AN INTRODUCTION - INDIAN COOKING




India is a land of diversity, both cultural and religious. Indian Cooking embraces India's diversity and is perhaps more diverse than India's. Diversity is not only confined to the number of dishes but also to a wide variety of ingredients that people use in Indian Cooking. With so many ingredients, people tend to think that Indian Cooking must be pretty complicated. However,  it is uncomplicated once one gets the hang of it. From Kashmir to Kanyakumari, one will discover another variant of the same dish with its distinctive taste and flavor. There is little doubt that any cuisine in the world can boast so much variety in its Cuisine but also extensive variations.

With the growing strength of the Indian Diaspora worldwide over the years, Indian Cuisine has entered many homes worldwide. Its popularity and acceptability are spiraling.

In India, Cooking is a tradition passed on from mother to daughter, and the cycle continues. With Indian women, too, venturing out to work, the tradition has weakened a bit. Ladies, generally, as a rule, manage to cook the meals for the family.

India, as a country, has been invaded, ruled, and influenced by various people like the Mughals, British, French, Portuguese, and others. Moreover, each has left an indelible influence and mark on Indian Cooking resulting in a fabulous blending.

Indian Cuisine has four main categories – North, South, East, and West. This classification is too general and gets further divided into States. The State Cuisines get subdivided into each State's regional Cuisine. Due to technology, people find work away from their homes, resulting in many new blended Cuisines. Take the examples of Butter Chicken and Biryani. One will find a different variety of these dishes almost every 100 kilometers of the Country from Kashmir to Kanyakumari.

 

This write-up is just an introduction to Indian Cooking. We will dwell deeper into the subject and attempt to present to the reader more information, about not only the evolution of Indian Cooking but also its growth worldwide, in forthcoming writings.

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