India cuisine - Top of the world!

India is a geographically rich country. The world?s most recently formed and still rising mountains, the Himalayas are the crowning glory with the world?s most ancient rocks in the Peninsula adding wealth to the southern part of the country. We also have the world?s wettest place at Chirapunji and the hottest desert in Thar.

Interestingly, the tapestry of Indian culture also weaves in some colourful threads of variety of cuisines. It cannot be gainsaid that in India if you begin to taste a new dish everyday it will take quite a few years before you will have exhausted the entire repertoire of Indian food! That?s India cuisine for you!

Indian food has been synonymous with curries and sweetmeats. In the subsequent articles you will get a chance to savour the hot, tart, sweet and tangy notes that make up the melodious symphony of India cuisine. It will also be a sincere attempt to present easy to cook recipes so that the myth that Indian food is elaborate to cook can be put to rest.

Creativity has surely built a home in India. Given the availability of limited basic ingredients, the diversity of preparations is a surprise. The northern and western parts of the country have wheat as the staple cereal. Mustard oil is a popular cooking medium in the north and east and groundnut oil in the west. The people of southern and eastern parts relish rice. Most of the cuisine in the southern parts makes good use of sesame and coconut oil. A range of spices in a variety of combinations put a distinct stamp of flavour to the regional recipes.

India cuisine is more popular for its wide variety of vegetarian dishes, which depend on the seasonal availability. Dal is a must almost all over the country. Fish, mutton or chicken are the more popular non-vegetarian dishes of which too there is a considerable variety. A meal is generally accompanied with curds, either in the form of raita or eaten plain. This is mostly to combat the other spicy dishes plus aid in digestion. Another integral part of an Indian meal is the stupendous variety of pickles - both hot and sweet.

As we leave you with these mouth watering notes, let us get back following week with more highlights of India cuisine.