Eating in South Asia

Cuisine is rarely a simple affair. Just as every Midwestern farm wife has her own special way of making pie crust or beef stew, so do cooks all over the world differ in how they approach their cooking. This village-to-village variety is compounded in India and South Asia by the variety of ethnic and regional expressions of food. Thankfully, Indian food does go distinctly beyond the chicken tikka masala (which was originally concocted in the UK), saag paneer, and naan common to North American Indian buffets. 

A Karnataka Meal

One of the misperceptions of Indian food is that it is all spicy/piquant. Granted, the use of chili peppers is common throughout India and there are some dishes I've had that set your mouth on fire. But good Indian food is characterized more by nuance and the blending together of many spices and flavorings, including sweet spices (cinnamon, cloves, cardamom), savory spices (cumin, coriander), "wet" spices (onion, garlic, ginger - the "Holy Trinity" of Indian cooking), and other ingredients that affect the taste or consistency of the food (hing/asofoetida, tamarind, lime or lemon juice, palm sugar, coconut or coconut milk). "Curry" is rooted in a Tamil word that means sauce and is not a "spice" at all in Indian usage. Rather, "curry" indicates the blend of numerous sweet and savory spices (every cook has their own recipe) that is added to foods. 

Idli and Sambar

Indian meals generally consist of some form of starch (rice or rice-flour breads in the South, rice or wheat-flour breads in the North), some kind of dal (beans, lentils, etc.) cooked in a rich, savory broth, some kind of vegetable cooked with spices, and usually a chutney or pickle on the side. As Oprah Winfrey discovered in a mighty cultural faux pas in Mumbai last year, Indians usually eat with their right hands, working together the rice and sauces, scooping them up with the thumb, index, and middle fingers, and then using the thumb to delicately push the food into the mouth. It's actually quite an elegant process that, when done right, often results in hands as clean as when the meal began. 

One of my favorite Indian meals is firmly rooted in Tamil Nadu in the South but can be found throughout South Asia. It consists of steamed rice-and-lentil-flour dumplings (idli) served with a spicy soup called sambal and various chutneys. This is a traditional breakfast food. 

Food reflects culture. Japanese cooking is famous for its simplicity and understatement. Chinese food prizes local ingredients cooked in harmony with a few key flavorings and the harmony of the various dishes on the table. Thai and Vietnamese cooking prizes the balance of the spicy, sweet, sour, and salty. Indian food also seeks balance, but of a much more diverse set of ingredients, all combining together into a flavorful whole.