Popular Indian Food is not Indian and you must know this. India is known to be a country with diverse cultures. This gave rise to a lot of varieties of so-called Indian food all across the country. Each part of India has its own unique flavours of food. From North India to South India the food differs a lot in Taste texture and colours. One thing that many people know but don’t realize is that India was ruled by many different rulers from different parts of the world.
Indians were ruled by the Mughals for a significant period of time in history. Mughals were originally from Persia and have a very significant influence in Indian Cuisine. There is a cuisine originating in the northern part of India known as Mughlai cuisine. Several other rulers also landed and brought about their influence of Food in India.
Let’s look at some Popular Indian Food which you believe are Indian
Samosa: Popular Indian Food
Known to be famous as a Tea time Snack has always been a favourite in most parts of the country. It is a triangular batter-fried dish with stuffing of different varieties with Potatoes, onions, peas or lentils being the most common filling. There is also a version which comprises of minced meat. The origins of this dish lie between the Middle East and Central Asia and travelled to India several centuries ago where it became a popular dish.
Chicken Tikka Masala
This dish has its origin in Glasgow in the UK and that too not very long back. However, there are many speculations to how this dish came onto being. Some claiming a Pakistani Chef invented the dish when he added gravy to Chicken Tikka which is more of a dry starter. When one of his customers complained that the dish was too dry. Another version says that Bangladeshi’s brought the dish to the UK where it became very popular.
Naan: Popular Indian Food
This is kind of a leave shaped backed bread that is a famous accompaniment with most types of gravies. It is very popular in North India and is also considered to be a staple food along with veg or non-veg gravies. But little do us Indians know that this is a dish that originated in Iran. The word Naan itself means bread in Iranian.
Many popular Indian Dishes came in India from foreigners visited Indian in the ancient period
Tea or Chai: Popular Indian Food
The word Chai is purely Indian and has been accepted by many brands across the globe that have Chai on their menu. It would come as a shocker to many that there was never any Tea cultivation in India. The Chinese who had a Monopoly of Tea Cultivation. It was the British who brought the plantations to India mainly the North East which has close proximity to China. After which it became very popular in all parts of the country.
Filter Coffee or Kaapi
Very Famous in the Southern part of India especially in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Coffee did not exist in India until the 16th Century. It was a famous Sufi Saint named Baba Budan that brought the beans to India from Yemen while he was on a Pilgrimage to Mecca.
Also Read: Mysore Pak Recipe to make in your own Kitchen
Gulab Jamun: Popular Indian Food
A very popular dessert in most parts of India. The origins of this dish lie in Persia. As the word, Gulab is derived from two Persian words Gol which means flower and Ab that means water or scented water. It consists of a batter that is deep-fried and then soaked in Sugar syrup. The Syrup is often flavoured with rose or saffron.
