Ashoka Indian Cuisine

Indian Cuisine is as varied and diverse as the cultures and languages of this great sub-continent, its flavors are as exotic as its climate and as varied as its people. Ancient India was subject to numerous foreign invasions, right from the Greek to the British, these invasions have not only had a major influence on the cultures but also on the cuisine. Among the other major influences on Indian cuisine is the ancient Hindu treatise on health, the Ayurveda; Ayur is derived from the word ayus meaning life span in Sanskrit and Veda means knowledge . Geography, caste, religion, climate, income-levels, traditions and beliefs also have a great influence on the cuisine. Southern Indian Cuisine is generally fiery- hot.Bengali Cuisine is mild and sweet. Gujrathi cuisine is generally mildly spiced and sweetish, due to the use of jaggery in their cooking, while, in nearby Rajasthan, the food is pronouncedly spicy. The curries of the rice growing belt have a large number of curries with a thinner gravy specially meant for eating with rice, while those of the Wheat belts have thicker gravies well- suited to eating with rotis and parathas (Indian breads). Indian cuisine is carbohydrate- dominated with the emphasis on wheat chapatis (bread) and rice. Indian Chapatis are whole wheat bread, retaining the whole goodness of the grain. This is traditionally made with ghee. Proteins come from dal (lentils),dairy products legumes rather than meat.