History of Indian Food

1. History of Indian Food Introduction

Once considered the shining jewel in the British Empires crown, India can today be
easily deemed as the huge, 60-carat diamond in the Worlds flavored cuisine ring. The
large variety of dishes, appetizers, snacks, side dishes and desserts have found
numerous fans on an international scale, as Indian restaurants spread at an incredible
rate, with an enormous success in every possible culture and in every possible corner
of the World. Combining all tastes possible, the Indian cuisine is bound to satisfy
spice-lovers, salty people and persons with a sweet tooth alike (although the latter
will feel right at home, since India is a sweet country).
Some say that the Indian cuisine is almost as diverse as the entire European cuisine,
because of the four different main regional styles: the North Indian cuisine (the
regions Benaras, Kashmir, Mughlai, Punjab and Rajasthan), the South Indian cuisine
(regions Andhra, Kannada, Kerala and Tamil), East Indian cuisine (regions Assamese
and Bengali) and Western Indian cuisine (regions Gujarat, Maharashtrian and
Malwani). The northern part of India is mostly rural, although it contains large cities
such as Delphi or Calcutta, thus its cuisine is more agricultural than anything, wheat
being a primary constituent of this regions dishes. Southern regions however tend to
be more exotic, more spicy in their dishes and rice is a constant ingredient in their
food. To give the taste of their main dishes, North Indians use onions and coriander
whilst southerners use a more exotic coconut base for their dishes.
The history of Indian food tells us that during the reign of the British Empire in India
(the British Raj), the local cuisine was considered by the Europeans closely to what
Gods taught of ambrosia: a delightful, heavenly and delicate dish. Many times, we ask
how the Indian cuisine grew to be so popular, so diverse and so delightful. In truth, the
question is quite dimfrom a population of one billion people, is it really that hard to
believe some of them are great cooks?
But lets take a closer look at what Indian dishes and snacks have to offer, providing a
history of Indian food and a few related legends alongside. Ready your taste buds,
because its going to be one juicy ride!

2. History of Indian Food - Indian Appetizers and Snacks

The history of Indian food and especially of Indian appetizers is closely related to the
countrys culture and traditions. The Indian cuisine is as diverse as the Indian people
and it has a large (and extremely rich) selection of appetizers, hors d'oeuvres, and
snacks. Besides being extremely tasty and actually stimulating your appetite rather
than diminishing it like some other cuisines appetizers, these fast snacks are also
quite low in fat, since they are based on a number of spices and herbs, such as ginger,
cinnamon, garlic, cloves, asafetida, aniseed or coriander, rather that the fat appetizers
youll find mostly anywhere else in the World.
The majority of Indian appetizers and snacks are based on potatoes, combined with
different spices. The Alu Ki Tikki for example, which is one of the oldest snacks
recorded by the history of Indian food, is made out of mashed potatoes coriander and
onions. Another snack greatly enjoyed by the British during the Raj period, the
Samosa appetizer, made out of steamed potatoes, peas and vegetables, is one of the
many Indian recipes that was passed on from ancient times.
Although most appetizers and snacks usually follow the same ingredients for each
particular recipe, it should be noted that authentic Indian dishes can never be limited
to a strict formula, since they differ from household to household. For example if you
go to the North, in Punjab for instance and try out a Dahi Barra yogurt and fritter
appetizer, it will definitely taste and even look slightly different than a similar Dahi
Barra appetizer dish in Southern Indias Tamil region.
Because of this, when the British armies set foot in India, their cooks were dazzled by
the sheer number of variations of the same dish. One legend stands out of the crowd
from the history of Indian food, namely that of the British cook William Harold.
William was quite an experienced chef, working for a rather successful restaurant in
central London, when he was sent to India to help the war effort with his meals.
Because his dishes were so delightfully well done, he was promoted to be the personal
cook of a high ranking officer in the British Empires Army. One day, the officer
ordered William to get the recipe for a local dish he ate and thoroughly enjoyed that
day, named by the locals Bhel Puri, in order to mass-cook it for the troops.
Because there were very few written recipes in India back then (locals were passing
on their cuisine with each generation, usually orally) William started walking from
home to home, knocking from door to door, in order to find the recipe for the Bhel
Puri, which, even today, is quite a complicated appetizer. With every house he went to,
he got another recipe, another kind of spice to put on top of the potatoes and rice
(seemingly the only ingredients that remained constant in the dish) and another kind
of oil to use.

After a long day of inquiries in which the poor cook was unable to find a stable recipe
for the wonderful snack, he returned to the barracks, beaten and amazed by the variety
of semi-recipes he managed to pile up. Seeing that he is back, the officer asked if he
could serve the first portion of Bhel Puri that night, but William told him he couldnt
get any real recipe in his hands and ironically stated that well have to stick to French
fries again tonight, Sir!. Legend says that the officer, berserk with fury, took out his
handgun and shot the cook dead, causing a mutiny amongst the barracks soldiers,
who were both fed up with the officers cruel and disrespectful ways and in love with
Williams heavenly cooking. Thats how a small bowl of Bhel Puri (or should I say the
lack of it) shook an entire British barracks and caused a long night in the Court
Martial offices
All legends aside, we now know an approximate recipe to the Bhel Puri (somehow
thanks to poor William too). The tasty Indian snack is made out of crispy puris, puffed
rice, Indian sevs, chilli powder, potatoes, red onion, chat masala, coriander and lemon
or mango juice. It comes in two dish versions, spicy or sweet. The spicy chutney
includes garlic cloves, mint leaves, salt and green chilies, while the sweet chutneys
ingredients are cumin seeds, jaggery, sugar, tamarind pulp and boiled dates pulp.

3. History of Indian Food Indian Sweets

Indian cuisine is known throughout the entire World as a sweet cuisine and this tag
doesnt come along without some extremely solid arguments. How else would you
call a countrys cuisine if almost half its dishes are either sweets or desserts? Actually,
Indian sweets have not only made Indian food famous throughout history, but they
have been acquired and accommodated to European and North American dishes,
finding great success in fancy Baltic restaurants through-out England, France, the
United States or Spain.
The Rasgulla for example, one of the most popular relished sweetmeats in India,
originating from the Eastern part of the country, has an interesting modern history.
This dish produced by the boiling of small pops of casein in sugar syrup has become
emblematic of the quintessentially effeminate stuff of ridicule of the Bengali people.
This sweet dessert can be found in almost all Eastern Indian households, while global
malls sell it like theres no tomorrow.
Another Indian dessert that blends with the Hindu culture is the Payasam (or Kheer as
it is called by the Hindi). This dessert has been an essential dish throughout the history
of India, being usually found at ceremonies, feasts and celebrations. In Southern India,
ancient traditions tell that a wedding is not fully blessed if Payasam is not served at
the wedding feast, this tradition being kept alive with each generation, still being

practiced by newly wedded couples, mostly in the southern regions, from where the
tradition started in the first place.
The best and most popular Payasam dishes are found in the temples of Guruvayoor
and Ambalappuzha. In the Ambalappuzha temple, Payasam is served as part of a
tradition, based on an ancient legend. The legend states that Lord Krishna (the eight
avatar of Vishnu, playing a major role in the Hindu religion) took the form of an old
sage and challenged the great king who ruled over that region to a game of chess.
Being a true chess player and a master of the mind games tricks, the king gladly
accepted the sages invitation. Asking what the sage wanted in case he wins the game,
the king remained bedazzled by the sages request: an amount of rice grains for each
square of the chess board, each pile having double the number of grains than the
previous pile. So the first square would have only one grain of rice, the second would
have 2 grains, the third would have 4 grains, the fourth would have 8 rice grains and
so on, each pile growing at a geometrical progression from the past pile of rice grains.
Hearing this request, the king was shocked that the sage wanted only what he taught
were a few piles of grain, when he could have betted for his whole kingdom or the
immense riches that he held.
Naturally the king lost, (because playing chess against a God is not that easy, mind
you) so he started placing grain piles on each square, starting with only one grain. He
soon realized that the sages demand was not entirely what he thought of, when the
number reached one million grains of rice by the 20th square. By the 40th or so
square, the entire kingdoms rice reserve was depleted and when he got to the last
square he calculated that he would have to pay the sage 18,447,744 trillions of tons of
rice, which he could have never paid off. The sage then revealed his true form, that of
Lord Krishna, and said that the debt does not have to be paid immediately, but the
king will have to serve Payasam freely in the temple of Ambalappuzha, to pilgrims,
homeless or whoever comes there for peace of mind and prayer or for those seeking
shelter. This is how the Payasam became famous, integrating in the Hindu culture.
The tradition of freely serving Payasam in Ambalappuzha still lives today and
pilgrims all over India have an easier ride knowing that a hot bowl of the sweet
dessert awaits them at the end of their journey.
Western India also does a great job on satisfying the sweet tooth of its inhabitants,
with one of the most delicious desserts you will be able to find throughout the history
of Indian food: the Shrikhand. The Shrikhand is a creamy dessert made out of strained
yogurt, from which all water is drained off, leaving the thick yogurt cream by itself.
Adding exotic dry fruits like mangos only enhances the Shrikhands delightful taste to
newer limits. This great dessert is one of Western Indias most popular traditional
dishes, since it has ancient roots in the Indian cuisine. Comparisons of this dessert to
the Indian people have stated that Indians are a people who like to extract the best of

things from everything, leaving everything else behind, their true and hospitable
nature being a result of the fact that they dry out every spiritual detail that has no
substance or meaning.
Other important traditional Indian sweets and desserts, famous throughout the history
of Indian food, include the following: Gulab Jamun (a popular Indian dessert made
out of fried milk balls in sweet syrup), Mysore Pak (a delicious dessert made out of
ghee, sugar and chick pea flour), Halwa (or Halva in modern English spelling; made
out of semolina and sugar, the Halwa is one of the most popular Indian desserts that
have spread in every corner of the World), the Kulfi (often referred to as Indian ice
cream, the Kulfi is made out of boiled milk and a wide variety of mango, kesar or
cardamom flavors), the Jalebi (a common sweet dish from North India, the Jalebi is
basically a pretzel-shaped fried batter, which is soaked in syrup) and the Jangiri (the
South Indian look-alike of the North Indian Jalebi).

4. History of Indian Food Conclusion

As we can easily conclude, the Indian cuisine is closely related to the Indian history,
each historical region developing a unique set of dishes, using diverse ingredients.
However, a constant remains for all regions: the affinity for sweet desserts and spicy
snacks. Besides being closely related to history, Indian cuisine is also strongly
influenced by the Indian religion, Indian culture and traditions and the Indian people
themselves.
If you can appreciate the facts behind the history of Indian food, the setting in which
this great countrys cuisine was formed, the influences it took and the diversity it
created, then you will surely appreciate one of their sweet desserts or one of their
spicy snacks and appetizers. No other country has a wider selection of exotic dishes
and no other country can offer such a large variety of impulses for your taste buds.