Early Indians ate food that was easily available from nature. Fruits, wild berries, meat, fish, etc. were the main food items of the nomadic dwellers. With the advent of civilization, people settled and started to do farming. This led to the discovery of food crops, pulses, etc. Food in ancient India was cultivated in the fertile river valleys. Rice was their staple food that was eaten with cooked lentils, vegetables and meat.
Ancient Indians were good farmers. They cultivated barley wheat rice, melons and cotton and kept their crops in a central storage in each city. They kept cow, pigs, buffalo and sheep. They lived in banks of rivers and fish were caught from river with fish hooks. They ate both vegetarian and non-vegetarian foods. Their main food was products of wheat served with barley or rice along with fish or meat. Vegetarian food (strictly excluding animal and fish meat) became the norm for as much as half of the population after the coming of Buddhism. In the Gupta Empire, they mostly ate vegetables, cereals, fruits, breads, and drank milk. Many spices were cultivated in India and were used in cooking for aroma and flavor. India flourished in the cultivation of spices and many of them were later exported to foreign lands.
It was very hard to keep food from going bad as there was no refrigeration or freezers. People did a lot of different things to preserve food. They dried fruit to make raisins, prunes, dried peas, and dried apples. They pickled vegetables, meat, and fish in brine (salty water) to make pickles and garum, a fermented fish sauce. They fermented grape juice and apple juice and barley to turn them into wine and cider and beer. They made yogurt and cheese. They smoked meat from pigs to make ham and bacon. Honey also acts as a good preservative.
It was so hard to carry things from one place to another without canals or trains or trucks, people usually could only eat what was available in their area at that time of year. If there was a shortage of food because of bad weather or crop diseases, people starved. Even in a good year, it was impossible to get fresh vegetables in the wintertime!
¤ Ancient Indian Food
People in ancient India subsisted on food that was conveniently available from Nature. The nomads preferred fruits, fist, wild berries and meat as their main food. With the arrival of civilization, the Indians took up agriculture as their occupation, and used grains, pulses and other agricultural products as their main food items. Most of the ancient people consume rice as their staple food. Other ancient Indian food included meat, vegetables, fruits and cooked lentils. Apart from rice and vegetables, the ancient Indians also preferred wheat products as their staple food. They made breads or 'chapattis' from wheat.
Ancient India was also influenced by the food habits of the neighboring countries. Eating of Chicken was not common in India. Our country adopted the concept of cooking chicken from Thailand. The concept of cooking chicken came from Thailand while the art of mutton cooking came from West Asia. The food habit of ancient Indians did not changed with the Aryan invasion of the country.
¤ Dairy Products
As far as the ancient Indian cuisines are concerned, milk and other dairy products are preferred by the Indians since ancient times. Curd, made from milk, was eaten with rice. People even stopped eating beef during Gupta Period ( About 650 AD), and began worshiping cows as mother.
¤ Indian Food During Islamic Period
During the Islamic period, pork preparations were stripped off from the ancient Indian food recipes .The Indian people stopped having pork because consumption of pork is prohibited in Koran. However, in the later years, most of the people became vegetarians though some still had sheep, chicken and goat. Among the vegetarian food, the following were most common in ancient India:
* Rice accompanied with vegetables and curd
* Flat breads accompanied with vegetables
Ancient Indians were good farmers. They cultivated barley wheat rice, melons and cotton and kept their crops in a central storage in each city. They kept cow, pigs, buffalo and sheep. They lived in banks of rivers and fish were caught from river with fish hooks. They ate both vegetarian and non-vegetarian foods. Their main food was products of wheat served with barley or rice along with fish or meat. Vegetarian food (strictly excluding animal and fish meat) became the norm for as much as half of the population after the coming of Buddhism. In the Gupta Empire, they mostly ate vegetables, cereals, fruits, breads, and drank milk. Many spices were cultivated in India and were used in cooking for aroma and flavor. India flourished in the cultivation of spices and many of them were later exported to foreign lands.
It was very hard to keep food from going bad as there was no refrigeration or freezers. People did a lot of different things to preserve food. They dried fruit to make raisins, prunes, dried peas, and dried apples. They pickled vegetables, meat, and fish in brine (salty water) to make pickles and garum, a fermented fish sauce. They fermented grape juice and apple juice and barley to turn them into wine and cider and beer. They made yogurt and cheese. They smoked meat from pigs to make ham and bacon. Honey also acts as a good preservative.
It was so hard to carry things from one place to another without canals or trains or trucks, people usually could only eat what was available in their area at that time of year. If there was a shortage of food because of bad weather or crop diseases, people starved. Even in a good year, it was impossible to get fresh vegetables in the wintertime!
¤ Ancient Indian Food
People in ancient India subsisted on food that was conveniently available from Nature. The nomads preferred fruits, fist, wild berries and meat as their main food. With the arrival of civilization, the Indians took up agriculture as their occupation, and used grains, pulses and other agricultural products as their main food items. Most of the ancient people consume rice as their staple food. Other ancient Indian food included meat, vegetables, fruits and cooked lentils. Apart from rice and vegetables, the ancient Indians also preferred wheat products as their staple food. They made breads or 'chapattis' from wheat.
Ancient India was also influenced by the food habits of the neighboring countries. Eating of Chicken was not common in India. Our country adopted the concept of cooking chicken from Thailand. The concept of cooking chicken came from Thailand while the art of mutton cooking came from West Asia. The food habit of ancient Indians did not changed with the Aryan invasion of the country.
¤ Dairy Products
As far as the ancient Indian cuisines are concerned, milk and other dairy products are preferred by the Indians since ancient times. Curd, made from milk, was eaten with rice. People even stopped eating beef during Gupta Period ( About 650 AD), and began worshiping cows as mother.
¤ Indian Food During Islamic Period
During the Islamic period, pork preparations were stripped off from the ancient Indian food recipes .The Indian people stopped having pork because consumption of pork is prohibited in Koran. However, in the later years, most of the people became vegetarians though some still had sheep, chicken and goat. Among the vegetarian food, the following were most common in ancient India:
* Rice accompanied with vegetables and curd
* Flat breads accompanied with vegetables
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