Thanks to hundreds of Indian restaurants, which have mushroomed in the capitals of the world, Indian cuisine is no longer a mystery. The myth that surrounded Indian that it was all curry and nothing else is gradually vanishing.
So great is the variety of food in India that a visitor who has grown on the notion that it is the land of curry and rice is in for a surprise. Curry, to the Indian, is not the name of a dish. It encompasses a whole class of dishes. There are any numbers of curries, made with meat, fish, chicken, and vegetables and on occasions, fruits.
The only common factor is that they all contain freshly ground spices, including turmeric, and have 'gravy'. The combination of spices, often passed from mother to daughter or from one chef to his son, makes one curry totally different from other curries. There is no standard curry powder mixture. Every housewife has with her special mixture of spices. And the proportions vary from recipe to recipe.
It may be interesting to note that most of these spices have a medicinal value, which westerners, often with their antibiotic obsessions, tend to disregard. But an Indian cook knows which spice will have what effect on the digestive system and uses it accordingly.
The most commonly used spices and herbs in Indian cooking are asafetida, cardamom, clove, cinnamon, coriander, garlic, ginger, turmeric and aniseed. Let us examine their uses. Turmeric is used almost in every dish. It helps to preserve food and gives the dish a pleasant yellow natural colour. It has also digestive properties. Ginger is considered good for digestion and many people like it not only in their food but also eat it as a salad. Coriander seeds or beans are used in most Indian dishes. They are supposed to have a cooling effect on the body of a person who eats the food. Cardamoms are strong and sweet. They have a nice flavour. They are used in all dishes and in some curries too. They help in digestion. Saffron, the most expensive spice, can create a lot of effect and fragrance with a little quantity. To produce one pound of saffron, several thousand flowers are needed. It is grown in the valley of Kashmir and is used for its flavour. Mustard, cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper, cloves, poppy and caraway seeds are also used in Indian dishes.
Masala is the name for a blend of many spices. It may be dry or in liquid paste. The chef decides what will go in the spice blend. Garam Masala is a blend of fragrant spices only. It can be prepared in advance and stored. Now, various blends of packed Garam Masala are available in stores. The packet tells you for what kind of dish it could be used. The Garam masalas are generally cinnamon, cloves, cumin seeds, mace, coriander seeds, nutmeg, and black pepper.Here is a whole range of curry dishes from different parts of India, each having its own distinct flavour. For the purpose of convenience, we can broadly divide Indian food into four different regions-corresponding to Delhi for the North, Bombay for the West, and Madras for the South and Calcutta for the East. As will be seen, food habits have been formed over the years depending on the type of raw materials available in a region. In North India, there is abundance of meat, vegetables, almonds, dairy products, chillies and wheat.
Therefore, we find people have a preference for wheat bread in the shape of Nan, Roti, Puri or Parathas. Contrary to the belief that North Indians are meat-eaters, a meat dish is only an additional dish while a vegetable curry and dal (lentil curry) are generally a must in a total meal served in an Indian home.Cooking media in the north is pure ghee (clarified butter) though it is now used sparingly due to its high price and its fattening potentiality. Other vegetable fats are now more commonly used as cooking media.
In the west and east rice is the staple diet. Fish is plentiful. So most dishes revolve round these raw materials. The south is predominantly has been developed over the centuries. There is so much of variety that a visitor is dazzled by the choice offered to him.
If the preparation of food is important to Indians, its presentation is no less significant. Traditionally, Indian food is served either on a well-washed large banana leaf or in a thali (a large plate made of brass, steel or silver). On it several katoris (small bowls) are placed to hold small helpings of each dish. A typical meal may consist of a meat or fish dish, two vegetable dishes, Dal, yoghurt and a sweet dish of Kheer or Halwa. Other accompaniments would be Pickles, Chutneys, Papads, etc. a small piece of lime may be placed in the thali to be used by the guest, if he so wishes.
