There has been a lot of discussion around the world in the past about Indian food. But this is no celebration. In fact, it was a shock to see the articles that were written about it and the things that were done on social media. Such was the matter. There are so many flavors in our food culture, and if someone talks like this about it, then one gets shocked and also gets angry.
Recently, a visiting foreigner wrote a column and created a storm in the teacup. He said that he doesn’t like Indian food. That was perfectly fine. Everyone is free to express their opinion. But he said that all Indian dishes are based on the same spices. He later changed his mind when he was invited by different restaurants and tasted different foods from different states. He said his statement was completely wrong. The newspaper also apologized for the wrong articles.
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All this was going on, and the Indian "curry" was being targeted and getting all the attention around the western countries. We all laugh when we hear people calling almost every Indian dish "curry". The discussion intensified when a western movie star revealed how much he loved all kinds of Indian curries‘. He also shared a picture of himself outside a restaurant in England. He said he enjoyed two curries there. But the fact was he didn’t even eat curry, but what he ate was actually chicken tikka masala.
Whether people believe it or not, all Indian food is not "curry". There is no such dish in India called "curry." Every dish has its own name accordingly. Even if the gravy is thick or thin in any dish, we will explain it specifically. If we have dry vegetables, we also have curry vegetables.
What people call Indian curry in western countries is actually not completely true. Any vegetable or meat cooked in ‘curry powder’. No one in India uses that ‘curry powder." It is completely a western idea. In fact, a couple of foreigners lived with us in Delhi about two years ago, but they could never understand how many types of spices we used in our food. They ate with us. Not only this, spices also change according to the region and season.
Now it is the turn of Chicken Tikka Masala. Indian food doesn’t just mean chicken tikka masala. This dish does not exist in India. This is a western dish that we cook here too. I am a vegetarian, so I won’t even know what it tastes like. But the question now is, what is the meaning of Indian food?
The first thing is that Indian food has its own regional specialty and there is a lot of diversity in it. There is no one thing that one should take away by calling it Indian food. All the regions have their own special dishes here. Fatty things remain the same, but the way of cooking them, and the spices added to them, all change as soon as the area changes. So the dish also changes as you move from one state to another. For example, they cook potatoes or fish in different ways in different regions. What you get in Delhi is not available in Mumbai or vice versa. You won’t find the same taste even in two nearby cities.
One can get a change in food and drink after going one hundred km apart. Indian food also changes according to the season. This is its second feature. So are the vegetables, according to the season. The spices also change accordingly. The taste of hot spices, especially clove, black pepper, and nutmeg, is used in winter. We believe these spices provide heat to the body and also help in keeping diseases away. We use certain spices only during the summer. Things like fennel, poppy seeds, mustard seeds, and mango powder are some of them.
The Indian cuisine also changes depending on what particular ingredient is used for the broth. In Western countries, a dish is called something depending on what the meat is or what the sauce is. But in India, hundreds of ‘sauces’ or gravies are possible. You won’t find the same type of fish curry in all Indian states, but every state has its own way of cooking. What you find in Maharashtra and Goa is not available in Karnataka, Punjab, or the rest of North India.
Another specialty of Indian food is that using lots of spices doesn’t mean putting them all together in a dish. This is an expert job. We add different spices in different styles and different ways. We eat food according to the seasons and the availability of ingredients at different times of the year. As a result, the aroma that emanates from the dish differs depending on the weather.
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Most foreigners feel that Indian food is hot. However, this is not entirely correct. Indian food is really spicy, but not necessarily very chili. Chili, or black pepper, is just one spice in our list of spices. We do not even use them in many dishes or use them sparingly.
So anyone who believes he knows everything about "Indian food" should double-check his facts. Given the diversity of our food and the rich tradition it has, it is not possible for anyone to know it all.