Although ever region in India has its own style of cooking, for the sake of simplicity one can divide these into four geographical regions – North, South, East and West.
North India has an extreme climate where winters are cold and summers are very hot and dry. This region abounds in fresh fruits and vegetables. Since this region is in the northern part of the country, it had been open to more invasions than other parts. As a result, the food and culture have been influenced by Central and West Asia.
North Indian food is moderately spicy and is characterized by creamy sauces. Dried fruits are used extensively in cooking along with dairy products like milk, ghee, cream, paneer and yoghurt. Roti is more popular in the North than rice. The tandoori style of cooking belongs to this region so naan, tandoori roti, tandoori chicken and various kebabs are popular here. Other well-loved dishes of the North include rajma, chole, palak paneer, biryani, pulao, butter chicken, chicken tikka etc.
The most common ingredients used in this region are cilantro – both seeds and fresh, cumin, dry red chillies, cinnamon, cardamom, asafetida, garam masala and fennel.
South India has a hot and humid climate where rice, seafood and vegetables are easily available. Some parts of this region have an exclusively vegetarian cuisine while others have a huge range of seafood. Food is by and large fiery and really spicy. The Hyderabadi style of cooking is really famous and is known for its biryani.
South Indian food revolves around rice-based dishes. Rice is usually eaten with sambar, rasam, curries, meat dishes and a range of chutneys. Idlis, dosas and uttapams – all breakfast dishes are made of rice.
South Indian food uses the following ingredients – curry leaves, mustard seeds, asafetida, pepper, tamarind, chillies and fenugreek seeds.
The East has both the mountains and beaches within the region. This area produces a huge amount of rice. Although fresh fruits and vegetables are available, people here eat both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. The main characteristic of food from this region is that food is cooked simply, using locally available ingredients. Steaming and frying are two popular cooking techniques. Fish and various desserts are a favorite with people from this region.
Important ingredients from the East include mustard seeds, red and green chillies, paanch phoran, yoghurt, coconut, milk and dairy products.
Popular dishes from eastern India are maacher jhol, momos, thukpa, sandesh, rasgulla and mishti doi.
Western India has a hot and dry climate and fewer fresh vegetables are available here. Therefore, many of the fruits and vegetables are preserved in the form of pickles and chutneys. This area has more of vegetarian food as compared to other regions. Goa however is close to the sea so Goan cuisine includes a lot of seafood and fish dishes. Popular dishes from the West include laal maas, pork vindaloo, daal, baati choorma, shewar, pooran poli, pav bhaji etc.
Basic ingredients include besan, dry red chillies, sugar, sesame seeds, coconut, vinegar, and curry leaves.
