India is an ancient land full of rich, vibrant cultures blended together. The same could justifiably be said of its cuisine. Indian food is as diverse as the gods of that exotic land and each speaks in a different voice.
Preparing these dishes can be as spiritual an experience as eating them is a hedonistic one. In India, the two halves often intermingle. Pull out the tandoori, ready the karahi, and put the katori on the table. It’s time for a feast for the body and the soul.
Even the simplest of dishes, like the common breads of roti or naan say something otherworldly to the diner. As a staple of every Indian table they are not just delicious and heartwarming but satisfying to the soul.
Of course, what they complement is no less so. That may be a splendid tandoori or a chicken tikka on a bed of perfect rice. In either case, the colors of these dishes reflect the pungent aromas that speak to all the senses as they whisper to the mind.
For a lamb dish that is equalled nowhere else, consider the noble Mughlai. With side dishes of paneer (the Indian cottage cheese), or a stellar chaat (a potato treat) no one will walk away hungry in body or spirit.
The superb and distinctive spices of India are more than just a little responsible for that, of course. Cumin and coriander, cayenne and cinnamon, and a whole array of others open up the palette to new experiences. They generate the full spectrum of what the senses of taste and smell can experience, while they move us to explore how they weave their effects.
Many of those spices make their way into a fine chutney or an outstanding curry, naturally. These are what diners often mean when they speak of ‘real’ Indian food dishes. But the real and the imaginary blend together as easily in this Asiatic cuisine as they do in the country itself. When they do, the gourmet is the lucky beneficiary as he or she learns new ways to reach nirvana.
That heavenly experience might be topped off by a delightful dosa, the Indian version of the pancake, covered in jaggery syrup (a type of brown sugar). Or, the diner might indulge in a treat that is everywhere on the streets of Bombay: the vada. These unique donuts bear only a passing resemblance to their American cousins. But that is just one more reflection of the delightful difference that makes up India and its recipes.
Enter the world of Indian cuisine and be prepared for a neverending table of alternatives. A land thousands of years old, made of hundreds of tribes mixing over a vast continent could produce nothing less.