Indian Cuisine

The cuisine of India is characterized by its sophisticated and subtle use of many herbs and spices 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 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 due to the subcontinent's large-scale cultural interactions with neighbouring Persia Greece, Mongolia and West Asia, making it a unique blend of various cuisines across Asia. The colonial period introduced European cooking styles to India adding to its flexibility and diversity.
The staples of Indian cuisine are rice, atta (whole wheat flour), and a variety of pulses. The most important/frequently used spices in Indian cooking are chilli pepper, black mustard seed (rai), cumin (jeera), turmeric (haldi), fenugreek (methi), asafoetida (hing), ginger (adrak), and garlic (lassan). Popular spice mixes are garam masala which is usually a powder of five or more dried spices, commonly comprised of cardamom, cinnamon and clove.

North Indian cooking is distinguished by the proportionally high use of dairy products; milk, paneer, ghee (clarified butter), and yoghurt are all common ingredients. Gravies are typically dairy-based. Other common ingredients include chilies, saffron, and nuts.

East Indian cooking is famous for its desserts, especially sweets such as rasagolla, chumchum, sandesh, rasabali, chhena poda, chhena gaja, and kheeri. Many of the sweet dishes now popular in Northern India initially originated in the Bengal and Orissa regions. Apart from sweets, East Indian cooking offers delights of posta (poppy seeds).

South Indian Cuisine is distinguished by a greater emphasis on rice as the staple grain, the ubiquity of sambar and rasam (also called saaru'/'chaaru), a variety of pickles, and the liberal use of coconut and particularly coconut oil and curry leaves.Hyderabadi biryani, a popular type of biryani, reflects the diversity of south this cuisine.

Western India has three major food groups: Gujarati, Maharashtrian and Goan. Maharashtrian cuisine is has mainly two sections defined by the geographical sections. The coastal regions, geographically similar to Goa depend more on rice, coconut, and fish. The hilly regions of the Western Ghats and Deccan plateau regions use groundnut in place of coconut and depend more on jowar (sorghum) and bajra (millet) as staples. Gujarati cuisine is predominantly vegetarian. Many Gujarati dishes have a hint of sweetness due to use of sugar or brown sugar. Goan cuisine is influenced by the Portuguese colonization of Goa.

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