Effects on the Cuisine of India

Indian cuisine encompasses a wide variety of foods from all over. Given the range of diversity in soil type and climate, these cuisines vary significantly from each other. They also try and use locally available spices, vegetables, fruits, and herbs. Indian food is also heavily influenced by religious and cultural choices and traditions. In Western India the climate is tropical wet and dry, and has a lot of deserts and coast lines. This region produces barley, wheat, corn, fish and coconut milk. In Northern India the climate is a temperate climate, though cool winters, hot summers and moderate monsoons are the general pattern. This region is a prime region for rice growing, although wheat production overshadows that of rice. East India is significantly influenced by the large amount water and waterways in the area. The climate is tropical and every summer brings monsoons. This area is known for having fish as a common ingredient as well as rice, and different root vegetables. Southern India has a tropical climate that dictates the food here, such as tropical fruits, vegetables, rice, and many spices. A vast majority of this population is highly religious, which also dictates what is eaten here. Many of the people in this area are devoutly Hindu, which in turn make them vegetarians.

The original inhabitants of India migrated from Middle East or North Africa. They grew many of the same crops that are still in the area today, such as, rice, wheat, millet, chickpea, lentil, mangoes, and mustard. In the second millennium cows were brought into the picture by Aryans and were depended on for cheese, ghee, and milk. The cow became a sacred animal because they believed it could provide more for them alive, than dead. Around this time M...

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...I tried gulab jamun. It is a very popular desert often eaten at festivals and weddings. It was my favorite dish of all. Gulab Jamun is a milk solids based desert. The milk solids are prepared by heating milk over a low flame for a long time until most of the water has been evaporated. It is then kneaded into dough and then shaped into small balls and deep fried at a low temperature of about 298 degrees Fahrenheit. The dough balls are then soaked in light syrup, flavored with rosewater. It was like eating mini doughnuts, although; the dough balls were denser than regular doughnuts. I think that is why I enjoyed them more because of the texture, and the rose water syrup topped it off perfectly. Not too sweet, but just enough.

I will go back to Taj Mahal soon. I always stayed away from Indian food because the smell always put me off, but this time taste won me over.