A Culinary Melange

India has the most diversified cuisines in the world. The food keeps changing from region to region. It is not wrong to say that the flavour, colour, ingredients, cooking technique, and taste of each cuisine are influenced from history, trade, region, religion, traditions, and conquerors of all the times. These cuisines pull huge attention from the other parts of the world and also, have influenced other cuisines as well.

Let’s have a look at the popular cuisines of India.

North India has always been influenced by rulers, invaders, and emperors. The taste and food kept evolving with the time.

Said to be influenced by both, Indian Muslim and Hindus, Kashmiri cuisine is famous for its distinct aroma and taste. It is not just a wonderland for the non veg eaters; it is equally great for the vegetarians.

It is believed that the Persian and Afghan invaders added their taste to Kashmiri cuisine and accentuated it with their cooking techniques. The cooks taught the use of dried fruits, cream, saffron and, nuts to make kormas (curry) giving it a deep red texture, this is how Rogan Josh flourished.

We absolutely can’t miss WAZWAN. Said to come from the 14th century during the reign of the Tughlaq dynasty when Timur, the Mongol ruler invaded India. The dish consists of 7-36 dishes (mostly meat based) on the platter.

Influenced by Persian origin, Lucknow Biryani became one of the main dishes for Nawabs of Awadh. The recipe is to cook rice and meat separately and then, layer in a vessel. Lucknow Biryani was cooked for the workers of the Imambara. Impressed by the aroma of this recipe, Asaf-ud-Daula, Nawab of Awadh decided to keep it as one of the prime dishes on his nawabi menu.

It is said that the kingdom of Mewar introduced daal and churma in this delicacy and brought all the three, Daal, Baati and Churma together on the platter. Batti originated way earlier during battles when it was considered as soldiers food.

With rice as their staple food, south cuisine is considered as one of the healthy cuisines. The food evolved with richness and taste as the time changed.

Known for making Kaveri Delta in Thanjavur as “Rice Bowl of Tamil Nadu”, the Chola kings are also one of the greatest influencers of food here. It is believed that the food served in the palaces included Idli, sambar, and uttapam.

Tamil Nadu is also known as a heaven of seafood which is believed to flourish after a battle which was fought in 1629 by Venkoji. With the coming of love for meat and spices by the Marathas, a completely unique blend of food and taste originated. Like this, the famous sunti and kesari mas flourished. There are spicy fried meatballs which are later cooked in curry and usually paired with rice

An exemplary taste of Kerala food has been influenced by the history, traders from different parts of the world such as Greece, Mediterranean, Rome, Arab countries. Christians, Tamilians, and Muslims have also influenced the cooking methods and the taste. Apart from Idli, Sambar, Dosa, Vada, Rasam, the other worth trying dishes includes Puttu and Kadala Curry, Apam, Nadan Kozhi Varuthathu (This is basically fried chicken, Prawns in Coconut curry and Erissery.

Kerala Sadya is popular for consisting of 24-28 delicious dishes. It is vegetarian and can consist of more than 64 items if the gathering is quite big.

Blessed with the inexhaustible fish production, east India cuisine has a lot to offer on the plate.

Portuguese were the first who came and introduced new vegetables and spices in Bengal. With their arrival, came a change in the food and cooking style as well. From the Portuguese pages to Indian, Shukto made its place on the list of popular Bengali food. It is a little bitter by taste as it has at least one bitter vegetable along with the others. To accentuate the taste of shukto, it is simmered with a hint of sugar and milk.

With the coming of British rule, numerous bakeries flourished in Kolkata and began the trend of bread, sweets and other bakery products.

Being served on the platter of Lord Jagannath Temple of Puri circa 10, Pakhal Bhaat is one of the summer treats in Orissa. It is usually eaten in the morning to prevent oneself from the heatstroke. The cooked rice is fermented overnight in water with a pinch of salt and ginger chilli paste. It is usually served with chillies, onion, and dry fish.

Indian cuisines have their interesting stories of origin and a perfect blend of every culture, tradition and time.