Aside from Chinese food, Indian food is one
of the best-known types of Asian cuisine that’s easily accessible outside their
home countries. Part of what makes Indian cuisine popular is its masterful use
of spices evolved for over thousands of years and perfected in the Indian food
we know and love today from humble homes to gourmet restaurants and Indian
wedding catering London. If you’re still unfamiliar with Indian food but
interested in trying it out, here are facts you need to know about Indian
cuisine.
Spices
are the secret ingredients to Indian cuisine.
Spices are wonderful additions to any dish whether Indian or otherwise. They
are natural, healthy, and add instant flavour to your dish at a pinch and without
the added fat or calories.
Not
all Indian food is hot and spicy or contains curry powder. While a variety of spices are used abundantly in Indian cooking,
not all Indian food is red hot and spicy. Some Indian dishes stand out with
just the use of 2-3 or even one key spice ingredient.
Also, the spices themselves are not the
only things that give Indian food its spicy character. Chillies are often used in
Indian cooking, and these add heat to a dish. The heat level depends on the
variety and amount of chillies used. If you don’t want to eat something that’s
intensely spicy and hot, you can control the amount of spices and chillies you
add to your dish.
Many unfamiliar with Indian food readily
associate it with curry and curry powder. Not all Indian dishes contain curry
powder. Indian cooking also involves the use of a variety of spice mixes like
the garam masala. Garam masala is a blend of many Asian spices such as
cardamom, cloves, coriander, cumin, ginger, pepper, and bay leaves. It’s a
spice blend used in many Indian dishes.
Indian
food is healthy. Traditional Indian cooking relies
mostly on using fresh, seasonal ingredients, and cooking from scratch. Fresh
produce are cooked in simple, traditional methods that helps preserve their
freshness and nutrients. For the health conscious, this translates as healthier
food and less preservatives. Also, the use of spices such as coriander, garlic,
ginger, green chillies, and turmeric in Indian cuisine just to name a few, are
known to provide healing and medicinal benefits. Benefits range from relieving
stomach upsets and aiding digestion to lowering blood pressure and providing a
dose of healthy antioxidants in the body.
Indian
food is tied to one’s culture and identity. If
you’re the type who prefers exact, predictable recipes when cooking, Indian cooking
might frustrate you because a lot of things aren’t set in stone. Rarely would
you find the use of exact recipes since every family has their own version of a
basic Indian dish, tweaked to their own preferences. Another thing to consider
is the amount of spices used, which varies depending on preference. Also,
Indian cooking is tight closely to one’s local culture and identity, and as a
result, varies vastly from region to region.
Whether it is served at home, in an Indian
restaurant in the UK, or from a food
catering London, Indian cuisine still maintains key traits that make it
distinctively Indian.
If
you want to serve Indian food on your wedding reception, call Bid for My
Catering, a local Indian catering
agency in London