15 Interesting Facts about Indian Food :
- Six different tastes. If you think spicy is all there is …
- External influences. Having been part of global …
- Land of spices. Rightfully known as the âland of …
- Historic staple diet. Indians have been cultivating …
- Long history of salt and pepper. India has been …
- Three categories of food. As per Ayurveda, Indiaâs …
- Thriving drinking culture. India has been brewing …
- Vegetarian or not? India has the worldâs second …
- Borrowed modern staples. Many staple …
- Hottest chilli. India is home to one of the worldâs …
âą Before it turned into an art that involved culinary expertise, food in India was about rasas and doshas. âą Taste or rasa in Sanskrit guides the tongue and it is a balance or misbalance of these rasas that cause or correct the doashas in body. âą In short, whatever one eats is believed to be the cause and cure of all ailments.
Again, one of the lesser known facts amongst India, the staple ingredients which are commonly found in every household in India â like tomato, potatoes and chilies were brought to India by the Portuguese. Yes, they do not have their roots in India, but instead have originated in Portuguese, a land far away from India.
Historic staple diet. Indians have been cultivating and consuming the same categories of grains and legumes they still eat for thousands of years. Present-day staple foods such as lentils, whole-wheat flour, rice, and pearl millet are found to have been part of the Indian diet from around 6,000 B.C.E.
Thus, food has been as much and art as a science in our culture which revolves round a delightful culinary tradition. Here are some interesting facts about Indian food. Indian food is said to be based on six kinds of tastes (rasas)- Sweet (madhura), Salty (lavana), Sour (amala), Pungent (katu), Bitter (tikta) and Astringent (kasya).
What are the influences of Indian food?
Indian food has been influenced by all sorts of cuisines â from Persian and Central Asian to Arab and Mediterranean.
India has been brewing its own booze from as early as 3,000 B.C.E. From south Indiaâs ever-popular toddy or kallu to the millet-based beers of northeastern India, there are numerous local liquors that the country considers part of its culinary traditions.
As per Ayurveda, Indiaâs ancient medicinal system, there are three primary categories of food â Satvic, Rajasic and Tamasic. Satvic food comprises all thatâs natural and minimally processed such as vegetables, and is considered to have a positive, calming and purifying effect on the body and mind. Rajasic food is spicy, oily, salty or bitter and drives ambition, competition and egotistic pursuits. Tamasic food is overly processed, toxic, difficult to digest and has negative effects on both mind and body.
Rightfully known as the âland of spicesâ, India is the largest producer of spices in the world. The country produces over 70% of the worldâs spices and is also home to a higher variety of spices than any other in the world.
India has the worldâs second -lowest rates of meat consumption per person. Yet the majority of the country does not follow a vegetarian diet, as commonly believed. As per a survey released by the government of India, only about 29% of the countryâs population follows a vegetarian diet.
What are the different types of Indian food?
Specifically, Indian cuisine is thought to be sour, spicy, salty, sweet, astringent, and bitter.
India and the UK have strong links â to the extent where the very first Indian restaurant opened up in the country all the way back in 1809. Since then, over 9,000 different Indian restaurants have opened up nationwide, many independent, and some belonging to specific chains.
While there are plenty of staple ingredients in many Indian dishes â such as chilli and potatoes â they actually originated elsewhere in the world. Potatoes, in particular, only ever made their way to India via Portugal.
However, it actually has roots in Scotland, as a national take on Indian cuisine.
While there are many Indian dishes which include meat as a main staple, the country is well-known for being largely vegetarian. In fact, India is only second in the world when it comes to meatless consumption per capita. That said, statistics show that only 29% of Indian citizens are actually strictly vegetarian.
Where does most of the world’s spice come from?
India is a land of spices and uses most of the spices while cooking food every day that makes it more healthy. About 70% of world spice comes from India.
India is a beautiful and culturally rich country. The harmony of its various cultures comes together seamlessly and is reflected in its food, making it deliciously unique. Indian food is one of the richest and most elaborate foods in the world, which is famous for its aromatic spices, colors, and beautiful flavors. Indian cuisine carries a variety of regional cuisines; quite different from each other. Indian cooking methods are also very different across the country.
What are the six tastes of Indian food?
As stated by Indian food theory, there are six different tastes: Sweet, Sour, Salty, Spicy, Bitter, and Astringent. They say, in a proper Indian meal, …
According to âFood and Agriculture Organizationâ of United States, India provides about 75% of all the worldâs spices; and is known as the âLand of Spicesâ. Since it provides such a diverse range of spices, which makes our Indian cuisines flavorful and aromatic- A symphony of all tastes.
Mithai (Sweets) are the heart and soul of Indian Celebration, and it is a âmust-haveâ item in the Thalis. Payasam is one of the favourite desserts in South India. It is also a tradition to serve Payasam in South Indian weddings.
It is a traditional Kashmiri dish, which reflects the strong Central Asian influence. Whatâs so unique thing about this dish? They boil the spices to enhance the taste, rather than having them fried.
Saffron is called âRed Goldâ and is the most expensive and scarce spice. Since the Crocus only provides 2-3 strands of saffron per flower. The Greek, Roman, and Arabs introduced it to us.
Daal-Chawal. And finally, the classic dish Daal-Chawal is said to be originated in Nepal. These were the random and interesting facts about Indian food, which ironically we learned are not actually Indian. But we love every food irrespective of its origin.
And India has the second-lowest percentage of meat consumption; nearly about 4.5 Kg per person. Though, according to the 2014 survey by the Register General of India, with approximately 400 million vegetarians, 71% of its population is primarily consuming meat.
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