curries and more...

... the glorious Indian curries...

Many a times when we land in an Indian Restaurant with non-Indian friend, the usual question that is asked is that “DO YOU EAT SUCH HEAVY CURRIES and NAAN EVERYDAY???”... and there is genuine concern there considering the amount of butter and fatty stuff that goes into “party food” in India... 

However, that is not the case. We know that the food served at restaurants and marriages are the fancier version of the cuisine and what we have at home is a much lighter and healthier version!

Since I have given a lot of Indian recipes here, I thought of sharing a little history and basics that go into preparing basic Indian Cuisine.

India is a huge country! and has practically all geographic regions and altitudes that move from sea embraced peninsular south to the plateau region in center, desert and dry regions in west to plains in north and mountains in extreme north. 

I have mentioned the geographic vastness of India so that you can guess as to how many varied form of ingredients are available or not available according to the region and so we have thousands of regional cuisine that actually date back thousands of years. Not only has the geographic and seasonal factors influenced food, but the cuisine across India has evolved as a result of interactions with several invaders like the Mongols and the British making some unique versions of traditional foods.

The distinct feature of this cuisine is the use of spices and herbs in preparation of food. During the Vedic Period, India was heavily forested and consumption of grains, vegetables and meat were dominant. However, over time people started embracing VEGETARIANISM as a less violent way of life. The 4 castes of India ; Brahmins (the priests), Kshatriyas (the warriors), Vaishyas (the traders) and Shudhras  (the cleaners and farmers) also were an influence. Brahmins are vegetarians and usually survived by begging for food. Kshatriyas being warriors relied on high protein diets as they had to fight to protect their lands. Vaishyas were the traders and they travelled a lot. They brought with them new cooking methods and even new products to sell. Shudhras usually ate simple food. 

A few impressionable times have been the conquests by Afghan conquerors which gave rise to the Mughlai cuisine (the curries associated with india) and most importantly they introduced addition of special seasonings like saffron and also the practice of cooking in sealed pots “dum”.

The staples of Indian food are grains like millet, rice, whole wheat and variety of pulses (lentils). Pulses can be used whole, dehusked or split. Some of the pulses like chana (gram) are processed into flour. Most of the grains are freely available in north, and hence the basic diet consists of Chapati or other forms of breads that are usually either deep fried like poori and bhatura or cooked on pan. Rice is available in southern and eastern part (coastal regions), and hence, most of the food consists of varied preparations of rice like bisi bele bhaat, and at times rice is soaked and grinded into paste also like dosa, idli and uttapam and adai. 

The arid and dry western region relies on yogurt, pulses and besan (gram flour) for their share of protein as the vegetables are not readily available there; like daal baati and besan gatte ki subzi. 

Most of the Indian curries are cooked in vegetable oil. In northern and western India, pickles are also make and stored to make vegetables available in winter / off season times. Peanut oil is used more often in western India, while eastern India used mustard oil, and I am sure you would have guessed that traditionally coconut oil is used for cooking in southern India. However, over time people are switching over to healthier and lighter oil for daily cooking and the use of such oil remains for special occasions. The northern India is famous for Hydrogenated vagetable oil that is more popularly known as Ghee. Ghee is used for cooking as well as for topping breads off like butter.

I have distinctly noticed difference in use of spices as well, the most popular combination of spices that is used daily in North of India are: cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds (methi seeds) , asafoetida (hing), red chilly powder, turmeric powder, salt and garam masala powder. Garam Masala are essentially a combination of whole spices like pepper corns, cloves, bay leaves, cumin seeds, black and green cardamom, star anise, coriander seeds, nutmeg. These are usually toasted and then ground together to make garam masala. For “party food” or celebrations these spices may be used whole as well. The Curry Masala available in market is a combination of all the spices together. I would not recommend it’s use, as you will end up with all curries tasting the same.

In Western India, Rajasthan uses more of dried spices besides those mentioned above, use of fennel seeds is prevalent which imparts a distinct taste to their food. Also, instead of using fresh green chillies, there is use of dried whole red chilly.

In Gujarat, the cooking methods have a fusion from Rajasthan and Maharashtra. There is use of mustard seeds instead of cumin seeds or both are mixed along with curry leaves for tempering. Another distinct feature is that unlike northern indian cuisine, where ginger and garlic are fried with onions, in Gujarat ginger and green chilly paste is used more often and is usually added later directly into the curry. It is said that Gujarati food is sweet... however, there are regions of gujarat that serve very spicy food as well. There is use of jaggery and kokum (it is a tangy dried form of a fruit that is similar to mangosteen family that is usually available in western ghats of India) as well. 

Maharashtrian food requires use of special masala like garam masala; Goda Masala.

In Eastern India, there is predominantly use of a spice mix known as Panchphoran; which is a combination of fenugreek seeds (methi seeds), nigella seeds (onion seeds), cumin seeds, mustard seeds,  and fennel seeds in almost equal parts and is usually used for tempering.

I will not say that all of southern part of India serves similar food... because I know it is different. Kerala, Andhra, Chennai, Karnataka have their own set of food which are dominated with use of lentils (urad and chana / gram), curry leaves, mustard leaves for tempering of rice or curries. Another distinct feature is use of coconut powder / milk/ water and tamarind pulp in cooking.

I have been very generic in explaining the difference in food and cuisine in India and frankly this also doesn’t do justice to the lovely food available when you travel in India. Food changes from city to city and from home to home... the spice mixes are made at home to ensure that the taste is unique and traditional. The desserts are also varied and hence, if you ever get a chance to visit India... you know what to eat where... 

I have a funny story related to this... when I was sent to some remote village in Karnataka; Bijapur (it has a very important architectural heritage Gol Gumbaj, the second largest unsupported dome in the world) for a project on city’s Municipal Finances, we were staying in a decent hotel... and the food served there was just “SET THOSAI” with sambhar and chutney... Set Thosai is thick rice pancakes. We use to have them for breakfast- lunch and dinner... and after a while i got sick of it and decided to order some “north indian curry and roti”.... and that was a big mistake... a lesson learnt... in local restaurant... always order what they know how to cook!!!!!... and I ate set thosai for rest of the two weeks of my stay.... 

So that’s about it for now.... I hope this blog will help you in understanding recipes and their feel better.... 

Till next time... enjoy cooking!!!! cheers!!!