Food

Indian cuisine uses a very powerful style of cooking and is known for its free use of herbs, spices, and curries. "Free use" of herbs and spices means that the ingredients are roughly estimated. Some of the ingredients that are common in Indian cooking include:

• Ginger

• Coriander

• Cardamom

• Turmeric

• Dried hot peppers

• Cinnamon

• Mint

• Cilantro

• Chutneys*

You may have heard of the side sauce called mango chutney. Chutney is one of the most important parts of India's food culture. It is a thick vegetable and/or fruit spread combined with various spices, such as mint and chutney.

Curries and Spices (Media is from Unsplash)

Much of the Indian cuisine is vegetarian, since a large portion of the population is also vegetarian. The Times of India reported in 2016 that 28.85% of the Indian population is vegetarian. This vegetarianism is sometimes influenced by Hinduism. Some of the most common vegetarian dishes include:

• Dal- Lentil dish tempered with oil and spices

• Paneer- Popular Indian cheese

• Aloo gobi- Potatoes and cauliflower with spices

• Vegetable biryani- Rice and vegetable dish combined with an assortment of spices

• Chole- A spicy, chickpea based curry

Paneer dish (Media is from Unsplash)

Spiciness is a fundamental of Indian cuisine. Whenever I went to an Indian restaurant, all of the food was usually spicy. Even when asking the waiter to make the food contain "medium" spice levels, the food would be extremely spicy. Indians typically have a higher spice tolerance than Caucasians, which means that an Indian's "medium" will be a Caucasian's phone call for the fire department. If you have a low spice tolerance, I would definitely suggest asking for "mild" because having no spiciness dulls part of the flavor.

There are many followers of Hinduism in India that will still eat meat; however, they will most likely eat lamb or chicken. Cows are considered sacred, so beef is uncommonly eaten. McDonald's and some other fast food restaurants will not serve beef, but serve chicken instead. Some common lamb and chicken dishes include:

• Butter chicken- This is probably the most famous chicken dish, and can commonly be seen in Western Indian restaurants. Its name is pretty self-explanatory, besides the curry, spices, and tomato sauce that it is cooked in.

• Tandoori chicken- Chicken marinated in yogurt and barbecued.

• Chicken tikka masala- Grilled chicken in tomato garlic sauce along with spices like chili, garlic, and ginger.

• Rogan josh- Lamb in creamy sauce with red chilies.

• Lamb korma- Lamb mixed with a thick sauce made of coconut, cream/yogurt, and spices like ginger and coriander

In the U.S, food is eaten with forks, knives, spoons, and hands. In India, food is eaten with your right hand or bread. You may be wondering why the left hand is not used. In India, the left hand is very unhygenic, and is used in the bathroom only. Bread can be used like a spoon. You can dip it in sauce, use it to pick up rice, etc.

Bread is a very important part of the Indian cuisine. Some types of bread include:

• Chapati- Indian flatbread cooked on a skillet

• Naan- Indian flatbread traditionally cooked in a clay oven. It is probably the most famous Indian bread, and is definitely my favorite.

• Dosa- A thin rice bread, usually with yogurt on the side. Common breakfast food.

Naan is on the top of this plate (Media is from Unsplash)