By Niveditha Kalyanaraman
September 20th, 2023
Image Credit: Unsplash
India has a myriad of tastes and dishes. It's possible that we may believe some of the popularly available foods are Indian when they actually aren't. Allow us to break your bubble! Here are 10 foods you thought were Indian but are not.
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Sorry, but your favourite khoya dessert isn't Indian! The sweet was brought along by Persian invaders to India. The dessert got the first half of its name, ‘gulab’ from the Persian words ‘gol’ (flower) and ‘ab’ (water), referring to the rose water-scented syrup that the fried khoya balls are dunked in.
This crispy dessert was originally from the Middle East where it is found in various preparations. It was originally called ‘zalabia’ in Arabic or ‘zilabiya’ in Persian. It was the Persian invaders who brought the dessert with them to India.
The Sufi saint Baba Budan discovered the joy and wonder of coffee while on a pilgrimage to Mecca. Wanting to share this discovery, he brought along seven coffee beans from Mocha, Yemen to India. Back then, coffee began to be consumed as a substitute for liquor. But the version we know today in dabraahs, is a cute comfort drink.
Everyone’s favourite tea-time snack is believed to have originated in the Middle East before the 10th century. Originally known as a ‘sambosa’, the Indian version was introduced by traders from Central Asia somewhere in the 14th century. This golden crusty snack is still our favourite!
When you say dal bhaat hits close to home, you might be right. This simple comfort meal too isn’t Indian. Actually of Nepali origin, the dish entered Indian kitchens through North Indian influences, spreading across the country’s vast geography to be adapted for different palates.
The origin of falooda goes back to Iran (Persia), where a similar dessert, Faloodeh, was popular. The dessert came to late Medieval India with the many Central Asian dynasties that invaded and settled in South Asia in the 16th to 18th century.
Phirni hailed from ancient Persia or Middle East and it's the Mughals who both invented and introduced it to India. The Mughal Empire relished the regal milk-based dish and made it popular.
Kulfi originally evolved in the cooler climates of Persia or Samarkand and the Mughals appropriated the concept and elaborated on it to create the creamy, perfumed dessert.
Dolma is both Turkish and Greek and is also a dish from the Middle East, Armenia and Lebanon. Each of these countries has a Dolma variation prepared with local ingredients.
The dish that feels like home isn't from home after all! The kidney bean was brought to India from Portugal and the technique of soaking and boiling beans is borrowed from Mexican cooking traditions, though now, the Indian variant is very different from the Mexican preparations.