Indian cooking – This style of cooking is generally identified by the usage of a lot of spices, spicy or basmati rice or famous dishes like tikka masala.
Though that is partially true, I can only say that is the tip of the iceberg.
The beauty of Indian cooking is that there is no one definition to it. If you talk to Indians from different states of India, they will define the Indian food differently. For example, if you talk to a Punjabi, they might say their breakfast is Paratha (Bread made with whole wheat flour generally stuffed with vegetables or cottage cheese) while if you ask someone like me who is from Andhra (South India), I will say breakfast is Idli and Chutney (Steamed dumplings made from a lentil and rice batter, served with coconut/peanut based sauce)
If you are wondering if every state has its own ingredients, that is not completely true either. In simple words, Indian cooking has a lot of variations of flavors and textures depending on the cooking techniques used in various regions of the country and, yet what ties it all together is the common main ingredients we use throughout the country. For instance, khichdi is basmati rice lentil dish commonly cooked in various North Indian states with the simplest of spices like cumin seeds and turmeric, while the same basmati rice is also used to cook in South Indian kitchens for dishes like Biryani which is a very complex dish with lots of spices and long process to make it.
To summarize, the common base of Indian cooking involves various types of grains and lentils used differently in different states along with local fresh produce whatever is available depending on the state and season.
Eat Heathy! Live Happy!
Soumya
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