Indian cuisine, a myth and a misnomer
India is a country that boasts of unity in diversity and the history with its cuisine is somewhat similar. The term ‘Indian cuisine’ is a very misnomer because Indian cuisine is not just one type of cuisine. The much talked about ‘Indian cuisine’ is rather the identification of the various cuisines inherent to the states, regions, cultures, climatic conditions and, to a certain extent, to the religions that compose it.
It is interesting to know that Indian food cuisine can be divided in terms of the state or region where it comes from, for example, Maharashtra cuisine, Gujrati cuisine, Odiya cuisine, Rajasthani cuisine, Andhra Pradesh cuisine, Bengali cuisine, etc. . It can also be segregated as North Indian, Northeast Indian, and South Indian cuisine. North Indian cuisine takes into account the cuisine of Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, and West-Central & Eastern Uttar Pradesh. It also includes Bhojpuri and Mughlai cuisine. While Northeast India is the collective term used for Assamese, Arunachali, Tripuri, Manipuri, Meghalayan, Naga, Mizoram and Sikkimese cuisine. Tribal cuisines like Garo, Khasi and Bodo are part of this. South Indian cuisine, on the other hand, includes the cuisine of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.
Things like vegetarianism, non-vegetarianism, eating beef (beef is considered taboo by Hindus; it is considered sacred and worshiped by them), and eating pork (this is no less taboo for Muslims as is ‘haram’ or forbidden in Islam) also have a role to play.
The common binding factor is perhaps the spicy character of most of the subcontinent’s cuisines. Indians love to eat and most people here like their food with a generous dose of masalas and some ‘tikhapan’, hot and spicy food.
Another thing that is almost identical to Indian cuisine is “curry powder”, which is again a largely misnomer. All Indian ‘curry’ dishes (the word owes its origin to the Tamil word ‘kari’ meaning sauce) do not contain curry leaves or coconut milk, two key ingredients of South Indian cuisine, nor do they ‘ curry powder’, which is a mixture of different spices and in variable proportions. The spices used in the mix vary from place to place and can be used alone or in conjunction with another set of spices. In addition, a variety of cooking methods are often adopted to achieve the desired flavor, texture, aroma, and appearance.
Therefore, Indian cuisine is an umbrella term and should be used with great thought and care.