With ethnic cuisine gaining worldwide popularity, the interest in the culinary culture of South Asia is increasing by the day, in particular, on Indian cuisine.

India has experienced extensive immigration and intermingling over several millennia and thus their food culture has benefited from these various influences. The varied climatic conditions ranging from the tropics to the alpines has helped to broaden the availability of aromatic ingredients readily available to highlight the quality of Indian cuisine. In most cases, food is a marker of social and religious identity, with various taboos and preferences. As an example, a segment of the Jain population does not consume roots or subterranean vegetables but has driven them to innovate extensively with food that are acceptable to them.

Many recipes emerged during the Vedic period, when India was heavily forested and agriculture was practiced with forest produce and game hunting. During Vedic times, a normal diet consisted of vegetables, grain, meat, fruit, dairy products and honey. Over a period of time, some embraced vegetarianism, due to Hindu philosophy and ahimsa and with the advent of Buddhism, this practice gained more popularity. A strong influence of Indian food is the vegetarianism within sections of India's Buddhist, Jain and Hindu communities. Those who follow a vegetarian diet make up 20 to 40 % of the population of India, while the meat eaters make up less than 30%. Masala Dosa served in South Indian restaurants represents the popularity of vegetarianism in India.

The diversity of Indian food culture is vast considering the array of ingredients, dishes and cooking styles that varies according to the region. India with a population of 1 billion consists of diverse cultures and religions. The endless variations in cuisines reflect religious, regional, community, economic histories. A major difference in the Indian food culture is that the north is wheat based and the south is rice based. Invasions from Central Asia, Mughal Empire, Arabia, Persia and others had a fundamental effect on Indian cooking. Influence of Arab and Portuguese traders diversified the Indian cuisine still further.

Introduction of pilafs and non vegetarian kebabs and fruits such as apricots, peaches, melons and plums, resulting in Mughlai cuisine, occurred during Islamic rule. Lavish dishes were prepared during Jahangir and Shah Jahan's reign. The Nizams of Hyderabad state developed their own style of cooking, one of which is the popular Biriyani, which is considered by many connoisseurs to be among the finest dishes in India. Portuguese and the British introduced vegetables such as potatoes, tomatoes, chilies and squash. Cooking techniques like baking were also introduced by them.

Regionally the cooking preferences are such that even the oil they use will be different. Most Indian curries are cooked in vegetable oil. Groundnut oil is popular for cooking in West and North India, while mustard oil is the preference in Eastern India. In the South, cooking is done with coconut or gingerly oil, however due to health issues, sunflower and soya bean oil is gaining popularity all over India.

The frequently used spices in Indian cuisine are black mustard, cumin, chili pepper, turmeric, fenugreek, asafetida, coriander, garlic and ginger and the popular mix garam masala, which consists of cardamom, cloves and cinnamom. Every region has its own variation of garam masala. High use of dairy products such as milk, paneer, ghee and yoghurt are highly evident in North Indian cuisine. They use the 'tawa' for baking flat breaks like paratha, rotti and tandoor, naan and kulcha. Puri and bhatoora are deep fried in oil.

A popular snack in Indian cuisine is the Samosa, which is a variety of pastry stuffed with potato, cheese, mushroom, chick pea or even minced meat. Indian cooking has such a variety, it can suit any palette!

Summery: This article provides a brief overview of the ever popular Indian cuisine, describing some of their key dishes and the various ingredients used in their cooking.