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Indian Tradition of Culinary Cultures


mrinmoybose

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As we all know the vast streach of INDIA as a country,varies with its cultures,tradition and geographical ,which has a direct impacts on the fooding technics and their culinary styles.

The culinary art of INDIA is very much decended from the past of its culture.In different eras,lots of peoples and the community visited the country, had a lots of impact in the food habits and culinary styles of the different regions.

As a whole,according to the geographical differences the culinary and fooding habits of INDIA can be differentiated as:

NORTH-INDIAN CUISINE

EAST-INDIAN CUISINE

WEST INDIAN CUISINE

SOUTH INDIAN CUISINE

AND

FOODING HABITS OF THE MOUNTANIOUS AREAS.

 

North-Indian cuisines are generally dominated by the different cereals and the fibrous vegetables.Majorly wheat dominates the basics of the habits.

 

Rice and other cereals are majorly the part of the staple food habits of the eastern part of the country.The areas are very much favourable for the cultivation and is basically the plain areas.The rivers and the catchment of the sea enrich this areas fooding habits with different kind of FISHES,CRABS etc.

 

The humidity in the southern part will prevails through-out the year.Therefore the foods are largely vegan.Areas are surrounded by different seas,COCONUT plays a major part in the different dishes.

 

Western part of the country is basically an extreme climatic areas.Therefore the habits largely on cereals to dominate.

 

MY FUTURE POSTS WILL FOLLOWS THE DIFFERENT AREAS OF CULINARY SKILLS AND THE DIFFERENT DISHES OF EACH REGION....

THANKS.....HAPPY FOODING.. 

 

 

 

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I am curious why you would say that the southern part of India which you admit is surrounded by water and hence has access to a plentiful variety of seafood is largely vegan.

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

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We absolutely love food from the Indian subcontinent and cook a few dishes at home.  We have only two restaurants in our city with Indian food, both owned by the same man, quite expensive.   We were devastated when the inexpensive restaurant closed down. 

 

We did come across in our travels, a truck-stop on the eastern edge of  New Mexico on I 40 which carries Indian food ingredients and snack foods.  Talk about in the middle of nowhere but we were glad.  I should ask the family where in Indian they come from.  There we were, eating samosas at 9:30 am.  :wub:

Darienne

 

learn, learn, learn...

 

We live in hope. 

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OP do you see any fusion/muddling of the different regional styles you describe when the food is exported to other cultures?

There's not a lot of awareness of different regional traditions in India in the USA, all Indian food is lumped into one category.

I wonder if the desire to increase sales forces Indian chefs to present the highlights of various regions which leads to uncommon (for an Indian) pairings.

For example, I can't imagine it would be typical to see a tandoori grilled chicken served at the same meal where a lentil dal was the star. But in the USA that variety is almost expected.

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I am curious why you would say that the southern part of India which you admit is surrounded by water and hence has access to a plentiful variety of seafood is largely vegan.

 

I'm not the OP, and until he/she responds - I might murmur that "vegetarian" might be a better term, rather than "vegan" - insofar as the understanding of those two terms are concerned, with regards to a Western/NA audience.  Certainly ghee, yoghurt, paneer (cheese) as just three things widely used in S Indian (and other regional Indian) cuisines would NOT be vegan in the Western sense.

 

But - in my understanding (again, pending a response from the OP) vegetarianism in Indian cuisines is tied up with the religion and culture (Hinduism, Jainism - vegetarianism is favored; and Brahmins (who hold a lot of sway in S India as well) favor vegetarianism.  Then also, the place is hot and humid.  Traditionally, refrigeration was not a common feature - to say the least - and seafood (in your query) might, I suggest, not last too long when moved from the coastal regions to the inland regions...hmm? Of course nowadays the technology is there to do so but both tradition and "wide availability of refrigeration" are still factors in the place, I might venture.  Certainly I expect fishes and seafood to be widely incorporated into the cuisines along coastal regions in S India (as well as elsewhere), while my knowledge of Tamilian and Chettinad cuisine certainly involves a fair bit of meat - in addition to seafood.  Keralan cuisine is sort of in-between, in my experience, while *coastal* Keralan cuisine does feature a fair bit of seafood (spanking fresh, of course).  Of course, translation of these cuisines to other regions of SE Asia (which is closer to what I am familiar with) would involve adaptation to local circumstances and ingredient availability but I imagine the basic framework would be the same or very similar.

 

The other factor is, of course, the issue of cost-of-ingredients.  Meat/fish is more expensive than vegetables etc, even in a place surrounded by the seas, disregarding the DISTANCES from coast to coat (it is not a small place) and in a society where, traditionally, family income was not and never was at 1st world standards having meat on the table for every meal every day was not a practical reality.

 

But I'm sure someone will come along and correct or modify the things I am venturing.

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huiray,

I suspect we were both trying to make the same point that vegetarianism (veganism) is rarely linked to geography. It is strongly linked to culture and belief systems.

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

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  • 3 weeks later...

Yes, the food of southern India is predominantly vegan, I've traveled throughout Kerala and found plant based dishes in abundance. Of course, there's plenty of fish restaurants on the coast but these are for tourists not the local population who, if lucky, may get a handful of small fish after the catch has been sold. 

 

On the beach you can eat any fish or seafood you desire as although fish stocks are extremely low 99% or the catch goes straight to the beach restaurants. Move inland and its a completely different story with coconut, rice and vegetables being the main staples. 

 

Kerala is the most southern state on the western coast, is reasonably wealthy, has a good education system and good transport links. Like the rest of India though it has its fair share of problems and of course is over populated. I managed to eat with the locals on several occasions and their food is amazing! For very little money they get by on fruits, vegetables, legumes, lentils and coconut products. If your vegan (like me) Kerala and the southern states are a mecca for new and exciting flavors, I learnt a great deal while I was there. 

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