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Culinary History of India |
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The Origins of Indian Cuisine lie with the ancient
Indian civilization of India that was called Harappa and Mohenjodaro.
The Dravidians or inhabitants of these civilization were urban and not
agrarian. They had huge granaries to store grain, houses with a drainage
system, pathways or roads and public baths. They sowed the seeds of Ayurveda,
or Life Sciences, which is the foundation of Indian cuisine. This system was derived after
studying the physical needs, mental needs and needs of our psychology and spirituality. |
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of Mohenjodaro and Harrapa were pushed to the South part of India be the invasion of the
Aryans who came from Europe or Asia Minor. It is not very clear where the Aryans
originated from but Aryans are to be found in Europe, Persia and India.
(In fact the Swastika - a good luck symbol of the Aryan culture is still very prevalent in
India). The ideas of Ayurveda were developed further by the Aryans Many
of the texts on this subject were written in the Aryan period. Influences
from subsequent conquests on the Indian sub-continent
1. The Aryans
During the Aryan period the cuisine the Great Hindu Empires concentrated on the fine
aspects of food and to understand its essence and how it contributed to the development of
mind, body and spirit. After this period the cuisine was influenced by the following
conquests from other cultures.
2. Mongolians (hot pot cooking)
3. Persians
The most notable was the influence of Persian rulers who established the Mughal Rule in
India. (click
here for more about Mughal cuisine)
4. Turks
5. Greeks (Alexander the great)
6. Chinese (from trading and cultural and educational exchanges with them)
7. Arabs (traders)
8. Portuguese (the Indian Vindaloo dish is a result of the Portuguese)
9. British (Indian Ketchup, tea)
A Special
Mention
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One of the
greatest influences on India’s cuisine occurred in the 2nd century B.C.
The powerful and benevolent and popular Emperor Ashoka of that time popularized a
vegetarian cuisine. Even today a majority of Indians are vegetarian. The two other
individuals that helped make India vegetarian are Mahavir
and Buddha. (Also the ancient, urban Dravidian civilization may have been vegetarian.) |
Ashoka was also the first statesman in recorded history that had an environmental
department in his administration. This department set environmental laws, posted these
laws on stone billboards and had an environmental enforcement program. |
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Back to the
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© 1990 to 2005 - Kavita Mehta. All Rights Reserved. |
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