Why is Indian food so different?

Indian food is different mainly because India itself is not really one single food culture, it is dozens of them stitched together under one country name. What counts as normal daily food changes completely every few hundred kilometres.

Climate and geography play a huge role here. Coastal regions lean towards rice, coconut and seafood, while northern states rely more on wheat, dairy and heavier gravies suited to colder weather. Desert regions like Rajasthan developed food that could survive without much water or refrigeration, which is actually why dry snacks and namkeen became such a big part of that region's food identity in the first place.

Spice usage is another big factor. Indian cooking rarely uses just one or two spices, most dishes involve a careful layering of several spices roasted, ground or tempered at different stages, which is very different from cuisines that rely on one dominant flavour.

Religious and cultural influences also shaped Indian food heavily over centuries, leading to a huge range of vegetarian cooking traditions that are far more developed and varied than in most other cuisines globally.

Even something as simple as snacking reflects this diversity. Namkeen alone changes completely from state to state, spicy bhujia and mixture in the north, tangy farsan in Gujarat, curry leaf based mixtures in the south, each shaped by local taste rather than one national standard.

So really, Indian food is different because it was never designed as one cuisine to begin with, it grew regionally, adapted to local ingredients and climate, and stayed that way even as the country came together politically.

The reason behind this question is that, on an average a traditional Indian dish has at least 7 ingredients that often have various flavors or spicing that are heterogeneously combined so that each bite or mouthful can revel different combinations of flavor elements that burst upon the tongue at different times in the chewing process. The main distinctive factor about Indian food is the unique amalgamation of spices across different recipes. Indian cuisine is characterised by the extensive use of these spices, each imparting a unique flavor and making the dish uniquely aromatic. Also the way the in which the ingredients of the Indian Cuisines are paired is also a major reason which makes it distinctive.In Indian food all the ingredients has its own list of flavor compounds. In a recent research it has been found that in Indian Cuisine the ingredients are tended to mix in such a way that the flavors don’t overlap at all.

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India is too often known as the land of spices which I think is the very reason why Indian food is said to be very different from food everywhere else.

source:- google

Indian nourishments… .

Given the rich fortune of flavors and toppings found in India like no place else, each and every state or locale of the country has its very own staple delicacy to offer you. Being a foodie, if at any time you want for a rich, wide assortment of sustenance, you should go around India once.

Obviously, the reasonable distinction between Indian nourishment versus sustenance served in rest of the piece of the world is the flavors! Beginning from saffron-the most costly zest on the planet to cumin, straight leaf, cardamon, kokum, red stew, pepper and so forth, India offers you a considerable rundown of flavors and toppings that add flavor to the ordinary Indian sustenance.

The sustenance inclinations fluctuate from one Indian district to the next. While individuals from the northern piece of India are more into rich, zesty sustenance, going down south, you will discover individuals who have straightforward, less slick nourishment propensities. Individuals hailing from northern areas like Punjab incorporate a decent measure of ghee (a drain item), dry products of the soil masala to their sustenance. What's more, this is very apparent from their cooking styles like chole bhatura, gajar ka halwa, lassi and so on.

My first taste of Indian sustenance (in India) was sambar (a rich vegetable and lentil stew) and potatoes, which I had for breakfast over eggs and roti.

This was the morning following a 30-hour trip. The dish was delectable, reestablishing in a way just thick, fiery sustenance can be, with a flavor so mind boggling I couldn't recognize in excess of a couple of fixings. So I called room benefit and asked what was in it.

"Let me know everything" I asked. "I am prepared to take notes".

"Onions, ma'am", the good sir answered.

Afterward, I looked into the most widely recognized utilized flavors in Indian nourishment. Amchur (mango powder), inlet leaves, cardamom, cinnamon, coriander, cloves, cumin, curry leaves, fennel, fenugreek, garlic, ginger, basil, kokum (this gives dishes a purple tint), lemongrass, mace (the red silky film that develops around the nutmeg seed), mint, mustard, nutmeg, pomegranate, poppy seeds, pepper, sesame, tamarind, saffron, and turmeric.

In Hyderabad I tasted biryani - the run of the mill Hyderabad one-dish-feast presented with raita - and was so taken by its flavors I brought the server over and got some information about setting up a dish this way.

"What do you put in it?"

He thought for a second. "Onions, ma'am".

Further research uncovered that a portion of the elements of Biryani are rice (in spite of the fact that I additionally attempted one with millet), saffron, drain, papaya glue, yogurt, stew powder, ginger, garlic, caraway, cardamom, cinnamon, coriander, mint, green bean stew and lime. Furthermore, yes. Onions.

Hyderabad offers a blend of Hindu and Muslim cooking styles. Furthermore, I can precisely state I attempted a decent number of the dishes in that area. How? All things considered, I was welcome to a wedding.

It is a procedure of moderate cooking. Indeed. In most Indian foods, the point isn't to simply cook the nourishment, however to cook it in such a way, it is metamorphozed into something different. We don't barbecue chicken over a high fire, nor do we heat it at 230°C in order to cook it equally. It is marinated for no less than 6-8 hours before stewed on a low fire in the sauce for around 45 minutes. This outcomes in a uniformly seasoned meat which is sufficiently delicate to be named cooked.

Tolerance is the key. You would prefer not to surge here. An onion-tomato sauce will be made simply after the onions are brilliant dark colored, the ginger garlic glue included isn't radiating a crude smell. That is the point at which you include the tomatoes. Likewise, entire flavors or khada masala are first tempered in oil. The sauce arranged must be stewed to encourage legitimate cooking.

A substantial blend of flavors. There are a ton of flavors. Also, by a great deal, I mean significantly in excess of a ton. Indeed, even a couple of flavors will give a sauce a disinct enhance. You would prefer not to include mustard seeds in a Rizala sauce. Neither would you like to include dark cardamom in Chettinad Masala. The outcomes will be sad.

As indicated by the article:

1. Truly, a lot of different flavors do add to the fragrance and one of a kind taste of the expansive assortment of Indian dishes.

2. Indian nourishment is regularly comprised of fixings that don't share a lot of flavor mixes. For instance, coconut chutney is made of coconuts, onions, green chillis and curry takes off. These fixings share not very many flavors.

Citing from the article... "...the more cover two fixings have in flavor, the more outlandish they are to show up in a similar Indian dish...Milk, margarine, bread, and rice, in the interim—which are all signs of Western cooking—were observed to be related with the exact inverse: season pairings that coordinate. At the point when any of those fixings showed up in an Indian dish, there was a decent shot there would be a considerable measure of flavor cover.".

In Charak Sanhita there is a mention about relation between panchendriya and food.

What are panchendriya ?

Panchedriya means five sensory organs Ears, Nose, Eyes, Skin and Tongue.

How do Panchendriya relate to food and How are they important?

1. Ears - Your ears first hear when the food is being cooked.

In India you must have observed the utensils used for cooking like Kadhai (Oval Pan) , Tava (Flat Pan), Ladle etc are made up of heavy metal. When food is cooked, the sound of these utensils are first heard. Also the use of mustard seeds, curry leaves, Cumin seeds in oil for tempering gives crackling sound. Nowadays Pressure Cooker whistles let you know that meal is getting ready.

2. Nose - Your nose smells the food from a distance.

From the aroma you can guess what is being cooked. Each spice has its aroma. Cardamom, Nutmeg are used in sweets. Coriander seeds, Cloves, Cinnamon, Black Pepper are used in different vegetables and gravies. Mustard seeds, Cumin seeds, Asafoetida, Curry leaves, Garlic are used for tempering.

3. Eyes - Your eyes admire the presentation of food.

We sprinkle coriander leaves, grated Coconut or sometimes a tempering (like in Dal Tadka) to garnish a dish. We garnish sweets with Cashews and Almonds. We enjoy a dish with colourful ingredients. The most important of all is Indian origin Turmeric. It is rarely used in any other non-Indian cuisine.

Potato, Tomato, Refined sugar and Chilli don't have Indian origin. They were brought to India by the Portuguese.

Mughlai cuisine by the Mughals.

Even tea didn't originate here. Day of an average indians starts with tea.

Can you believe it chilli didn't originate in India. By the way we love chillis.

This inclusiveness gives Indian food uniqueness as it is mix of different cuisines but in Indian style.

2. Indian food has 6 different flavours: sweet, salty, bitter, sour, astringent and spicy. A noraml indian diet has all.

3. Variety which is more than most other places: This is a result of combinations possible with enormous no. of ingredients, cultural diversity and inclusivness.

4. The aroma of Indian food is also unique because of various different cooking styles like slow cooking or boiling the spices instead of frying them as done in Kashmiri cuisine.

5. Most of the indian breads are also very different from your average bread because usually breads are fermented Indian ones are not.

6. Another difference is stuffing spices in vegetables which we call BHARWAN whereas in most of the other cuisine the stuffing is amde of ingedients like cheese, potato, noodles, etc.

I'll answer your last question first. I have only been to Seoul Airport and never eaten Indian food in Korea, but I have been living in the US for many decades. One thing I can tell you that the Indian food in India is very very different from even the best restaurants in US. I wondered about the reasons a lot and tried all kinds of food in India (high end restaurants, highway dhabas, home cooked in various provinces) and then also compared food from various well reviewed restaurants, as well as my own and friends Mom's cooked food. The difference turned out to be the ingredients. US market is full of genetically optimized onions, potatoes, tomatoes, cilantro and even the imported spices. Probably the spices lose a whole lot of flavor during the import process. Essentially when Mom or the best chef comes over and cooks the food the same way using the same (same name but different sources) ingredients, it does not turn out to be the same. When the same Punjabi chef from the highway dhaba in India comes to US and cooks, his food is likely better than most restaurants around in US but it does not taste like how he made it back home. Its true for all the Moms who have visited the US.

So every time I go back to India I eat like there is no tomorrow. My Mom asks me if we starve in the US. :)

As for the flavors of spices is concerned, I'll just point you to the other excellent answers here.

I'll answer your last question first. I have only been to Seoul Airport and never eaten Indian food in Korea, but I have been living in the US for many decades. One thing I can tell you that the Indian food in India is very very different from even the best restaurants in US. I wondered about the reasons a lot and tried all kinds of food in India (high end restaurants, highway dhabas, home cooked in various provinces) and then also compared food from various well reviewed restaurants, as well as my own and friends Mom's cooked food. The difference turned out to be the ingredients. US market is full of genetically optimized onions, potatoes, tomatoes, cilantro and even the imported spices. Probably the spices lose a whole lot of flavor during the import process. Essentially when Mom or the best chef comes over and cooks the food the same way using the same (same name but different sources) ingredients, it does not turn out to be the same. When the same Punjabi chef from the highway dhaba in India comes to US and cooks, his food is likely better than most restaurants around in US but it does not taste like how he made it back home. Its true for all the Moms who have visited the US.

So every time I go back to India I eat like there is no tomorrow. My Mom asks me if we starve in the US. :)

As for the flavors of spices is concerned, I'll just point you to the other excellent answers here.