Modern Indian Cooking and Variations of Its Speciality

Posted by Mark Sheldon on March 3rd, 2017

Today, the world has turned into a global village. Technology has improved to unbelievable extent, making accessibility to any part of the world easier than ever. Moreover, economic globalisation has contributed with its part in making people move out of their homes for various reasons. Thus, wherever one goes, it is very easy to find people from different nations. All these factors have played their parts in making a market for local cuisines across every corner of the globe.

In this drastically changed circumstance, finding an Indian restaurant in Prague, Honolulu or Vancouver is no more a dream. As such, the NRAI or National Restaurant Association of India has been predicting such possibility for over a decade. These fine eateries are not only frequented by occasional tourists from the country or NRIs (non resident Indians), but also by foreigners from different cultures and food habits.

Modern Indian cooking

Indian cuisine is much different both in terms of       taste and preparation. Modern Indian cuisine perfectly reflects the punch of different cultures from surrounding regions and ages. Actually, Indian foods can broadly be categorised into two sections, north and south Indian varieties. There are many sub categories in each of these two sections and both the styles of cooking make generous use of spices. Usage of spices in India dates back to several thousands of years. It is important to note that each spice used in Indian cuisine has some nutritional value or the other and these facts were known to our ancestors thousands of years ago.

Foreign influences

Modern Indian cooking is greatly influenced by Iran or Persia. Even arrival of Islam in India contributed heavily in shaping up modern Indian cuisine. Various Mughlai dishes are exceptionally popular, among both vegetarians and non vegetarians throughout the length and breadth of the country.

Some important cuisine styles in the country

1. The northern most state of India is Kashmir and its local cuisine strongly reflects Central Asian connections. Rice grows in abundance in the valley and thus, Kashmiri dishes are mainly prepared around rice as the main course.
2. Contrastingly, other states located near to Kashmir, like Punjab, Himachal, Haryana and Rajasthan are low on rice consumption and high on chapatti or roti consumption. These chapattis or rotis are mainly prepared from flour, which is a wheat product. People of these states also consume besan, chana and rajma.  
3. Modern Indian specialty in cooking does not end here. People in the eastern region of the country, mostly Bengal and Odissa, usually consume lot of rice and fish. Bengali desserts or sweet dishes are popular all over the world. These are mostly made from 'chana' and are milk products.  
4. On the other hand, south Indian dishes are mostly cooked in coastal kitchens. This style of cuisine is completely different from the ones mentioned above. This style of cooking uses coconut oil, tamarind and excessive use of chillies.

Any discussion on Indian culinary is as interesting as one can imagine. Unfortunately, it takes a lot of space and time to go for a proper discussion on the matter. Hope, the article provides enough information to interested souls to know a thing or two about modern Indian cuisine.