Indian Cuisine - Research Paper Example

Indian Cuisine Introduction The present India is undergoing an era of rapid cookery evolution. Due to urbanization, there is a lot of simplicity in the living patterns simplifying the home-cooked food. Consequently, there is frequent withdraw of old recipes. In addition, most popular hotels and restaurants are promoting the mixing of styles. The preparation of many Indian dishes takes a lot of time for instance; cutting vegetables requires the whole day, the spices are pounded using a stone while one is required to sit patiently by the fire for hours on end. Apart from the taste and the flavor, most of the spices used in Indian food have medicinal purposes (Dubey, 2). Although India is famous for its spices, some of its most important spices, including a few that are fundamental not only to cuisine but also to local healing traditions, are exotic. They include turmeric, garlic, ginger, fenugreek, asafetida, and cinnamon. Certain cultural perspectives contribute to India’s diversity and uniqueness in the matter of food (Nandy, 11). Contemporary forces of international business integration have picked up the themes of food as a social rite and food as health. This is to reorganize and formalize the cuisines of all nations in relation to the global needs (9). These advances have stimulated subtle transformations in the cultural features and significance of Indian cuisines. These changes take place regularly outside the array of vision of ethnographers, journalists and nutritionists writing on food or restaurants. Moreover, the conventional ethnographic concerns of food have fused now with a modern, more fluid politics of food in India. These ethnographic concerns of food include the uncontaminated and the impure, commensality and its absence, the cooked and the raw as well as the sanctified and the sacrilegious (Nandy, 10). Unique aspects of the Indian cuisine There are strict rules governing good eating habits in India. One is only allowed to use the right hand during eating. In addition, the palm of the hand should remain dry and clean as only the fingers are used. It considered a poor form of eating to let curry to dribble down the arm. It is right to use the right hand to tear off the pieces of chapatti and wrap them around vegetables and pickles, or use them to scoop curry into one's mouth. Mostly, when one mixes rice with other food, he uses the fingers to eat. Although some people will use a spoon for the accompanying curry, it is not the norm since service of most meals does not include any cutlery. The main use of the left hand is to drink water, to wave away the flies or to help oneself to more food. There is no more use of the right hand after one has started eating because that would be polluting the food everyone will serve from the common pot (Dandekar, 41). India is popular for spices and herbs, and this greatly contributes to the choice of spices to use during cooking. Most of these spices are chosen mainly because of their medicinal values rather than for flavor. Many of them aid in digestion while others are antiseptic. In addition, most of these spices used in Indian food do not make the food too bland (3). On the other hand, these spices give trace amounts of antioxidants or other chemicals that help in digestion. Others act as effective mouth fresheners that prevent heartburn, curb nausea and help in digestion (Dubey, 4). The most common spice in India especially the southern region is Cumin. In addition, there is use of fruits, which are fried or dry-roasted before usage. Cumin fried in ghee usually flavor the seeds form a crucial part of curry powder and legumes particularly lentils by. The mixture of cumin is set up to savor its sweet and aromatic flavor (Kumar, 49). In recent decades, the South Indian food creations like vada, uthappam, dosai and idli have partially outdone the colonial fast food preparations in popularity. In fact, when one talks about Indian fast food, these are the food items that first come to one’s mind. Although the North Indian foods, especially the Punjabi favorites, for example chhole-bhature or chholekulche, tikki and dahi bhalla are the second most preferred set, a couple of Gujarati preparations have recently joined the list. It is possible that in future, the South Indian preparations will experience stiffer competition from Gujarat, which is rich in a range of farsans. However, the South Indians enjoys more popularity in the Indian image of Indian fast food (Nandy, 13). Indian cooking entails several basic steps. One of the most important is the preparation of an oil and spice base, mainly known as aphodani in Marathi and involves addition of cooked beans, vegetables, lentils, rice and other ingredients. The main reason of aphodani is to cook different spices in oil to the different temperatures required to obtain their full flavor. In fact, a properly madephodani makes the cook and observers to cough and sniff (Dandekar, 42). Benefits of Indian cuisine Presently, Indian cuisine is becoming more famous around the world because it is tasty to eat, easy to prepare and its basis is grains, which is what people desire nowadays. In addition, people want meals that are high in proteins, carbohydrates, fibers and other nutrients, those foods with health-promoting properties, which are plenty in different herbs and spices. On the other hand, Indian cuisine permits multiple choice and combination of food by saving time and energy because crock-pots, a pressure cooker or electric pans can cook most of these items. Besides, full menus can be easily prepared as long as one knows every ingredient’s characteristic. The wholesome tastes in Indian cuisine intend to satisfy not only the taste buds but also the human physiology (Dubey, 14). In order to complement an Indian meal there is use of dried fruit chutneys, hot pickles, curd and fresh herbal chutneys. The Indian menu is more palatable because of these small additives to the meal. They also lend a strong flavor to the meal while at the same time balancing the tastes, as they are hot, sour and sweet, all at once. The fresh herbal chutneys like coconut together with different pickles like mango, lime and eggplant make the meal very tasty and fresh (Dubey, 15). The Indian cuisine contains various vegetables, which provide nutritional as well as medicinal benefits. Corchorus olitorius is a vegetable with an antioxidant activity and an important tocopherol as good as vitamin E and mainly used alone or as a mixed green leafy vegetable. The tender twigs with leaves of watercress are taken as a vegetable and they grow wild along edges of ponds, ditches and canals. Eryngium foetidum, which can be a substitute for coriander, is a short-lived aromatic herb used for flavoring and seasoning local curry, meat, and vegetable dishes. In addition, one can use its leaves and roots in tea to combat colic, stimulate appetite, improve digestion, soothe stomach pains, as an expectorant and even as an aphrodisiac (2). A large number of fruits and seeds of different indigenous plants also form a part of Indian cuisines. These include Artocarpus altilis, mostly used as vegetable for culinary purposes and are rich in carbohydrates. The fruit also builds a good delicacy in other vegetables (Chadha, 5). Plant foods such as pulses, cereals, green leafy vegetables, roots, tubers, other vegetables, fruits, oil seeds, spices and condiments form the largest part of the Indian diets. There are different forms, which one can take fruits including canned, dried, fresh or frozen. The bigger part of fruits and vegetables comprise of the polysaccharides, which are beneficial to healthy human volunteers, since the consumption of fiber reduces plasma cholesterol levels. Studies indicate the link between the protective effect of fruits and vegetables and preventing development of stroke in men. In one study, there was a decreased mortality and subsequent infarctions in infracted survivors through addition of fruits and vegetables to the regular diet. Consequently, the dietary fiber may play a major role in establishing the health and disease conditions of various population groups (Ramulu & Rao, 678). Some foods such as guar gum, fenugreek, oat and psyllium have hypoglycemic and hypocholesterolaemic effects in experimental animals and in humans. Although Indians take little fruits consumption, it is a good source of fiber. Consequently, there is an increased fiber content in the regular diet by inclusion of fruits (Ramulu & Rao, 681). Rao adds that for an adult, it is normally advisable that the daily consumption of dietary fiber should be approximately 40 g. It is very easy to attain such a level of dietary fiber consumption in regular Indian diets, founded principally on unprocessed cereals and plant foods. In wheat or millet-based diets, dietary fiber intakes are normally higher than in rice-based diets. In addition, almost Eighty percent of the fiber contained in the diets consumed in India comes from cereals mainly among the low-income populations. Dietary fiber constituents are very important in the health of individuals due to their bulging properties and escalating passage time in the small intestine. As a result, they help in the prevention of certain types of diabetes by lessening the rate of discharge of glucose and its assimilation (12). The Indian cumin finds universal use in beverages, liquids, foods, perfumeries and drugs. In India, most tribes use cumin in making soups, cakes, spice powders, stews and breads. Moreover, the seeds of cumin have significant health benefits, as they are anti-spasmodic, carminative and stimulant. Furthermore, “cumin has substantial reputation as a therapy for colic and dyspeptic headache and in helping correct flatulence caused by languid digestion.” Moreover, it is functional in diarrhea and dyspepsia. It is also useful as an anthelmintic against hookworm contagions because of its healing and therapeutic powers and augments secretion and discharge of urine (Kumar, 50). In the Indian cuisine, there are several traditional vegetables and fruits, which offer significant health benefits. These include water Hyssop or Indian brahmi, in which the whole plant cooks as a leafy vegetable. This vegetable is a popular medicinal herb in Indian systems of health care. It has laxative properties and helpful in severe ulcers, tumors, spleen enlargement, anemia, dyspepsia, leprosy, biliousness and irritations. In addition, it helps in blood purification, relieves chronic diarrhea, augments memory ability and attentiveness and decreases stress-induced nervousness (Chadha, 4). The fresh gentle leaves and stems of fenugreek helps in digestion are perfect for curing sinus and lung congestion. They are also helpful in reducing irritation and combating infection. The seeds help women during the post-natal time and lactating mothers to improve lactation. Moreover, the seeds have a steroidal substance, used in the production of sex hormones (3). Moreover, Rao indicates, “red palm oil has a lot of tocopherols and carotenoids, while rice bran oil is rich in plant sterols that have hypocholesterolaemic properties” (16). Conclusion The Indian cuisine is unique in many ways and offers many benefits particularly health benefits. Most of the components of the Indian cuisine comprise spices, herbs and vegetables, all that have health benefits. In addition, the Indian cuisine is very popular and most people like its combination. Many of the food components are useful in relieving major diseases and conditions that are very persistent. In addition, the preparation, serving and habits of eating of the Indian cuisine are unique. For instance, there are certain eating habits considered abnormal and out of conduct. The preparation of the meals also takes a lot of time, in order to produce the best. It is evident that the Indian cuisine has very many specifications that even the western world does not know. It is therefore very special and unique, and admired by very many people all over the world. Works Cited Chadha, M. Indigenous Vegetables of India with a Potential for Improving Livelihoods. 2008. Web. Dandekar, Hemalata. “Women, Food and the Sustainable Economy: A Simple Relationship.” Progressive Planning 158 (2004): 41-43. Print. Dubey, Krishna. The Indian Cuisine. New Delhi: PHI Learning, 2011. Print. Kumar, Vijaya. The Secret Benefits of Spices and Condiments. New York: Sterling Publishers, 2006. Print. Nandy, Ashis. “The Changing Popular Culture of Indian Food: Preliminary Notes.” South Asia Research 24.1 (2004): 9-18. Print. Paruchuri Ramulu & Rao, Udayasekhara. “Total, insoluble and soluble dietary fiber contents of Indian fruits.” Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 16 (2003): 677-685. Print. Rao, Narasinga. “Bioactive photochemical in Indian foods and their potential in health promotion and disease prevention.” Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition 12.1 (2003): 9-22. Print. Read More