Indian cuisine

Indian cuisine consists of a variety of regional and traditional cuisines native to the Indian subcontinent. Given the diversity in soil, climate, culture, ethnic groups, and occupations, these cuisines vary substantially and use locally available ingredients.

Indian food has been influenced by religion, cultural choices and traditions. Historical events such as invasions, trade relations, and colonialism have played a role in introducing certain foods to India.

Indian cuisine has influenced other cuisines across the world, especially those from Europe (Britain in particular), the Middle East, Southern Africa, East Africa, Southeast Asia, North America, Mauritius, Fiji, Oceania, and the Caribbean.

History

Indian cuisine reflects an 8,000-year history of various groups and cultures interacting with the Indian subcontinent, leading to diversity of flavours and regional cuisines found in modern-day India. Later, trade with British and Portuguese influence added to the already diverse Indian cuisine.

Prehistory and Indus Valley Civilisation

After 9000 BCE, a first period of indirect contacts between Fertile Crescent and Indus Valley civilisations seems to have occurred as a consequence of the Neolithic Revolution and the diffusion of agriculture. Wheat and barley were first grown around 7000 BCE, when agriculture spread from the Fertile Crescent to the Indus Valley. Sesame and humped cattle were domesticated in the local farming communities. Mehrgarh is one of the earliest sites with evidence of farming and herding in South Asia.

By 3000 BCE, turmeric, cardamom, black pepper and mustard were harvested in India.

From around 2350 BCE, evidence for imports from the Indus to Ur in Mesopotamia has been found, as well as Clove heads thought to originate from the Moluccas in Maritime Southeast Asia, which were found in a 2nd millennium BC site in Terqa. Akkadian Empire records mention timber, carnelian and ivory as being imported from Meluhha by Meluhhan ships, Meluhha being generally considered as the Mesopotamian name for the Indus Valley Civilisation.

Vedic age

The ancient Hindu text Mahabharata mentions rice and vegetable cooked together, and the word "pulao" or "pallao" is used to refer to the dish in ancient Sanskrit works, such as Yājñavalkya Smṛti. Ayurveda, ancient Indian system of wellness, deals with holistic approach to the wellness, and it includes food, dhyana (meditation) and yoga.

Antiquity

Early diet in India mainly consisted of legumes, vegetables, fruits, grains, dairy products, and honey. Staple foods eaten today include a variety of lentils (dal), whole-wheat flour (aṭṭa), rice, and pearl millet (bājra), which has been cultivated in the Indian subcontinent since 6200 BCE.

Over time, segments of the population embraced vegetarianism during the Śramaṇa movement while an equitable climate permitted a variety of fruits, vegetables, and grains to be grown throughout the year.

A food classification system that categorised any item as satvic, rajasic, or tamasic developed in Yoga tradition. The Bhagavad Gita proscribes certain dietary practices (chapter 17, verses 8–10).

Consumption of beef is taboo among Hindus, as cows are considered sacred in Hinduism. Beef is generally not eaten by Hindus in India except for Kerala, parts of southern Tamil Nadu and the north-east.

While many ancient Indian recipes have been lost in history, ancient texts give some indication of what was eaten in ancient and pre-historic India. For example, the Upanishads mention barley, mustard,

Rice cakes are described in the Shatapatha Brahmana.

Grape wine and turmeric are mentioned in the Medieval Sushruta Samhita.

Middle Ages to the 16th century

During the Middle Ages, several Indian dynasties were predominant, including the Gupta dynasty. Travel to India during this time introduced new cooking methods and products to the region, including tea.

The Columbian exchange with the New World brought new vegetables and fruits such as potatoes, tomatoes, chillies, peanuts, and guava. These have become staples in many regions of India.

India was later invaded by tribes from Central Asian cultures, which led to the emergence of Mughlai cuisine, a mix of Indian and Central Asian cuisine. Hallmarks include seasonings such as saffron.

Colonial Period

Indian cuisine has shaped the history of international relations; the spice trade between India and Europe, in which spices were bought from India and traded around Europe and Asia, was the primary catalyst for Europe's Age of Discovery.

The Portuguese and British during their rule introduced cooking techniques such as baking, and foods from the New World and Europe. The new-world vegetables popular in cuisine from the Indian subcontinent include maize, tomato, potato, sweet potatoes, peanuts, squash, and chilli. Most New World vegetables such as sweet potatoes, potatoes, Amaranth, peanuts and cassava based Sago are allowed on Hindu fasting days. Cauliflower was introduced by the British in 1822. An 1840 autobiography of the Scot Robert Lindsay mentions a Sylheti man called Saeed Ullah cooking a curry for Lindsay's family. This is possibly the oldest record of Indian cuisine in the United Kingdom.

File:Nimmatnama-i Nasiruddin-Shahi 283.jpg|A page from the Nimatnama-i-Nasiruddin-Shahi, book of delicacies and recipes. It documents the fine art of making kheer.

File:Sweets 1.jpg|Medieval Indian Manuscript Nimatnama-i-Nasiruddin-Shahi (circa 16th century) showing samosas being served.

File:Prawn with a rui fish (6125147738).jpg|Prawn with a Rohu fish, Kalighat Painting. Freshwater fishes and crustaceans are staple in Bengal.

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Ingredients

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thumb|[[Spices at a grocery store in India]]

Staple foods of Indian cuisine include pearl millet (bājra), rice, whole-wheat flour (aṭṭa), and a variety of lentils, such as masoor (most often red lentils), tuer (pigeon peas), urad (black gram), and moong (mung beans). Lentils may be used whole, dehusked—for example, dhuli moong or dhuli urad—or split. Split lentils, or dal, are used extensively. Some pulses, such as channa or cholae (chickpeas), rajma (kidney beans), and lobiya (black-eyed peas) are very common, especially in the northern regions. Channa and moong are also processed into flour (besan).

Many Indian dishes are cooked in vegetable oil, but peanut oil is popular in northern and western India, mustard oil in eastern India,

In recent decades, sunflower, safflower, cottonseed, and soybean oils have become popular across India. Hydrogenated vegetable oil, known as Vanaspati ghee, is another popular cooking medium. Butter-based ghee, or deshi ghee, is used commonly.

Many types of meat are used for Indian cooking, but chicken and mutton tend to be the most commonly consumed meats. Fish and beef consumption are prevalent in some parts of India, but they are not widely consumed except for coastal areas, as well as the north east.

thumb|[[Lentils are a staple ingredient in Indian cuisine.]]

The most important and frequently used spices and flavourings in Indian cuisine are whole or powdered chilli pepper (mirch, introduced by the Portuguese from Mexico in the 16th century), black mustard seed (sarso), cardamom (elaichi), cumin (jeera), turmeric (haldi), asafoetida (hing), ginger (adrak), coriander (dhania), and garlic (lasoon).

One popular spice mix is garam masala, a powder that typically includes seven dried spices in a particular ratio, including black cardamom, cinnamon (dalchini), clove (laung), cumin (jeera), black peppercorns, coriander seeds and anise star. Each culinary region has a distinctive garam masala blend—individual chefs may also have their own.

The spices chosen for a dish are freshly ground and then fried in hot oil or ghee to create a paste. The process is called bhuna, the name also being used for a type of curry.

There are other spice blends which are popular in various regions. Panch phoron is a spice blend which is popular in eastern India. Goda masala is a sweet spice mix which is popular in Maharashtra. Some leaves commonly used for flavouring include bay leaves (tejpat), coriander leaves, fenugreek (methi) leaves, and mint leaves. The use of curry leaves and roots for flavouring is typical of Gujarati and South Indian cuisine. Sweet dishes are often seasoned with cardamom, saffron, nutmeg, and rose petal essences.

Regional cuisines

Cuisine differs across India's diverse regions as a result of variation in local culture, geographical location (proximity to sea, desert, or mountains), and economics.

Gallery

;North India:

File:Aloo Tikki Fried (2).JPG|Aloo Tikki

File:Daulat Chaat in Old Delhi.JPG|Daulat Chaat in Old Delhi

File:Butter Chicken & Butter Naan - Home - Chandigarh - India - 0006.jpg|Butter chicken and butter naan

File:Kashmiri Pulav.JPG|Kashmiri Pulav

File:Laal-Maans.jpg|Laal maans

File:Mughlai Dum Birynai.JPG|Mughlai Dum Biryani

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;West India:

File:Locho and idada.jpg|Locho and Idada

File:Zunka from Maharashtra.JPG|Zunka

File:Puran Modak by Dr. Raju Kasambe DSCN8818 (7) 04.jpg|Puran Modak

File:Chhole Upma - Homemade, Jabalpur - Madhya Pradesh - IMG001.jpg|Chhole Upma

File:Tandoori fish.jpg|Tandoori lemonfish fry

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;East India:

File:RawBananaDumplings.jpg|Plantain dumplings

File:Luchi Alur Torkari - Home - Kolkata - West Bengal.jpg|Luchi Alur Torkari

File:Ever tried a rice cooked in a bamboo?.jpg|Bamboo steam rice

File:Tamul Paan2.jpg|Tamul Paan

File:Prosad thali.jpg|Prosad Thali

File:Tan Ngang.JPG|Tan Ngang

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;South India:

File:Khotto.jpg|Khotto

File:Ondu Plate Idli Vada.jpg|Idli Vada

File:Dosa Classic.jpg|Dosa

File:Tirunelveli halwa.jpg|Tirunelveli Halwa

File:Prawn Biryani, Hyderabad.jpg|Prawn Biryani

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Diet for religious observations and festivals

right|thumb|Hindu fasting day lunch menu

The Hindu calendar has many festivals and religious observations, and dishes specific to that festival are prepared.

Prasāda and Naivedya

200px|thumb|right|Prasada offered during [[Puja (Hinduism)|Puja ceremony at a home in West Bengal, India]]

A material offering to a deity is called , it is tasted by the deity and becomes , and the food is then returned as a gift and distributed among the devotees as prasāda; these terms are often used interchangeably. Vaiṣṇava and Śaiva offerings are typically vegetarian, whereas some Śākta practices include non-vegetarian offerings, involving animal sacrifices.

Festival dishes

Hindus prepare special dishes for different festivals. Kheer and Halwa are two desserts popular for Diwali. Puran poli and Gujia are prepared for Holi in different parts of India.

Diet on fasting days

thumb|Sabudana khichadi, a snack, popular on Hindu fasting days|191x191px

Hindu people fast on certain days such as Ekadashi, in honour of Vishnu or his avatars: Chaturthi in honour of Ganesha, Pradosha in honour of Shiva and Parvati, Monday in honour of Shiva, Saturday in honour of Hanuman or Shani, Tuesday in honour of Hanuman, as well as Kali, Parvati, Kartikeya, and Ganesha, Sunday in honour of Surya, Thursday in honour of Vishnu or his avatars, Dattatreya, and Brihaspati, Wednesday in honour of Krishna, Vithoba, Ganesha and Budha and Friday in honour of Mahadevi, Durga, Kali, Mariamman, Lakshmi, Sita, Radha, Rukmini, Saraswati, and Santoshi Mata. Only certain kinds of food are allowed to be eaten during the fasting period. These include milk and other dairy products such as curd, fruit and starchy Western food items such as sago, potatoes, purple-red sweet potatoes, amaranth seeds, nuts and shama millet. Popular fasting dishes include Farari chevdo, Sabudana Khichadi or peanut soup.

Only certain kinds of foods are allowed to be eaten. These include milk and other dairy products (such as dahi), fruit, and Western food items such as sago, potatoes, purple-red sweet potatoes, amaranth seeds, nuts and (shama millet).

Popular fasting dishes include farari chevdo, sabudana khichadi, and peanut soup.

Diaspora and fusion cuisines

The interaction of various Indian diaspora communities with the native cultures in their new homes has resulted in the creation of many fusion cuisines.

Indian Chinese

thumb|Chicken Manchurian served in [[Hyderabad]]

Indian Chinese cuisine, also known as Indo-Chinese cuisine originated in the 19th century among the Chinese community of Calcutta, during the immigration of Hakka Chinese from Canton (present-day Guangzhou) seeking to escape the First and Second Opium Wars and political instability in the region. Upon exposure to local Indian cuisine, they incorporated many spices and cooking techniques into their own cuisine, thus creating a unique fusion of Indian and Chinese cuisine. In other parts of India, Indian Chinese cuisine is derived from Calcutta-Chinese cuisine, but bears little resemblance to their Chinese counterparts

Indian Thai

Thai cuisine was influenced by Indian cuisine, like as recorded by the Thai monk Buddhadasa Bhikku in his writing 'India's Benevolence to Thailand'. He wrote that Thai people learned how to use spices in their food in various ways from Indians. Thais also obtained the methods of making herbal medicines (Ayurveda) from the Indians. Some plants like sarabhi of family Guttiferae, kanika or harsinghar, phikun or Mimusops elengi and bunnak or the rose chestnut etc. were brought from India.

Malaysian Indian

thumb|Indian rojak in Malaysia

Malaysian Indian cuisine, or the cooking of the ethnic Indian communities in Malaysia consists of adaptations of authentic dishes from India, as well as original creations inspired by the diverse food culture of Malaysia.

A typical Malaysian Indian dish is likely to be redolent with curry leaves, whole and powdered spice, and contains fresh coconut in various forms.

Ghee is still widely used for cooking, although vegetable oils and refined palm oils are now commonplace in home kitchens.

Indian Singaporean

Indian Singaporean cuisine refers to foods and beverages produced and consumed in Singapore that are derived, wholly or in part, from South Asian culinary traditions.

The great variety of Singaporean food includes Indian food, which tends to be Tamil cuisine, especially local Tamil Muslim cuisine, although North Indian food has become more visible recently.

Indian dishes have become modified to different degrees, after years of contact with other Singaporean cultures, and in response to locally available ingredients, as well as changing local tastes.

Indian Indonesian

thumb|[[Roti canai and mutton gulai (curry) reveal Indian influence on Indonesian cuisine. ]]

Indian-Indonesian cuisine is the aspect of Indonesian cuisine influenced by Indian cuisine—especially by Tamil, Punjabi, and Gujarati cuisine. Dishes such as appam, biryani, murtabak and curry are well integrated.

Indian Filipino

Filipino cuisine, found throughout the Philippines archipelago, has been historically influenced by the Indian cuisine. Indian influences can also be noted in rice-based delicacies such as bibingka (analogous to the Indonesian bingka), puto, and puto bumbong, where the latter two are plausibly derived from the south Indian puttu, which also has variants throughout Maritime Southeast Asia (e.g. kue putu, putu mangkok).

The kare-kare, more popular in Luzon, on the other hand could trace its origins from the Seven Years' War when the British occupied Manila from 1762 to 1764 with a force that included Indian sepoys, who had to improvise Indian dishes given the lack of spices in the Philippines to make curry. This is said to explain the name and its supposed thick, yellow-to-orange annatto and peanut-based sauce, which alludes to a type of curry.

Atchara of Philippines originated from the Indian achar, which was transmitted to the Philippines via the acar of the Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei.

Anglo-Indian

Anglo-Indian cuisine developed during the period of British colonial rule in India, as British officials interacted with their Indian cooks. Well-known Anglo-Indian dishes include chutneys, kedgeree, and mulligatawny soup.>

Desserts

Many Indian desserts, or mithai, are fried foods made with sugar, milk or condensed milk. Ingredients and preferred types of dessert vary by region. In the eastern part of India, for example, most are based on milk products.

Many are flavoured with almonds and pistachios, spiced with cardamon, nutmeg, cloves and black pepper, and decorated with nuts, or with gold or silver leaf. Popular Indian desserts include rasogolla, gulab jamun, jalebi, laddu, and peda.

Beverages

Non-alcoholic beverages

Tea is a staple beverage throughout India, since the country is one of the largest producers of tea in the world. The most popular varieties of tea grown in India include Assam tea, Darjeeling tea and Nilgiri tea. It is prepared by boiling the tea leaves in a mix of water, milk, and spices such as cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, and ginger. In India, tea is often taken with snacks like biscuits and pakoras.

Coffee is another popular beverage, but more popular in South India. Coffee is also cultivated in some parts of India. There are two varieties of coffee popular in India, which include Indian filter coffee and instant coffee.

Lassi is a traditional dahi (yogurt)-based drink in India. It is made by blending yogurt with water or milk and spices. Salted lassi is more common in villages of Punjab and in Porbandar, Gujarat. Traditional lassi is sometimes flavoured with ground roasted cumin. Lassi can equally be flavoured with sugar, rose water, mango, lemon, strawberry, and saffron.

Sharbat is a sweet cold beverage prepared from fruits or flower petals. It can be served in concentrate form and eaten with a spoon, or diluted with water to create a drink. Popular sharbats are made from plants such as rose, sandalwood, bel, gurhal (hibiscus), lemon, orange, pineapple, sarasaparilla and kokum, falsa (Grewia asiatica). In Ayurveda, sharbats are believed to hold medicinal value.

Thandai is a cold drink prepared with a mixture of almonds, fennel seeds, watermelon kernels, rose petals, pepper, poppy seeds, cardamom, saffron, milk and sugar. It is native to India and is often associated with the Maha Shivaratri and Holi or Hola Mohalla festivals.

Other beverages include nimbu pani (lemonade), chaas, badam doodh (milk with nuts – mostly almonds – and cardamom), Aam panna, kokum sharbat, and coconut water.

Modern carbonated cold drinks unique to southern India include beverages, such as panner soda or goli soda, a mixture of carbonated water, rose water, rose milk, and sugar, naranga soda, a mixture of carbonated water, salt and lemon juice, and nannari sarbath, a mixture with sarasaparilla.

Sharbats with carbonated water are the most popular non-alcoholic beverages in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Street shops in Central Kerala and Madurai region of Tamil Nadu are well known for these drinks which are also called kulukki sarbaths in Kerala.

File:Darjeeling, India, Darjeeling tea in variety, Black tea.jpg|Darjeeling tea in varieties.

File:Filter Kaapi at Sarvana Bhavan Restaurant, Chennai, Tamil Nadu.jpg|Indian filter coffee is popular in Southern India.

File:BadamMilk.JPG|Badam milk

File:Holi Special Chilled Thandai-Kolkata-West Bengal.jpg|Holi Special Chilled Thandai

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Alcoholic beverages

Beer

thumb|Bastar Beer prepared from Sulfi

Most beers in India are either lagers (4.8 percent alcohol) or strong lagers (8.9 percent). The Indian beer industry has witnessed steady growth of 10–17 percent per year over the last ten years. Production exceeded 170 million cases during the 2008–2009 financial year. With the average age of the population decreasing and income levels on the rise, the popularity of beer in the country continues to increase.

Others

thumb|Nepalese chhaang brewed from rice

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thumb|upright|Toddy-tapper climbing a toddy palm in [[Madras, ca. 1785]] nice history but no room for it here, maybe add a history section? -->

Other popular alcoholic drinks in India include fenny, a Goan liquor made from either coconut or the juice of the cashew apple. The state of Goa has registered for a geographical indicator to allow its fenny distilleries to claim exclusive rights to production of liquor under the name "fenny."

Hadia is a rice beer, created by mixing herbs with boiled rice and leaving the mixture to ferment for around a week. It is served cold and is less alcoholic than other Indian liquors. Chuak is a similar drink from Tripura.

Palm wine, locally known as neera, is a sap extracted from inflorescences of various species of toddy palms.

Chhaang is consumed by the people of Sikkim and the Darjeeling Himalayan hill region of West Bengal. It is drunk cold or at room temperature in summer, and often hot during cold weather. Chhaang is similar to traditional beer, brewed from barley, millet, or rice.

Kallu (Chetthu Kallu) is a popular natural alcohol extracted from coconut and pine trees in Kerala. It is sold in local Kallu shops and is consumed with fried fish and chicken. Its alcoholic content is increased by addition of distilled alcohol.

Eating habits

Indians consider a healthy breakfast important. They generally prefer to drink tea or coffee with breakfast, though food preferences vary regionally. North Indian people prefer roti, parathas, and a vegetable dish accompanied by achar (a pickle) and some curd. Various types of packaged pickles are available in the market. One of the oldest pickle-making companies in India is Harnarains, which started in the 1860s in Old Delhi.

People of Gujarat prefer dhokla and milk, while south Indians prefer idli and dosa, generally accompanied by sambhar or sagu and various chutneys.

Traditional lunch in India usually consists of a main dish of rice in the south and the east, and whole-wheat rotis in the north. It typically includes two or three kinds of vegetables, and sometimes items such as kulcha, naan, or parathas. Paan (stuffed, spiced and folded betel leaves) which aids digestion is often eaten after lunch and dinner in many parts of India. Also, many households, especially in north and central India, prefer having sweets after the dinner (similar to the Western concept of dessert after meals).

Dietary practices

In India people often follow dietary practices based on their religious beliefs.

Many Hindu communities consider beef taboo since they believed that Hindu scriptures condemn cow slaughter. Cow slaughter has been banned in many states of India, with the exceptions of the North-Eastern states, West Bengal and Kerala. However, buffalo meat is available in some of these states to be consumed by other religious communities.
The taboo on beef is defied by the marginalised Hindu castes in the Dalit fold, substantially covered in their literature and often displayed at their food festivals. As Dalit communities were restricted to living outside the village in mostly barren lands, with reduced resources to cultivate their food, discarded cows were essential traditional food that nourished them. Dalit cuisine included dishes made with coagulated beef blood, preserved meat, and intestines. During the independence era, and after, the imposition of beef restrictions on Dalit communities was part of efforts to bring them under a unified nationalist identity.
Vaishnavism followers generally are strict lacto-vegetarians due to an emphasis on Ahimsa. They also do not consume garlic and onions.
Jains follow a strict form of lacto-vegetarianism, known as Jain vegetarianism, which in addition to being completely lacto-vegetarian, also excludes all root vegetables such as carrots and potatoes because when the root is pulled up, organisms that live around the root also die.
Muslims do not eat pork or pork products. They consume buffalo and beef products.
In certain North-Eastern regions, canines are part of culinary heritage. While only some communities eat dog meat, it is presently neither universal nor widely consumed. Nevertheless, it has been a constant source of stereotype and racial discrimination against people from the region.

In India dietary practices are also closely related to caste discrimination practices as they are rooted in notions of pollution and filth. Dalit and tribal accounts on cooking and eating narrate casteist-racist treatment accorded to Dalit and tribal culinary practices. This sometimes attract policing on the grounds of creating public nuisance by raising civic concerns. Brahmanical food practices dictate which food is clean and unclean based on their sensorial experiences.

The World Wildlife Funds 2024 Living Planet Report emphasised India's food consumption pattern as the most sustainable among the big economies (G20 countries).

Etiquette

thumb|Eating by hands

Traditionally, meals in India are eaten while seated either on the floor, or on very low stools or mattress. Food is most often eaten with the hands rather than cutlery.

Often roti is used to scoop curry without allowing it to touch the hand. In the wheat-producing north, a piece of roti is gripped with the thumb and middle finger and ripped off while holding the roti down with the index finger.

A somewhat different method is used in the south for dosai, adai, and uththappam, where the middle finger is pressed down to hold the bread and the forefinger and thumb used to grip and separate a small part. Traditional serving styles vary regionally throughout India.

Contact with other cultures has affected Indian dining etiquette. For example, the Anglo-Indian middle class commonly uses spoons and forks, as is traditional in Western culture.

In South India, cleaned banana leaves, which can be disposed of after meals, are used for serving food. When hot food is served on banana leaves, the leaves add distinctive aromas and taste to the food. Leaf plates are less common today, except on special occasions.

Influence outside India

thumb|Chicken tikka

Indian migration has spread the culinary traditions of the subcontinent throughout the world. These cuisines have been adapted to local tastes, and have also affected local cuisines. The international appeal of curry has been compared to that of pizza. Indian tandoor dishes such as chicken tikka also enjoy widespread popularity.

English-speaking world

thumb|Chicken tikka masala, a modified version of Indian chicken tikka, has been called "a true British [[national dish."]]

The United Kingdom's first Indian restaurant, the Hindoostanee Coffee House, opened in 1810. By 2003, there were as many as 10,000 restaurants serving Indian cuisine in England and Wales alone. According to Britain's Food Standards Agency, the Indian food industry in 2003 was worth 3.2 billion pounds, accounted for two-thirds of all eating out in the country, and served about 2.5 million customers every week.

A 2007 survey by The Washington Post found that more than 1,200 Indian food products had been introduced into the United States since 2000. Indian cuisine is widely available in Canada, especially in cities such as Toronto and Vancouver with substantial populations of Asian Canadians. A survey taken between 2013 and 2018 found that 51% of Australians liked Indian cuisine. Ireland's first Indian restaurant, the Indian Restaurant and Tea Rooms, opened in 1908 on Sackville Street, now O'Connell Street, in Dublin. Indian restaurants are commonplace in most Irish cities and towns, paralleling the growth in Ireland's non-Chinese Asian population.

Asia

Indian food is gaining popularity in China, where there are many Indian restaurants in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen. Hong Kong alone has more than 50 Indian restaurants, some of which date back to the 1980s. Most of the Indian restaurants in Hong Kong are in Tsim Sha Tsui.

The Indian culinary scene in the Middle East has been influenced greatly by the large Indian diaspora in these countries. Centuries of trade relations and cultural exchange resulted in a significant influence on each region's cuisines, including the use of the tandoor.

thumb|An Indian restaurant in [[Singapore]]

Indian cuisine is very popular in Southeast Asia, due to the strong Hindu and Buddhist cultural influence in the region. Indian cuisine has had considerable influence on Malaysian cooking styles Other cuisines which borrow inspiration from Indian cooking styles include Cambodian, Lao, Filipino, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Thai, and Burmese. The spread of vegetarianism in Southeast Asia has been credited to Hindu and Buddhist practices. Singapore is known for fusion cuisine combining Singaporean cuisine with Indian influences. Fish head curry, for example, is a local creation.

References

Sources

Pat Chapman. India: Food & Cooking, New Holland, London – (2007)

External links

History

Prehistory and Indus Valley Civilisation

Vedic age

Antiquity

Middle Ages to the 16th century

Colonial Period

Ingredients

Regional cuisines

Gallery

Diet for religious observations and festivals

Prasāda and Naivedya

Festival dishes

Diet on fasting days

Diaspora and fusion cuisines

Indian Chinese

Indian Thai

Malaysian Indian

Indian Singaporean

Indian Indonesian

Indian Filipino

Anglo-Indian

Desserts

Beverages

Non-alcoholic beverages

Alcoholic beverages

Beer

Others

Eating habits

Dietary practices

Etiquette

Influence outside India

English-speaking world

Asia

See also

References

Sources

External links