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Inside The Post -
Introduction to Indian Food/Introduction to Indian Cuisine
Throughout history, every culture has used food to prevent and treat illness and disease and to promote good health. The Egyptians praised the lentils for their ability to enlighten the mind; the ancient Greeks and Romans used honey to heal wounds. Indians used spices to prevent diseases.
In this article, I've shared the information regarding "Indian cuisine/An introduction to Indian food".
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. CLIMATE AND CUISINES
India is a vast country with diverse cultures, varied cuisine, and
many more religions. Indian cuisine changes from region to region because of
diversity in soil and climate.
Indian cuisine is perfectly designed to satisfy the need for food and at the same time promote good health. Indian food is almost always prepared with fresh ingredients along with delicate mixtures of fresh and dried spices.
2. STABLE FOOD
Every region has had its own combination of stable cereals and
companion legumes. General Stable foods of India include rice, wheat, millets,
a wide variety of lentils, and pulses (whole, husked, and de-husked), seasonal
vegetables and fruits, vegetable and seed oils, dairy products, animals like
goat and beef, poultry, variety of seasonal seafood/fish,
most importantly flavourings include spices and herbs (fresh and dried). It
also includes a variety of mushrooms.
3. GRAINS
Today, India is the largest producer of wheat and rice after China. South and eastern India produce rice. North India produces wheat and millet. In fact, India was home to several native millets.
4. RICE
In India, Rice is considered auspicious from birth to death. Indians cook the rice itself to perfection – in a way that is unbeatable anywhere in the world. Rice is ground and turned into flour or soaked and grind into a batter or roasted into flakes in one or the other of these forms.
5. WHEAT AND MILLETS
There is nothing more enticing than the well-made,
wholesome-tasting bread of India. Indian bread includes naan, kulcha, paratha,
chapati, phulka, and poor. Most of the bread is eaten every day in Indian homes.
The flour used in most Indian homemade bread is whole wheat and
millets.
6. LEGUMES
The use of legumes in Indian cooking is so widespread. Legumes are an important source of protein particularly in the vegetarian diet. Legumes can be grouped into 3 categories; lentils, beans, and peas.
LENTILS
Lentils are thin lens-shaped seeds ranging in colour from yellow to walnut brown. They are the most commonly consumed legumes in India.
FOR EXAMPLE
Toor dal, Masoor dal.
BEANS
Beans are the next common legumes consumed in India. They are
cooked whole, as well as hulled and split. The tiny cylindrical seeds are
rectangular in shape when split.
FOR EXAMPLE
Mung bean, a Black gram bean is also known as Urad dal.
PEAS
The most popular and commonly used pea throughout India is Chickpea. It is used as the whole pea, split pea (Chana dal), and ground flour (Chana
dal flour or Besan flour).
7. FATS/OILS
There is a wide variety of cooking oils and they are produced from several different sources: cereals such as rice bran oil; nuts such as coconut and groundnut; seeds such as sesame seeds and sunflower. Ghee is an important source of fats used in Indian cooking. Ghee is the purest form of milk.
8. MEAT AND POULTRY
The most commonly eaten red meat throughout India is the meat the goat. However, sheep are raised in Kashmir, where the weather is cool, so lamb is the traditional meat. In India, “mutton” is the name used to mention lamb or goat meat.
In India, Eggs are the most commonly consumed food and it is
inexpensive. Chicken is prepared for special joyous occasions.
9. NUTS
Except for peanuts, nuts are the fruits of trees. The quality and availability of fresh nuts vary with the seasons. Although most types are sold dried, either whole or prepared ready to use.
10. SEEDS
They may look very small and tiny but they can be used in a huge array of sweet and savoury dishes. It adds a pleasant crunch and nutty flavour to the dish.
11. FISH/SEAFOOD
People living along the coastlines consume fish/seafood as a part
of their daily diet. All the regions along the Indian coast, particularly
Bengal in the east and Malabar and goa to the west are known for their
wonderful fish and seafood preparations.
Most seasonal fish varieties are dried and used in the off-season as
dry fish.
12. FRUITS
The ultimate convenience food, most fruits can be simply washed
and eaten. India offers a wide range of fruits, some all year round, and some in
season. The best time to eat fruit is in season inexpensive and nutritious.
13. VEGETABLES
Vegetables offer an infinite number of culinary possibilities to
the cook. They are at their best when freshly picked. India offers a wide range
of vegetables, from roots and tubers to brassicas and green leafy vegetables,
pumpkins, and squashes. There are plenty of vegetable fruits like tomatoes, and aubergines. Pods and seeds are used fresh in season and frozen for later use,
and seeds are dried for legumes.
Onion and garlic are indispensable ingredients in Indian cooking and add flavour to a huge range of savoury dishes.
14. MUSHROOMS
Thanks to their earthiness, mushrooms add flavour to all sorts of dishes.
15. HERBS AND SPICESFresh herbs and aromatic spices that give Indian food a distinctive taste and exotic aroma are an invaluable addition to the kitchen. They are used in small quantities to enhance the taste of the dishes that are being prepared.
Herbs are leafy parts of the plant and are available both fresh and dried.
Spices commonly come from the roots, seeds, or bark of the plant and are always dry.
Finally,
Indian food is an amalgamation of the cuisines of many diverse regions. It represents its historical development, religious beliefs, cultural practices, and above all, its geographical attributes.
I hope,
This blog helps you to know about well-known or lesser-known Indian ingredients.
HAPPY COOKING!
with better ingredients for better food.
Do check out these articles
🔗Indian Spice
🔗Indian Dal
🔗Indian Green Leaves
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