Indian Food

Just like Indian culture, the Indian cuisine is also very diverse.

Most of the Indian cuisines have a liberal usage of spices. Also, there is a wide usage of a variety of vegetables. Within these basic similarities, there is also diversity in the local styles.

North and West:

North Indian meals generally consist of chapatis or rotis (Indian bread), along with dals (pulses), vegetables, and Curd (yoghurt). Use of rice is not much. Side dishes are chutney (preserves) and achars (pickle). In the North and the West, there are also Kashmiri and Mughlai cuisines, reflecting the strong influence of central Asia. There is also a heavy consumption of Milk based sweets.

South and East:

In South and East India, there is a heavy consumption of rice, along with dals and curries. The dishes are mostly rice-based. Coconut is a very important and widely used ingredient in most of the South and East Indian dishes. Fish also a part of this diet.

Desert Area:

In the desert area of Rajasthan and Gujarat, a wide variety of dals and achars are used. A reason for this is the shortfall of fresh vegetables.

However, the staple diet of India consists of rice, atta (whole wheat flour), a variety of pulses and vegetables. Besides the main dishes, there are a number of snacks that are quite popular in India. Some of them are murukku, karachevu, seeni chevu, kara kadalai, kadalai pakkoda, bonda, bajji, samosa, pakoda, vada, etc. Regarding drinks, the most popular is tea. Coffee is popular in South India. Elumichchai chaaru (Nimbu pani / (lemonade), lassi, and coconut milk are also popular. Traditionally, meals are eaten while sitting on the floor. But with the modernization of India, this practice has diminished to great extent. Also, most of the Indian food is eaten with the fingers only.