Image Credit: Facts About Indian Cuisine
Food is something on which I can talk about for hours. And we talk Indian food one cannot ignore the unique varieties with great enthusiasm. Every state of India has its speciality in food. Every food sees a region be it Sarson ka saag, famous dhokla or even quintessential Bengali sweets. Apart from this, do you know that the taste of some dishes changes in different states of India? For example, when it comes to kadhi, Punjabi prefers to make spicy kadhi, while in Gujarat, people add sweetness to the kadhi. So, we talk about its diversity when it comes to Indian cuisine. However, very few people know many interesting facts related to Indian food. So let's learn more about them.
- Dum Biryani: This wonderful dish, made with rice's help, is cooked quite differently and very much liked in India. But do you know how this style of cooking originated in India? It has a fascinating story. Indeed, the Nawab of Awadh faced a food shortage in his area. So he ordered multiple meals cooked for all the poor, covered with a lid and sealed with flour. This helped to cook many meals with minimum resources. But later, it gave rise to a new cooking style, which is now known as 'Dum'.
- Land of spices: India is called the country of condiments, as it's the only nation in the world that produces multiple varieties of herbs. But, do you know that more than 70 per cent of the world's spices come from India? IISR, Indian Institute of Spices Research in Kerala, is dedicated to researching 10 spice harvests: cardamom, black pepper, clove, cinnamon, ginger, garcinia, paprika, nutmeg, vanilla and turmeric.
- Potatoes and tomatoes from Portugal: Indian cuisine seems incomplete without potato, tomato and chilli. But do you know these essential ingredients were brought to India by the Portuguese? Not only this, but the Portuguese also introduced India to refined sugar. Prior to that, honey and fruits were utilised as sweeteners in Indian cuisine.
- Is chicken tikka masala an Indian dish? Chicken Tikka Masala is one of seven curries sold in the UK and is considered UK's favourite Indian dish. Apart from the UK, people in India also eat it with great zeal. But do you know that chicken tikka masala is not an Indian dish? It was invented in Glasgow, Scotland.
- First Indian restaurant abroad: In the mid-1960s, the first Indian restaurant was opened in the USA. There are about 80,000 Indian restaurants in the US today. At the same time, the first Indian restaurant in England was opened in Central London in 1810 by Sack Dean Mahomed.
- Indian food theory: According to Indian food theory, there are six different tastes of our food: salty, sweet, sour, bitter, spicy and astringent. Therefore, an excellent Indian feast is an ideal balance of all six flavours, with one or two tastes predominant.
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