India is on the bucket list of most food explorers in the world. The diversity of flavours and rich culinary heritage of the country is an attraction to the whole world. Thus, exploring India for its astonishingly fantastic food is an experience all true explorers must want to have. As a food researcher, it’s a blessing to be born in India, as there are so many different cuisines to study, their origin, and their celebration in the day-to-day life of different regions of India. I have often observed that while travelling across India, many travellers trying to understand the cuisines find it overwhelming. There is so much to explore and understand; it often needs some guidance to make the best of your time in India. Be it foreigners who are exploring the country or Indians travelling to different regions, an opportunity to experience and understand the culinary prowess of India is unmissable. Here are some tips to help you have an immersive experience of India’s great culinary heritage.
Eat Local
One of the foremost pieces of advice I would give any food explorer in India is to eat locally. Wherever you may travel to India, local communities cook the best-tasting, fresh, hygienic, and healthy food. Chettinad Cuisine of Tamilnadu, Sweets of Bengal, Malabari Cuisine of Kerala, Malvani or the Saoji Cuisine of Maharashtra, Chaats of Uttar Pradesh, and Thalis of Rajasthan and Gujarat are some of the prime examples of local foods to explore when travelling across India. Each of India’s regional cuisines is unique and has numerous dishes. If you are travelling for a limited time to a particular region, it’s prudent to eat local and explore all the state or region’s offerings.
Eat In Groups
In every city, one must have substantial meals planned to explore the comprehensive options the place offers. Visiting in groups is beneficial for trying more dishes and visiting multiple places. More tummies mean more food to try, and in the quest to explore the cuisines, having a group of food-loving people by your side can never be undermined. If you travel alone, I advise staying in hostels or homestays to connect with the travelling communities. Thus, making new friends and planning travel and culinary excursions becomes easier, resulting in an extensive and enjoyable exploration. Exploring food in busy cities overflowing with many legendary food joints, like Delhi, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Amritsar, Varanasi, Kolkata, Indore, etc., can be best enjoyed as a part of a food walk, learning the culinary history, Culture, and tasting many delicious regional dishes along the way.
Follow The Local Crowd
Mandis And Markets
One of my favourite things to do when travelling and exploring food is to take an early morning walk to the sabzi mandis or the fish markets. A trip to a vegetable market acquaints you with how a city eats and the fresh in-season vegetables. As you visit different regions, the vegetable production and their names change; once you understand all that sells in a vegetable market, it is easier to understand the cuisine and the dishes served to you in the traditional meals. Early in the morning, a visit to the fish market at Bunder (Port) in Mangalore was an enriching experience for a seafood lover in me; watching the fishermen return to shore with their day’s catch while the restaurant owners, fish vendors and many other fish-loving city dwellers pick up the freshest lot from the sea.
Explore The Temple Cuisine
Visiting Temples in India is a multi-faceted experience. The magnificent architecture of temples and their historical and cultural significance is the foremost reason for many travellers worldwide to visit India; however, the temple's significance on the region's cuisine is an unignorable factor to understand for any food explorer. Prasadam, Bhog, Langar, Naivedyam, Bhandara etc., are names of the meals offered in temples across India; however, if you are visiting Odisha, understanding and consuming the Mahaprasad served at the Jaggannath temple in Puri will provide an apt understanding of the food culture prevalent in the region. Similarly, South Indian Temples offer traditional vegetarian food such as Prasadam on Banana Leaves. All the Gurudwaras have a community meal all around the year, known as Langar. Throughout the country, ‘Bhandaras' are served at temples, especially during festivals and traditional rituals. Temple cuisine, thus, is a must-experience culinary aspect of India for all food explorers.
Demography
Wherever you may visit in India, understanding the demography of the multicultural regions of India helps lay the foundation for our food explorations. Each region has many cuisines and sub-cuisines representing different communities based on religion, caste, or native regions. In Mumbai, one can experience cuisines like Maharashtrian cuisine, which has sub-cuisines like Malvani Cuisine, Soaji cuisine, Varhadi cuisine, Parsi cuisine, Bohri cuisine, Sindhi cuisine etc., and similarly in different regions of India, understanding the demographics through the cuisines of different communities is an enriching endeavour for a food explorer, which can introduce you to cuisines like Moplah cuisine, Syrian Christian cuisine, Nadar cuisine, Marwari cuisine, Awadhi cuisine, Saraswat Brahman cuisines, Kayastha cuisine and so on.
Attend A Wedding
Food exploration is at its peak when you visit any place during festivals or are part of religious functions, rituals, or weddings. It is widely believed that the food served during the wedding is often the most traditional and exclusive. Be it the wedding biryanis or red chicken of Hyderabadi. The Harissa of Malabar, the Wazwan of Kashmir, the vegetarian Sadhya or Sappadu served on banana leaves in South India, or experience the magic of a Halwai (Indian sweets maker), the authentic experience of exploring the traditional meals of a region at a wedding has no parallel. A tip I would like to give you all is never to say no to wedding invitations in India.
Busy Bazaars
On the streets and bazaars of India, many culinary stories are weaved. Thus, my first and foremost exploration is always the busiest bazaar in any new town I reach. Thus, it’s prudent that I seek accommodation near the city centre, helping me make multiple trips for different meals of the day. Indian street food covers most of India’s local flavours, and exploring the food markets can acquaint us with the variety on offer and lead to the city's famous food joints. Chandni Chowk in Delhi, Chowk and Aminabad of Lucknow, Bara Bazaar of Kolkatta, Saraffa Bazaar of Indore, Bapu Bazaar of Jaipur, Manek Chowk of Ahmedabad, Hyderabad’s Old City etc. are prime examples of city centres and busy markets being filled with culinary treasures unfolding in a culturally rich environment.
Methods Of Cooking
Many different cooking methods are prevalent in India. Understanding cuisines on the cellular aspects of cooking styles like frying, steaming, smoking, fermentation, or Sun drying will unbox many unique recipes to explore and enjoy. Away from the bustling cities in rural and tribal regions, culinary practices are awe-inspiring, introducing you to many new and natural ingredients and sustainable cooking styles.
Stay Longer, Explore Deeper
When travelling to India, stay here longer. Indian cuisine is a culinary chronicle which has evolved with myriad influences and deep-rooted culinary wisdom. As you travel from one state to another, you can find the differences, as well as similarities in foods and the subtle influences of the neighbouring regions being carried forward to the next, creating the flavour train of gastronomical delight. Rajasthani food and Gujarati food will have certain similarities, Gujarati food and Maharashtrian food too, certain Maharashtrian flavours can be found in Goan cuisine, and then on to Karnataka, Dakshin Kannada have certain similarities with Kerala. However, you will find the cuisine of Kerala and Rajasthan to be acutely different; the series of influences binds the Indian cuisines together.
To enjoy this culinary culture fully, one has to spend a substantial time exploring the spices and the fragrances, the markets and the temples, understanding communities and their festivals, and enjoying the food on the streets and in homes. The bread and the meats, the vegetables and the sweets, be it kebabs or Biryani, Idlis or Dosas, Indian food opens up many secrets for the curious mind; follow the cues and let the flavours take you on a roller coaster ride. Keep Exploring!
Sidharth Bhan Gupta, Founder of 361 Degrees Hospitality, is a Hospitality / Food and Beverage / Restaurant Consultant, Travelling across India on a Cultural and Culinary Exploration.