Indian traditional foods: Preparation, processing and nutrition

Abstract

India is a country embracing various cultures, languages, climates, religions and communities. By virtue of such diversity, India is blessed with many cuisines employing a variety of ingredients and preparation methods. Thus, Indian traditional foods, which are usually prepared in households or institutions like hotels/restaurants exhibit tremendous diversity and variation. Traditional foods are prepared according to the customary method(s), which has been practiced for many years and has been handed down from generation to generation. Although Indians predominantly follow a vegetarian diet, some regions, particularly in the coastal areas, are popular for their non-vegetarian preparations. It may be noted that in the Indian context, the term ‘vegetarian diet’ includes foods of plant origin as well as dairy based products, while the term ‘non-vegetarian’ also includes animal based products such as all types of meats, eggs as well as fishes. There are many vegetarians who consume eggs but abstain from other meat and fish based products. This unique trait is also recognized by the regulatory system in India wherein any food containing any animal based product is to be indicated as a dark brown circle enclosed in a brown square. Vegetarian foods are marked with a dark green circle enclosed in a green square box [e.g. ].