UNITED TASTES OF INDIA

Ahead of Independence Day, TNIE takes a journey through the culinary diversity of the country

- MAHIMA ANNA JACOB & ARYA UR

THERE was a time in India when international cuisine meant Chinese food but with a heavy dose of Indian elements. However, in the past few years, we have been seeing an explosion of flavours.

Though Italian and Thai cuisines were one of the earliest foreign cuisines that became household names, like pizza and pad thai, Japanese with their sushi and sukiyaki, Mexican with tacos and burritos, Vietnamese with their quintessential soup, pho, Korean with bibimbap and ramen, along with Arabian cusine entered the flavour palate of Indians.

However, in the quest of finding out what's the best out there, many forget to celebrate the diversity of India's own food culture. From Mughlai cuisine, pahadi dishes of Himachal Pradesh, the wide variety of fermented and smoked dishes of North Eastern states, pav bhaji, poha of Maharashtra, and the unique blend of Indian and Portuguese culinary elements of Goa to Kolkata's mesmerising mishti doi and biryani, Tamil Nadu's poriyal, Hyderabadi biryani and Kerala's many varieties of fish curries and porotta and beef, there are umpteen cuisines just like our languages for each Indian to savour.

"India is diverse in all senses. One dish will appear in different forms in many states. Look at kebabs in Karnataka, by default, it is chicken kebab and is fried in oil. Whereas in Lucknow, there will be plenty of choices of meat that will be minced. They add the necessary spices, shape the meat and fry it in a kadai. In Kashmir and Punjab, kebab is made in a tandoor," says Mrinal Das Vengalat, management consultant and food blogger.

'International influence'

Executive chef of Hyatt Regency Trivandrum, Senthil Kumar says that other than Mughlai, Indian food has a close connection with the Burmese and Chinese style.