Indian food is a cuisine that is savoured by all people irrespective of borders and continents. This is evident from the fact that wherever you may go, you might find a stall, a vendor, a hotel or a restaurant that offers Indian cuisine. However, I have observed that after crossing borders, even myths are served as accompaniments! There a lot of myths I hear about whenever I am in a place outside of India. So much that people come to me and ask if this is really the case. Here, I highlight some of the common delusions that abundant all over.
Myth 1: Indian food is vegetarian, strictly.
Though true to some extent, Indian cuisine is not "strictly" vegetarian. India is a blend of many cultures and sects. Hindus mainly follow a vegetarian course of meal; there are but smaller sects within the religion that follow their own food style.
India has a huge population of meat eaters and sea food lovers. As a matter of fact, chicken is the most popular meat in India. Cows are considered sacred here and there is a ban on even possessing beef.
Myth 2: If it's Chicken Tikka, it has to be Indian food.
This myth has been imported to England and has been made very popular by them. The fact is, chicken tikka is a dish that was introduced by the Mughals to India. The dish then was adopted by the Punjab region where it underwent some modifications to suit the taste buds of the locals. The dish then went where the Punjabis went; though foreigners may find it relishing, Chicken Tikka is not much popular in India as it has a lot of competition from other dishes.
Myth 3: If it's spicy, it's Indian food.
Yet another very prominent myth that does the round of almost every mouth that feeds on Indian food abroad. India is a melting pot and thus has thousands of dishes to its credit mainly because of the diversity in culture in every state. Though spicier than European or American cuisine, Indian cuisine also has recipes that are sweet to taste. Try a Gujarati dish for an experience; you might find a touch of sweetness even in lentils and vegetable dishes.
Myth 4: Indian food is monotonous.
This is perhaps the biggest mistake one could make while thinking of Indian food. India comprises of 29 states, each having a population that speaks different language, lives a different lifestyle, celebrates their own festivals and has their own gourmet. Believe me, if you decide to try out Indian dishes, your journey might end but the varieties that Indian food offers would never end.
Myth 5: Indian food means curry.
Curry is a term that Indians take it very differently from the notion that people everywhere else have. In the southern part of India, curry means a side-dish, with or without gravy. Curry comes from the Tamil word Kari, meaning meat as an accompaniment alongside main course.
With this article, I hope you get to know Indian food and cuisine better; I can now refer this article to people who are confused about the real Indian cuisine.
The author is a chef at a popular hotel and specializes in Indian Foods & Cuisine . He also is invited as a guest chef at various hotels across the globe and as he finds time from the fork and knives, he writes about the eccentrics and absurdities of food culture.
No comments:
Post a Comment