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Table of Contents Indian cuisine....................................................................................................................................2

History ..............................................................................................................................................2

Antiquity...........................................................................................................................................2

Middle Ages ......................................................................................................................................3

Regional cuisines:...............................................................................................................................3

Indian spices ......................................................................................................................................5

Desserts........................................................................................................................................... 12

Bibliography .................................................................................................................................... 13

***Indian cuisine***

Indian cuisine encompasses a wide variety of regional cuisines native to India. Given the

range of diversity in soil type, climate and occupations, these cuisines vary significantly from

each other and use locally available spices, herbs, vegetables and fruits. Indian food is also

heavily influenced by religious and cultural choices and traditions.

History

Indian cuisine reflects a 5,000-year history of various groups and cultures interacting with the

subcontinent, leading to diversity of flavors and regional cuisines found in modern-day India.

Later, mughals, British, and Portuguese influence added to the already diverse Indian Cuisine.

Antiquity

A normal diet in early India consisted of legumes, vegetables, fruit, grain, dairy products, honey,

and sometimes eggs and meat. Over time, segments of the population embraced vegetarianism.

The advent of Buddhism and Jainism affected this shift, as well as an equitable climate

permitting a variety of fruit, vegetables, and grains to be grown throughout the year. A food

classification system that categorized any item as saatvic, raajsic or taamsic developed in Yoga

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tradition. The Bhagavad Gita prescribes certain dietary practices. During this period,

consumption of beef became taboo, due to cattle being considered sacred in Hinduism.[11] Many

Indians continue to follow this belief, making the use of beef in Indian cuisine somewhat rare.

Beef is generally not eaten by Hindus in India.

Middle Ages

During the Middle Ages, several North Indian dynasties were predominant, including the Gupta

dynasty. Travellers to India during this time introduced new cooking methods and products to

the region, including tea and spices. Northern India was later invaded by Central Asian cultures,

which led to the emergence of Mughlai cuisine, a mix of Indian and Central Asian cuisine.

Hallmarks include seasonings such as saffron.

Regional cuisines: Cuisine differs across India's diverse regions as a result of variation in local culture, geographical

location (proximity to sea, desert, or mountains) and economics. It also varies seasonally,

depending on which fruits and vegetables are ripe.

North India

Awadhi Bhojpuri Punjabi

Kumauni Mughlai Kashmiri

Rajasthani Uttar Pradeshi

Bihari

South India

Main article Telugu

Karnataka Kerala

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Tamil Hyderabadi

Udupi Mangalorean

Saraswat Mangalorean Catholic

East/ North East India

Bengali Assamese Meghalayan Manipuri

Naga Sikkimese

Tripuri Arunachalese Oriya

West India

Goan Gujarati

Marathi Malvani & Konkani Sindhi

Parsi

Other

Indian Chinese Nepali

Jain (Satvika) Anglo-Indian

Chettinad Fast food Malaysian Indian cuisine

Indian Singaporean cuisine

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Indian spices

Indian spices include a variety of spices grown across the Indian subcontinent (a sub-region of

South Asia). With different climates in different parts of the country, India produces a variety of

spices, many of which are native to the Subcontinent, while others were imported from similar

climates and have since been cultivated locally for centuries.

Basic Spices

turmeric (manjal, haldi)

cumin (jheeragam, jheera)

black pepper (milagu)

mustard (kaduggu, rai)

coriander (kotthamalli, dhania)

fenugreek (vendhayam, methi)

red chilies (millakai vatthal, lal mirch)

green chilies (pachai millakai, hari mirch)

asafoetida (perungayam, hing)

fresh ginger (injhi, adrak)

curry leaves (karuveppilai, curry pattha)

fennel seeds (Sombhu, sounf)

dried ginger (ingi, adrak)

nigella seeds (karum jheeragam, kalonji )

caraway (omam, ajowain)

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mango powder (amchoor)

garam masala (blend of spices)

Sweet Spices

cardamom (yelakkai, elaichi)

nutmeg (jhadhikkai, jaiphal)

saffron (kunkuma Poo, kesar)

poppy seeds (khasa khasa, khus khus)

mace (javitri)

Other Spices & Ingredients

cloves (kraambu, lavangam)

cinnamon (pattai)

mint (podhina)

yogurt (thayir, raita)

jaggery (vellam)

gur (sugarcane juice)

black salt (kaala namak)

tamarind

garlic

coconut

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Popular Cuisines:

Biryani

Butter Chicken

Chaat

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Chana masala

chole bhature

Dum Aloo

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Dhokla

Idli

Medu Vada

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Dahi Vada

Sambar

Dosa

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Khandvi

Panipuri

Pav Bhaji

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Desserts

Many Indian sweets, or mithai, are fried foods made with sugar, milk or condensed milk.

Ingredients vary by region. In the eastern part of India, for example, most sweets are based on

milk products. See sections or articles on specific regional cuis ines for their preferred types of

sweets.

Some common Indian sweets and desserts include:

Barfi: A sweet made of dried milk with ground cashews or pistachios, often served with a

thin layer of edible silver foil as decoration.

Chikki: A sweet made out of peanuts and molasses.

Gulab jamun: A dessert consisting of fried milk balls soaked in sweet syrup, such as rose

syrup or honey.

Jalebi: Dough fried in a coil shape dipped in sugar syrup, often taken with milk, tea,

yogurt, or lassi.

Mysore pak : A sweet dish of Karnataka, made of generous amounts of ghee (clarified

butter), sugar and gram flour.

Jauzi Halwa: Once upon a time, this was the Nizam of Hyderabad's favourite sweet.

Made from germinated wheat milk and khoya, this sweet is elegantly flavoured with

nutmeg and saffron.

Kulfi: An Indian ice cream in a variety of flavours such as mango, saffron, or cardamom.

Kheer: A sweet rice pudding, usually made with rice and milk.

Malpoa: A type of pancake, made of wheat or rice flour, deep fried and dipped in sugar

syrup.

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Rasgulla: A popular sweetmeat, produced by boiling small balls of casein in sugar syrup.

Sandesh: A sweet made from cheese, kneaded with fine ground sugar and molasses.

Shrikhand: A creamy dessert made out of strained yogurt, often served with dried fruits

such as mangoes.

Kaju Katli: Similar to barfi, mainly comprises cashew powder along with ghee,

cardamom powder and sugar.

Rabri: Rabri is a sweet, condensed milk based dish made by boiling the milk on low heat

for a long time until it becomes dense and changes its color to pinkish. Sugar, spices and

nuts are added for flavour. It is chilled and served as dessert.

Bibliography

Wikipedia: Indian Cuisine