, to begin with, Kashmiri cuisines reflect strong Central Asian influences. In Kashmir, mostly all the dishes are prepared around the main course of rice found abundantly in the beautiful valley. Another delicious item cooked here is the 'Saag' that is prepared with a green leafy vegetable known as the 'Hak'.
But on the other hand states like the Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh show high consumption of chapatis as staple food. Again, these chapatis are prepared with a variety of flours such as wheat, rice, maida, besan etc. Besides chapatis other closely related breads baked in these regions include Tandoori, Rumaali and Naan etc. However in the northern region impact of Mughlai food is quite obvious.
West Indian Food
In western India, the desert cuisine is famous for its unique taste and varieties of food. Rajasthan and Gujarat are the states that represent the desseert flavor of Indian food. Here an immense variety of dals and achars (pickles/preserves) is used that simply substitutes the relative lack of fresh vegetables in these areas.
In the states like Maharashtra, the food is usually a mix of both north as well as south cooking styles. Here people use both the rice and the wheat with same interest. Along the coastline of Mumbai a wide variety of fishes is available. Some of the delicious preparations include dishes like the Bombay Prawn and Pomfret.
In Goa, that is further down towards south, one can notice Portuguese influence in the cooking style as well as in the dishes. Some of the major dishes of this regiun are the sweet and sour Vindaloo, duck baffad, sorpotel and egg molie etc.
Food In Indian Culture
Food In Indian Culture
Food In Indian Culture
Food In Indian Culture
Food In Indian Culture
Food In Indian Culture
Food In Indian Culture
Food In Indian Culture
Food In Indian Culture
Food In Indian Culture
Food In Indian Culture
Food In Indian Culture
Food In Indian Culture
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