Indian cuisine is as diverse as its languages, cultures and traditions. Every state in India has its own cuisines, from naan bread and butter chicken of Punjab to the fish curry in West Bengal and spicy seafood delicacies from the coast of peninsular India. Gastronomy has played an important role in our day to day life, not because the food is the central part of our life but also because gastronomy has become the significant source of identity on what we are what we eat. Gastronomy in Southern India has developed considerably through the ages in the development of gastronomic styles and tastes. The South Indian states make great use of different spices, fishes and coconuts.
Historically, India is the land of two races, the Aryans, the light-skinned people living in the Northern part of India and the Dravidians the original inhabitants of India who were pushed to the southern part of India by Aryans (Frawley, 2009). Since then, India has ruled by different settlers, who came and invaded India and brought their way of living, culture, food and spices to the land which was called the “Jewel in the Crown” by the British because it was the British most valuable colony (Civitello, 2011, p. 267). Mughals invaded and ruled India from 1526 until 1857 when the British defeated Mughals to gain control of India. Until then, the Indian cuisine known to the world was the cuisine of the Mughals. This was spread by the British. Little is known about the food and culture by the Dravidians, the dark-skinned the original inhabitants of India living in the southern part of India (Frawley, 2009). However, Mughlai cuisine did spread to the south, But as the Mughal power in the south was short-lived (Civitello, 2011), there was little influence of flavour of Mughlai cuisine in the Hyderabadi blend and kebabs coated in spicy yoghurt flavoured with the southern taste of curry, leaves and chillies, tamarind and coconut.
The South Indian food mostly consists of vegetarian dishes made from rice and lentils. Both Dosa and Idli are made from the same batter and are known as traditional bread of Southern India. Idli and Dosa are a staple part of the diet in Southern India. Idli is a white, steamed and spongy savoury rice cake made slightly sour by the overnight fermentation and steamed the following morning to serve as breakfast. While Dosa is thin pancake-like crepes. Both the dishes are made from the rice, usually served with the spicy chutney. As the most part of Southern India has a hot climate, no yeast is used in South Indian cuisine for the fermentation process as the average temperature of 25 degrees Celsius does work in the preparation some of the most delicious and nutritious dishes. The main method of cooking is steaming. Almost every household in Southern India is equipped with large and small steaming pots. The culinary term “curry” originated in Tamil Nadu. Curry which was popular with Anglo-Indians, it is the popular belief that curry is a dish with gravy. This was because the Anglo-Indians used curry as the generic term for any spicy dish with gravy in every part of India. Although they used the word curry to describe dishes from every Indian region, even though the Anglo-Indians were aware of regional differences in the cooking of food of Indian-Subcontinent. In the cookery book, Curries and How to Prepare Them by Joseph Edmunds mentions that “in India, there are at least three separate classes of curry, the Bengal, the Madras and the Bombay.” (Collingham, Curry: A Tale of Cooks & Conquerors, 2006, p. 115). The curries from Tamil Nadu which according to Edmunds is known as Madras curry is dry, spiced dishes without gravy.
In many parts of the world, people make their own choice to be a vegetarian, all of us somewhere draw the line in what is edible and what is not edible (Santich, 2013, p. 250). Most of the people in south India are vegetarian mainly because of religious convictions and are obliged to the edicts of their faith. Almost all the Hindus restrict from eating meat, especially beef because the cow is considered sacred in Hindu culture. Also meat-eating is consider to have a negative influence on existence causing ignorance and disease as compared to the healthy vegetarian diet, which has the influence of goodness, able to increase the purity of consciousness and longevity (Faithandfood Fact Files – Hinduism, n.d.). Although some castes of Hindus do not observe vegetarianism. Brahmins, the upper-class Hindus are strictly vegetarian and are also restricted by the rituals, traditions and beliefs system of Hinduism. Before having the meals, the Brahmins will say grace, give thanks to their god. They will set aside a little portion of the food beside their plate for their god. This is because the food plays an important role in the worship of gods. And the food offered to gods is considered as the religious merit in purifying body, mind and spirit (Tradition: Mealtime Blessings, 2013). Fasting is also very common in Hinduism, depending on the person’s caste, family, age and gender. During the period of fasting, some Hindus restrict from the favourite food and some adopting only vegetarian diet especially in the Hindu month of Shraavana. The fasting in Hinduism is a way to enhance concentration during meditation (Faithandfood Fact Files – Hinduism, n.d.).
The southern part of India is a peninsula sharing a long coastline which provides the hundreds of varieties of fish, people living near the coast are not vegetarian (Banerji, 2007). On the west of the coast, Kerala enjoys the most unique geographical features and it became the most important tourism destination in India. Kerala is known as the heaven on earth, the food in this region is greatly influenced by the geographical location and the climate (Scribner Library of Daily Life, 2003, p. 265). It is known for its rich culinary history. Dotted with coconut palm trees along the coastline, the coconut and coconut oil is extensively used in cooking. Kerala is famous for the spices. The black pepper is the main spices. It was used as currency in the past. Traders from East Asia, Europe, and the Middle East came to Kerala to trade. The three major communities living in Kerala are, Hindus, Muslim, Christians and a tiny distinctive population of the Jewish minority, living together in harmony. Each of these communities has developed their own distinctive style of cooking, but certain ingredients like rice, coconut, milk and palm sugar are common in all of them. The breakfast for all the Keralites no matter of their religion is the popular appam made from rice flour, kind of like a pancake, soft, thick spongy centers and lace like, thin, crisp edges. The Christians eat appam with beef stew whereas Hindus eat with vegetables. Kuzhal appam is a deep fried rice flour and coconut curled up like a tube is traditional Christian snack. Another Christian speciality is Avilose made rice and coconut. Christians in Kerala, the only Indian community with no food restrictions and have created a whole new slew of recipes for meat including, beef, pork, duck and chicken (Scribner Library of Daily Life, 2003). The Muslims in Kerala are the descendants of the Arab traders from the Middle East who married local Kerala woman. The Arab influence in the food is Kerala is clearly seen in their biryanis. In the Hindu group, there are three main communities, Thiyas, Nairs and Nampoorthiris. Each of these group has its own distinctive cuisine. All the people in Kerala eat yellow banana chips fried in coconut oil and light. Even though so many different communities live in Kerala, “commensality is practised between vegetarians and non-vegetarians in the home, where some non-Brahmin vegetarian women cook non-veg foods for their husbands, children and other relatives” (Caplan, 2010, p. 139). Even though the food was cooked by caterers in the club meetings where people different communities could meet together, were Brahmins, the food was all vegetarian so that everyone in the club could eat at same time. This eating together shows a powerful expression of unity and harmony in the southern community in South India. The Hindu nationalist political party did stir up the trouble in India, by making a statement like India must be only a Hindu country, Muslims should go to Pakistan and Christians should go to UK or USA (Caplan, 2010, p. 138). But this did not stop the women in the communities to meet at 5pm on the first Monday of every month to meet and pray and eat together. Commensality in South India is a form of both sociality and civility. It is considered acceptable to visit your friends or neighbours at home in the time of the day, even in the afternoon without making an appointment. The visitors may not leave the house without accepting some form of hospitality. The visitors are offered a drink, coffee, tea or fruit juice or something to eat, usually a light snack (Caplan, 2010, p. 134).
The wedding feasts are the largest and the most spectacular social events in South India. The South Indian weddings operate on a large scale selection of dishes tailored to the religious and regional communities. The traditional south Indian weddings involved a great of feasting The South Indian wedding is not fully blessed if the Payasam is not served at the wedding feast. The Payasam is the South Asian dessert made from rice pudding, made by rice or broken wheat noodles, milk and sugar flavoured with cardamom, raisins, saffron and cashew nuts (History of Indian Food, n.d.).
Since the imperialism and colonization of India by the British the people have become more mobile and so does the food they eat. In the early 19th Century the British brought Indians, mainly from Southern part of India to Malaysia to provide cheap labour in rubber plantations (Basan, 2006, p. 9). Thus, South Indian food and culture has been heavily influenced in the cuisines of the regions in South-East Asia, mainly Malaysia and Singapore. The most Indians living in Malaysia and Singapore are Hindus from South India. Hindus in Malaysia and Singapore don’t eat beef and many are vegetarians. Because of these reasons, the Indians introduced vegetarian dishes and pickles to Malays. Malaysia and Singapore are proud of their diversified culinary cultures and regional food. The traditional cooking method and culture is well-maintained from generation to generation. The Malaysian Indians also tend to use coconut oil in cooking. The hospitality is of vital importance within the Indian culture. The elders of the family are always served first and greeted and treated with great respect. The Malaysian Indians always use the right hand to give and receive and to eat food using the Indian flatbread, roti canai as a scoop (Basan, 2006, pp. 20-21).
To conclude, the Indian cuisine is strongly influenced by the culture, religion and traditions of the Indian people.
Bibliography:
Banerji, C. (2007). Eating India. London: Bloomsbury Publishing.
Basan, G. (2006). The Food and Cooking of Malaysia & Singapore. London, UK: Anness Publishing.
Caplan, P. (2010, June 22). South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies. Crossing the Veg/Non-Veg Divide: Commensality and Sociality Among, 31(1), 118-142. doi:10.1080/00856400701874742
Civitello, L. (2011). Cuisine & Culture: A History of Food and People. NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Collingham, L. (2005). Curry: A Biography. London: Chatto & Windus.
Collingham, L. (2006). Curry: A Tale of Cooks & Conquerors. NY: Oxford University Press.
Santich, B. (2013). Looking For Flavour. Adelaide, South Australia, Australia: Wakefield Press.
Scribner Library of Daily Life. (2003). Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (Vol. 2). (S. H. Katz, & W. W. Weaver, Eds.) New York, NY, US: Charles Scribner's Sons.
