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Indian Cuisine: A Lot More Than Just Curry

Curry? Ask a common person on the street in India where you can get it.

Curry? Ask a common person on the street in India where you can get it. In all probability, you would be met with a blank stare. The truth is, there is no such thing! At least, not as it is cooked up by the makers of ready-to-eat foods in the supermarkets of the world. Envision if French cuisine were to be lumped together with German, Italian and Spanish cuisine as European cookery - it may start off another French Revolution! Indians, however, seem at ease that the world refers to their astonishingly varied cuisine simply as - curry! So, if curry is not quite Indian cooking, what is? That is a topic worthy of an complete blog! For now, let us just say that India is residence to as many cuisines as its 28 states - - then some more. Weather conditions, locally available produce, culture, regimes and religion have shaped these regional cuisines over thousands of years, giving each its distinctive identity. In the southern and coastal regions, rice rules - the ideal light cereal for a warm, humid weather. Large parts of western India are mainly vegetarian thanks to the influence of the Jain religion, while eastern India cannot do without its seafood. Its former Portuguese rulers heavily influenced the cuisine of Goa in southwestern India. Further north, wheat is more desired, and so is non-vegetarian food. Eating habits are modified to suit the great difference between the seasons - summer recipes are simple, low fat and lightly cooked, while winter is the time to savor spicier, high calorie meats, whole lentils - protein-rich vegetables for warmth - energy. There are differences in cooking oils and spices too, and the same ingredients prepared in one region taste different in another. South India prefers peanut, sunflower or coconut oil. The sharp aroma of mustard oil differentiates recipes from West Bengal in the east, while many people in the north use ghee or clarified butter - in spite the health warnings! Usually, a lentil-based gravy would be seasoned with mustard and dried red chilies in southern India. Large areas of the rest of India, though, use cumin seeds - fresh, green chilies. Ah, gravies - you think maybe you found the curry here? What is common to all Indian cuisines is the careful use of different spice combos, for their flavoring - digestive benefits. Turmeric, used across India, is a strong antiseptic. Ginger, garlic, bay leaf and asafetida fight indigestion - flatulence. Coriander and chili powder add flavor and thicken gravies (or curries, if you will!). Fenugreek is favored in hot weather for its cooling effects. Is all Indian cooking spicy? Hah, another parable that needs busting! Blame all those restaurateurs who serve their unsuspecting clients generic, angry looking gravies (curries), with chunks of meat and veggies. Truth is, Indian cuisine goes from spicy to subtle, with a whole range in between to satisfy the most sensitive of palates. Usually, a full-course meal is a delicious balanced mix of flavors and aromas (with desserts to die for). Also, it is a flexi-cuisine; experimenting with a lower spice level won't wreck your dinner. You are what you eat - while Indian vegetarian cooking is believed to induce calm thoughts and sharpen the intellect, meat is thought to stoke the passions. Choose the right ingredients, and with some imagination and some magic you could rustle up a custom curry. Curry, anyone?Kiran is a trained chef and a writer and contributes her knowledge of Indian culture at Indian Cooking blog and