Indian Cuisine

Geography:

• Describes the physical features of India, a country in South Asia that lies entirely on the
Indian Plate in the northern portion of the Indo-Australian Plate.
• The country lies to the north of the equator between 8°4' and 37°6' north latitude and
68°7' and 97°25' east longitude.
• It is the seventh-largest country in the world, with a total land area of 3,287,263 square
kilometres (1,269,219 sq mi).
• India is bounded to the southwest by the Arabian Sea, to the southeast by the Bay of
Bengal and the Indian Ocean to the south
• Kanyakumari constitutes the southern tip of the Indian peninsula, which narrows before
ending in the Indian Ocean.
• The northern frontiers of India are defined largely by the Himalayan mountain range
where its political boundaries with China, Bhutan, and Nepal lie. Its western borders with
Pakistan lie in the Punjab Plain and the Thar desert. In the far northeast, the Chin Hills
and Kachin Hills, deeply forested mountainous regions, separate India from Burma while
its political border with Bangladesh is defined by the watershed region of the Indo-
Gangetic Plain, the Khasi hills and Mizo Hills.
• The country have many mountains like the Karokaram, the Vindhya range, the Satpura
range & the Western ghats near Matheran.
• The Ganges is the longest river originating in India and forms the Indo-Gangetic Plain.
The Ganges-Brahmaputra system occupies most of northern, central and eastern India,
while the Deccan Plateau occupies most of southern India. Along its western frontier is
the Thar Desert, which is the seventh-largest desert in the world.

Climate and Weather

• Based on the Köppen system, India hosts six major climatic subtypes, ranging from
arid desert in the west, alpine tundra and glaciers in the north, and humid tropical regions
supporting rainforests in the southwest and the island territories.
• Many regions have starkly different microclimates. The nation has four seasons: winter
(January–February), summer (March–May), a monsoon (rainy) season (June–
September) and a post-monsoon period (October–December).
• The Himalayas act as a barrier to the frigid katabatic winds flowing down from Central
Asia. Thus, North India is kept warm or only mildly cooled during winter; in summer, the
same phenomenon makes India relatively hot. Although the Tropic of Cancer—the
boundary between the tropics and subtropics—passes through the middle of India, the
whole country is considered to be tropical.

Distinctive Cuisine
• Indian Cuisine is characterized by its sophisticated and subtle use of many spices and
vegetables grown across India and also for the widespread practice of vegetarianism
across its society. Considered by some to be one of the world's most diverse cuisines,
each family of this cuisine is characterized by a wide assortment of dishes and cooking
techniques. As a consequence, Indian cuisine varies from region to region, reflecting the
varied demographics of the ethnically diverse Indian subcontinent.
• India's religious beliefs and culture has played an influential role in the evolution of its
cuisine. However, cuisine across India also evolved with the subcontinent's cross-cultural
interactions with the neighboring Middle East and Central Asia as well as the
Mediterranean, making it a unique blend of various cuisines across Asia.
Indian Cuisine is becoming popular due to its exotic flavors and healthful preparations.
The repertoire of Indian Cuisine is vast and the following are interesting aspects of the
cuisine.

Cooking according to tastes There exists no written recipes in India and the individual is
encouraged to orchestrate a dish by using fresh, seasonal and local vegetables. They use spices
sparingly and their foods are not necessarily hot. Besides spices we use lots of herbs and other
natural seasonings to make our foods sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent and astringent.

Cultural Influences Many Indians are vegetarians having been influenced by Buddha (Indian
King and founder of Buddhism), Mahavir (founder of Jainism) and King Ashoka. Their cuisine has
been influenced by the Aryans settlers, the Arab and Chinese traders and conquerors such as the
Persians, Mongolians, Turks, the British and the Portuguese.
Ayurveda : India's ancient science system, has given India a comprehensive system of health,
diet and nutrition. India's cuisine has been shaped by this science. Ayurveda is the common
thread that runs through the various sub cultures/regions of India. Otherwise, the cuisine can be
vastly different from region to region.

Diversity:. India is a large country, almost the size of Europe, and has a greater diversity of
people, language, climate, cultures and religion than almost any country in the world.
Consequently, Indian cuisine is also diverse.

Indian Restaurant Cuisine: Many Indian restaurants around the globe are influenced by North
Indian Cuisine. Indian restaurant cuisine has been influenced by Indian chefs that had their
culinary training in France. They created a fusion of the two great cuisine's by adopting cream
sauces in their Indian recipes.

Royal Kitchens of India: Under the patronage of the rajahs of India the art of food was elevated
to a high level of advancement and professionalism. The royal chefs understood the finer points
of food, the art of presentation and created exquisite preparations.

Types of Popular Drinks in Indian Cuisine

For drinks, tea is very popular. It is often prepared in the masala chai style, which is tea mixed
with spices like cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, and ginger with milk. Coffee, lemonade (nimbu
pani), lassi, badam dood (milk with nuts and cardamom), chaach (with curd and yogurt), sharbat,
and coconut water are all favorite drinks. Mango juices are often sold at bakeries or stands on the
street in India.

Foods and the art of cooking are a very significant part of the Indian culture. It is the spices and
unique recipes that make their cuisine so special.

Why Indian Cuisine?

Cooking Indian Food, Indian Food Recipes, Indian Food Recepies, Indian Cooking, Indian
Cuisines
Indian cuisine is gaining popularity around globe. It is easy to prepare, tasty and it's mainstay is
grains which is what people want today. They want meals that are high in carbohydrates, have
ample amounts of a variety of vegetables and contain complete proteins and sparse amounts of
Indian food provides this and more - it also has the health promoting properties of various herbs,
ginger and spices. Yogurt, an accompaniment to Indian meals introduces good flora (acidophilus)
into the digestive system. Many of our menus are vegetarian, which tend to be more alkaline than
non-vegetarian menus. Fresh fruit follows Indian meals, which also contributes to an alkaline
balance.

Indian cuisine saves time. Many items can be cooked in crockpots, in a pressure cooker or in
electric pans. Lentils are easy to cook. The whole wheat dough for chappatis and rotis can be
made ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator. Full menus can be prepared within 30 minutes.
Indian Cuisine is also very easy to prepare and we have included many easy recipes.

Since traditionally we cook with tastes rather than with recipes, Indian cuisine has very
wholesome tastes designed to satisfy not only the taste buds but also the human physiology.

Note: Lentils and beans combined with rice or wheat form complete proteins that have all of the
eight amino acids.

Aspects of Indian cuisine

The hospitality of the Indians is legendary. In Sanskrit Literature the three famous words 'Atithi
Devo Bhava' or 'the guest is truly your god' are a dictum of hospitality in India. Indians believe
that they are honored if they share their mealtimes with guests. Even the poorest look forward to
guests and are willing to share their meager food with guest. And of particular importance is the
Indian host's pride that they will not let a guest go away un-fed or unhappy from her home.
Indians are known for their incredible ability to serve food to their guests invited or uninvited.

Spices
Spices are an integral part of Indian food. This does not mean that Indian dishes are always hot.
It does mean that they are well seasoned and aromatic. There are some hot dishes especially in
the South of India, but, overall the dishes of India are skillfully prepared with the cook having a
mastery over the properties of spices and how they are blended. The cook will use cooling spices
as well as warming spices, bland spices as well as pungent spices, sweet spices as well as hot
spices. The cook will also use spices for color and healthful properties. Most cooks in India also
know how to use spices seasonally. In everyday cooking in India spices are used very sparingly
or the dishes are seasoned with very few spices and are supplemented with fresh herbal
seasonings.

Oils
In India, ghee (clarified butter) is favored for frying and seasoning. This is because it can take
very high temperatures without becoming rancid unlike virgin oil or unrefined cooking oils.
Besides ghee, mustard oil is also used in Bengal and coconut oil is used in the south. Sesame oil
is also used especially in sweets.

Condiments
Fresh herbal chutneys, dried fruit chutneys and hot pickles complement an Indian meal. These
small additions to the meal take the Indian menu to a higher level of taste experience. They lend
strong flavor impact to the meal. They also balance tastes as they are sweet, pungent, hot, and
sour all at the same time. the fresh herbal chutneys make the meal very fresh and tasty. Popular
fresh chutneys
A Quick Guide to Indian Cuisine
Like in the American culture, food and special cuisine are very important in the Indian
lifestyle. Families pride themselves on serving the best food when they visit with friends and
family. There is also a wide variety of dishes and cooking techniques when making Indian food.
Different spices are often utilized, so the food is extremely flavorful. When going into several
different Indian markets, you may notice that there is often no meat sold. A lot of the foods are
vegetarian, because many Indians are Hindu (they don’t eat beef) or Muslim (they don’t eat ham
or pork.) About a third of Indians are vegetarians (about 31% of the population in India.) Food is a
really important part of the Indian culture, especially during religious or cultural festivals.

What You Can Expect to Find in An Indian Meal

In a traditional meal, there are usually two or three main courses with many side dishes (like
chutneys or roti) and desserts. Indian food is often divided into four sections by the region in
which they are utilized: Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western. The history of Indian cuisine
goes all the way back to 7000 BCE when sesame, eggplant and cattle were introduced. Around
3000 BCE the spices turmeric, cardamom, pepper and mustard were first used (these spices are
especially prevalent in Indian cooking today.) When invasions and new immigrants came later,
tomatoes, chilies, and potatoes became staples in the Indians’ diet.

Important Ingredients

The most important parts of the Indian cuisine are rice, flour (also called atta), and an element
called pulses. Pulses are masoor (red lentils), chana (Bengal ram), toor (pigeon pea), urad (black
gram), and mung (green gram.) Curries are also very important and are often fried in vegetable
oil. In the Indian language, curries are often understood to mean ‘gravy’ because it accompanies
other foods in the dishes.

Indian Cuisine By Region

• The Northern Indian diet consists of a lot of dairy products. They often use ghee (clarified
butter) and yogurt. Samosas are popular snacks that are usually boiled, fried or mashed
potato. They can also have fillings of minced meat, cheese, mushrooms, and chickpeas.
• Eastern cuisine is well known for its desserts. There are sweets like rasogolla and
chickoo made of kiwis.
• Southern cooking includes a lot of coconut and they have snacks like dosa, idli, vada,
bonda, and bajji, which are all eaten at breakfast time. T
• The Western cuisine is broken down into four groups: Rajasthani, Gujarati (mostly
vegetarian with a lot of sugar used), Maharashtrian (some fish and wheat), and Goan
(with mainly rice and coconut used.)
Indian Groups
Reporting in International cuisine
By:
1. Princess Dimalanta
2. Janikka Songco
3. Kevin Lingat
4. Michelle Moore
5. Diana Marie Carino
6. Gaviola
7. Jayson Policarpio
8. Krissel Antonio
9. Kiel Molina
10. Lynch Carlo Pamintuan
11. Mark Gomez
Submitted To: Chef Froiland Cruz