The different aspects of Indian Cuisine: Indian Cuisine is becoming popular due to its exotic flavors and healthful preparations. The repertoire of Indian Cuisine is vast and the following are interesting aspects of the cuisine.

Cooking according to tastes : There exists no written recipes in India and the individual is encouraged to orchestrate a dish by using fresh, seasonal and local vegetables. We use spices sparingly and our foods are not necessarily hot. Besides spices we use lots of herbs and other natural seasonings to make our foods sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent and astringent.

Cultural Influences: Many Indians are vegetarians having been influenced by Buddha (Indian King and founder of Buddhism), Mahavir (founder of Jainism) and King Ashoka. Our cuisine has been influenced by the Aryans settlers, the Arab and Chinese traders and conquerors such as the Persians, Mongolians, Turks, the British and the Portuguese.

Ayurveda: India's ancient science system, has given India a comprehensive system of health, diet and nutrition. India's cuisine has been shaped by this science. Ayurveda is the common thread that runs through the various sub cultures/regions of India. Otherwise, the cuisine can be vastly different from region to region.

Diversity: India is a large country, almost the size of Europe, and has a greater diversity of people, language, climate, cultures and religion than almost any country in the world. Consequently, Indian cuisine is also diverse.

Indian Restaurant Cuisine: Many Indian restaurants around the globe are influenced by North Indian Cuisine. Indian restaurant cuisine has been influenced by Indian chefs that had their culinary training in France. They created a fusion of the two great cuisine's by adopting cream sauces in their Indian recipes.

Royal Kitchens of India: Under the patronage of the rajahs of India the art of food was elevated to a high level of advancement and professionalism. The royal chefs understood the finer points of food, the art of presentation and created exquisite preparations.

Each region in India has its own traditional dishes and specialties. In the royal kitchens of Rajasthan, as well as most other states, food was very serious business and raised to the level of an art-form. Hundreds of cooks worked in the stately palaces and kept their recipes a closely guarded secret. Some recipes were passed on to their sons and the rest were lost for ever. It became a matter of great prestige to serve unusual dishes to guests and the royal cooks were encouraged to experiment. The tales of how cooks tried to impress their guests by presenting at least one unforgettable item on the menu have now become legends. The monthly budget ran into lakhs of rupees (US$ 2500 and above) and the royal guests were treated to such delicacies as stuffed camels, goats, pigs and peacocks... it was perfectly normal to have live pigeons and other birds fly out of elaborately decorated dishes. The food was served in gold and silver utensils and the number of dishes at one meal ran into hundreds. It was usually never possible to taste all the delicacies sewed.

Aspects of Indian Cuisines: The hospitality of the Indians is legendary. In Sanskrit Literature the three famous words 'Atithi Devo Bhava' or 'the guest is truly your god' are a dictum of hospitality in India. Indians believe that they are honored if they share their mealtimes with guests. Even the poorest look forward to guests and are willing to share their meager food with guest. And of particular importance is the Indian host's pride that they will not let a guest go away un-fed or unhappy from her home. Indians are known for their incredible ability to serve food to their guests invited or uninvited.

Spices: Spices are an integral part of Indian food. This does not mean that Indian dishes are always hot. It does mean that they are well seasoned and aromatic. There are some hot dishes especially in the South of India, but, overall the dishes of India are skillfully prepared with the cook having a mastery over the properties of spices and how they are blended. The cook will use cooling spices as well as warming spices, bland spices as well as pungent spices, sweet spices as well as hot spices. The cook will also use spices for color and healthful properties. Most cooks in India also know how to use spices seasonally. In everyday cooking in India spices are used very sparingly or the dishes are seasoned with very few spices and are supplemented with fresh herbal seasonings.

Oils: In India, ghee (clarified butter) is favored for frying and seasoning. This is because it can take very high temperatures without becoming rancid unlike virgin oil or unrefined cooking oils. Besides ghee, mustard oil is also used in Bengal and coconut oil is used in the south. Sesame oil is also used especially in sweets.

Condiments: Fresh herbal chutneys, dried fruit chutneys and hot pickles complement an Indian meal. These small additions to the meal take the Indian menu to a higher level of taste experience. They lend strong flavor impact to the meal. They also balance tastes as they are sweet, pungent, hot, and sour all at the same time. the fresh herbal chutneys make the meal very fresh and tasty. Popular fresh chutneys are cilantro, mint, amla, coconut chutneys and popular pickles include lime, mango, and eggplant. Indian pickles are preserved in oil as opposed to vinegar.

The Indian Curry !
Indian dishes that could be eaten with rice. In India curry means gravy. In West many believe curry is an Indian spice. Curry powder is sold in many supermarkets. Many dishes in America call for curry powder, which is actually a blend of spices (mainly garam masala) that is mixed with coriander powder and turmeric. In India, Indians would be confused if you mentioned curry powder.

There is a plant, however, that has leaves that are called curry leaves or in Hindi meetha neem (margrosa tree leaves) or Kadhi leaves. They look like miniature lemon leaves and grow wild in most forest regions of India and are used as a seasoning. Curry is now an international dish recognised the world over. It is a dish with gravy (or is a stew like dish) and had many spices and seasonings and is flavored with hot and sour tastes. Curry may or may not be made with curry powder. Curry powder available in the supermarket is not a single spice but a blend of spice. Curries are made with many many spice blends. Some curry powder ingredients are: black pepper, chile pepper, cloves, coriander, fenugreek, cinnamon, cardamom, cumin, ginger tumeric and nutmeg. You can mix your own curry powder according to your tastes or buy it ready mixed in the spice aisle of your grocery store.

Although Curry is not an Indian word - it has come to represent the varied dishes that are stew like or a soupy. These dishes are cooked in steps with the following seasonings which are called masalas

(a) A base of spices sautéed in ghee or oil
(b) Herbs and seasonings like curry leaves or fenugreek may also be added
(c) A secondary level of seasonings are added and include all or some of the following – a mixture of onion, garlic, ginger, and tomatoes
(d) A third level may include coconut milk, almonds, cashews or cream
(e) All curries have a sour taste which may be achieves with lime juice, tamarind, mango powder, kokum or yogurt.

North Indian cuisine has the following styles:
A typical North Indian meal would consist of chappatis, parantha or pooris (unleavened flat breads), pilafs, dals, curries that are mild and made in ghee, thick, creamy dals, vegetables seasoned with yogurt or pomegranate powder, lots of greens like spinach and mustard greens cooked with paneer, north Indian pickles, fresh tomato, mint, cilantro chutneys and yogurt raitas. Hot, sweet cardamom milk is very common before going to bed. North Indian desserts and sweets are made of milk, paneer, lentil flour and wheat flour combined with dried nuts and garnished with a thin sheet of pure silver. Nimbu Pani (lemon drink), Lassi (iced buttermilk) are popular drinks of the North. Tandoori cooking is a north Indian specialty and famous the world over. Tandoori chicken, naan, tandoori roti, tandoori kebabs are a hit in most Indian restaurants.

Eastern Indian cuisine has the following styles:
Bengali and Assam, NorthEastern States and Oriya. Here due to the many river tributaries that commence in the mighty Himalayas and pour into the Bay of Bengal both fish and rice are a very important part of an Eastern diet.

Western Indian cuisine has the following styles:
Gujarati food has been influenced by the Chinese cuisine and is different from most all Indian cuisine's in that the Gujaratis serve their sweets with the meal. This is also a reason why there is more sweet and sour taste in their dishes. The Gujarati savories are now famous all over India - crisp spicy fried 'farsans', which can be bought at wayside stalls like Chevda, ghatia. Gujaratis take simple ingredients and with their culinary talent turn them into great dishes. Popular items include a delicious vegetable concoction Undhiu, Gujarati Kadhi, - a savoury curry made of yoghurt. Some common dishes include Khaman Dhokla, a salty steamed cake, Doodhpak, a sweet, thickened milk confectionery and Shrikhand, dessert made of yogurt, flavored with saffron, cardamom.

South Indian cuisine has the following culinary styles:
Andhra - Andhra cuisine is largely vegetarian but the coastal areas have a large repertoire of seafood. Fish and prawns are curried in sesame and coconut oils, and flavored with freshly ground pepper. Andhra food is served with rice. Rice, sambar and other lentil preparations, and steamed vegetables delicately flavored with coconut, spices and fresh herbs. Snack or tiffin time is made of many preparations like onion pakodas; vadas or savory lentil doughnuts dunked in steaming hot sambar; and steamed rice muffin like dumplings called idlis. Savories are murku, roundels of rice flour paste deep fried; and appadams. Desserts include payasam, a pudding made with rice and milk and the popular Sheer Khurma - a Hyderabadi delicacy with dry fruits and dates.