Indian Cuisine – The foreign influence

Throughout history India has been invaded and occupied by other cultures and each has left its own mark on Indian cuisine. Some of the predominant influences on Indian Food Recipes have been:

Aryan - which focused on the mind-, body-enhancing properties of foods; Persian and Arab - which led to the Mughal style of cooking with rich, thick gravies and the use of dry fruits like cashews and almonds in dishes; British - which gave India its love of tea and put the European twist into some dishes. Anglo-Indian cuisine was the delicious result; Portuguese – which left its mark on parts of India in the form of dishes like the world-renowned Vindaloo and Xacuti.

As far as food is concerned, India can very roughly be divided into four regions. Each region has several states in it and each state its own unique food. Here’s a brief look at the cuisines of North, South, East and West India. One must of course, always remember that no such description can entirely cover the huge variety of Indian Food Recipes. The true discovery of it, can take years of patient and very pleasurable gastronomic experimentation.

While some Indian Food Recipes traditionally includes ingredients like oil and ghee that most of us avoid for health reasons, there is almost no comparison anywhere in the world to the vast variety of fresh fruit and vegetable dishes that form part of its repertoire. As such there is no reason why even the most waistline-conscious among us cannot enjoy good Indian cuisine. The keywords though are ‘in moderation’.

Many shy away from trying Indian cooking thinking the ingredients are hard to find. This is no longer a problem since Indian spices can be bought in most supermarkets and what can’t be had there is always available in specialist Indian or Asian grocery stores. Most Indian food does not even require special cooking utensils so there’s no need for those starting out to buy too many things.

As with all other cuisines, Indian Food Recipes too is all about finding what works best for you. Never fear to experiment with spices and try your own blends.