Indian
cuisine is hard to explain. The country is one of the oldest ones in
the world. With more than 5,000 years of history, there are lots of
settlers who have travelled to and through India. All of them have
different belief system. If you want to learn about the history of
Indian food, you first need to understand that the country is not
homogeneous. It has various regions and religions, which are large
influences on Indian food.
The
Harappans are the earliest Indians recorded. Their diet includes
rice, wheat, lentils, and chickpeas. They also eat the occasional
sheep, pigs, cows, chicken and goats. Chicken and rice came from
nearby countries, such as Thailand, and the lentils, wheat,
chickpeas, and sheep came from West Asia. Some of the wheat was made
into soups or stews, and others were made into flat breads known as
chapatis. Sugar cane grew naturally in India, and that’s why it was
also part of their diet.
Around
300 BC, India was under the rule of the Mauryans. During that time,
the Hindus felt that animal sacrifices were bad and add to one’s
karma. They believed that killing animals will keep a person from
being reincarnated in the future. That’s why animal sacrifices
became less popular, and people ate less meat than before. Most of
Indian food
during that time catered to vegetarians.
Around
650 AD during the Gupta period, Hindus started to worship a Mother
Goddess and cows became sacred animals. That’s the reason Hindus
stopped eating beef, and the meat was no longer added to Indian food.
That’s why you will not be able to order dishes with beef from an
Indian restaurant. It was also during the same time when scientists
have invented a way to turn sugar cane juice into cubes. Indians
started to eat more sugar, as well as sweet desserts.
Islamic
conquests occurred in northern India during 1100 AD. Because of the
event, Indians stopped eating pork because it was banned by the
Koran. While people can still eat goats, chicken or sheep, most
Indians became vegetarians. This also led to the emergence of Mughai
cuisine, which is a mix of Central Asian and Indian cuisine. It
introduced the use of seasoning's that include saffron.
As
you can see, Indian
cuisine is related to the history of the land. Each region of
India has developed a set of dishes that’s unique to them with the
use of diverse ingredients. The common factors the regions have are
spicy snacks and sweet desserts. Indian food is also influenced by
the people’s religion, traditions and culture. As you travel from
East to West, you will find Indian food that is as diverse as the
people of the country.
