Authentic Indian cooking is characterized by the use of various spices, herbs and other vegetables and sometimes fruits grown in India and also for the widespread practice of vegetarianism across many sections of its society. India’s religious beliefs and culture have played an influential role in the evolution of its cuisine. Authentic Indian cooking has had a remarkable influence on cuisines across the world, especially those from Southeast Asia.
The staples of authentic Indian cooking are rice, atta (whole wheat flour), and a variety of pulses, the most important of which are masoor (most often red lentil), channa (bengal gram), toor (pigeon pea or yellow gram), urad (black gram) and mung (green gram). Most Indian curries are cooked in vegetable oil or hydrogenated vegetable oil, known as Vanaspati ghee.
The most important or frequently used spices in authentic Indian cooking are chilli pepper, black mustard seed, cumin, turmeric, fenugreek, asafoetida, ginger, coriander, and garlic. Popular spice mixes are garam masala, which is usually a powder of five or more dried spices, commonly including cardamom, cinnamon, and clove.
The distinctiveness of the authentic Indian cooking lies in the fact that although the spices and herbs used all over India are the same the various combinations and methodologies of using the spices for their distinctive taste differs from region to region. Each region, has a distinctive blend of garam masala. Some leaves are commonly used like tejpat, coriander leaf, fenugreek leaf and mint leaf. The common use of curry leaves, curry roots is typical of all South Indian cuisine. In sweet dishes, cardamom, saffron, nutmeg, and rose petal essences are seasoned.
- North Indian cuisine is distinguished by the proportionally high use of dairy products; milk. Goat and lamb meats are favored ingredients of many northern Indian recipes.
- East Indian cuisine is famous for its desserts, especially sweets such as rasagolla, chumchum, sandesh, rasabali, chhena poda, chhena gaja, chhena jalebi and kheeri.
- South Indian cuisine is distinguished by a greater emphasis on rice as the staple grain, the ubiquity of sambar and rasam, a variety of pickles, and the liberal use of coconut and particularly coconut oil and curry leaves.
- Western Indian where the the coastal regions depend more on rice, coconut, and fish whereas, the hilly regions use groundnut in place of coconut and depend more on jowar (sorghum) and bajra (millet) as staples.
Authentic Indian cooking is one of the most popular cuisines across the globe. The cuisine is popular not only among the large Indian diaspora but also among the mainstream population of North America and Europe.
Authentic Indian cooking recipes.
Easy Indian Cookbook: The Step-by-Step Guide to Deliciously Easy Indian Food at Home
Cooking at Home with Pedatha (Best Vegetarian Book in the World – Gourmand Winner)
1,000 Indian Recipes
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