The earliest Indians, the Harappans, probably ate mainly wheat and rice, millet and sorghum, chickpeas and lentils. Often they ate fish, if they lived near the coast or a river.
The earliest Indians, the Harappans, probably ate mainly wheat and rice and chickpeas and lentils, and occasionally cows, pigs, sheep, goats and chicken. Indian cooks used many Central Asian herbs and spices - cinnamon, cumin, coriander, anise and fennel. Some of the wheat was made into stews or soups, and some into flat breads called ‘chapatis’ or yeast breads called ‘naan’. Indian people also enjoyed chewing on sugar cane, which grew naturally in India.
Sometimes they ate beef, pork, lamb and goat meat, and chicken. Rice and chicken and citron fruit seem to have come from Thailand. Wheat and chickpeas, lentils and lamb came from West Asia. Indian cooks used many Central Asian herbs and spices, like cinnamon, cumin, cilantro (also called coriander), anise, and fennel.
Cooks made some of the grain into stews or soups. They baked grain into flat breads called chapatis or yeast breads called naan. Indian people also enjoyed chewing on sugar cane, which grew naturally in India.
Food in Ancient India faced remarkable changes during the Vedic Period which not only introduced new food items but also rules and etiquettes while taking the meal of the day. This also introduced division of meals during the day. The food in Vedic period is largely divided into the food of the Aryans and Dravidians which later on got divided into north and south India. Their food items as well as habits have been illustrated in the sutras and Vedas of the period which are the earliest literature of ancient India.
But by around 300 BC, under the Mauryans, a lot of Hindus felt that animal sacrifices added to your karma. Eating meat kept you from getting free of the wheel of reincarnation. Animal sacrifices became less popular. Although people didn’t give up eating meat entirely, they ate much less of it. A lot of people became vegetarians.
Mauryan food scientists expanded fruit choices for these new vegetarians by breeding two different kinds of citrus fruit together to get sweet oranges. About this time, these same food scientists also developed a better kind of sorghum, durra sorghum, that was easier to harvest. This new sorghum quickly spread to China, West Asia (and from there to Europe) and East Africa.
Food in Ancient India that was adopted during the Maurya period has been extensively discussed by Kautilya. He defines the specifications of an ideal kitchen and a proper diet of the Raja in Maurya Empire which was largely followed as a convention by almost all the people living in Maurya Empire. While this also sets a number of special food items and food etiquettes, this at the same time describes the culture of ancient India.
By around 300 BC, under the Mauryans, a lot of Hindus felt that animal sacrifices are added to ones karma and kept one from getting free of the wheel of reincarnation. Animal sacrifices became less popular, and although people didn’t give up eating meat entirely, they ate much less of it. A lot of people became vegetarians. Mauryan food scientists expanded fruit choices for these new vegetarians by breeding two different kinds of citrus fruit together to get oranges.Food in Ancient India, History of Indian Food
In the Gupta period, around 650 AD, Hindus began to worship a Mother Goddess. Cows were sacred to her, so Hindus stopped eating beef pretty much completely.
About the same time, Indian scientists invented a way to make sugar cane juice into sugar cubes. More people started to eat more sugar and sugary desserts. By 900 AD, lemons and purple carrots reached India from Central Asia too.
Food in Ancient India which was adopted by the Gupta Empire was mainly influenced by Buddism and Jainism which made a lot of changes in the culture of ancient India. In the Gupta period, around 650 AD, Hindus began to worship a Mother Goddess. Cows were sacred to her, and so Hindus stopped eating beef pretty much completely. About the same time, Indian scientists invented a way to make sugar cane juice into sugar cubes, so more people began to eat more sugar and sugary deserts. By 900 AD, new Central Asian fruits and vegetables, lemons and purple carrots, reached India too.
And then around 1100 AD, with the Islamic conquests in northern India, most people in India stopped eating pork as well, because the Quran says not to eat it. People could still eat lamb or goats or chicken, but most of the people in India became vegetarians, and only ate meat very rarely or not at all. Along the coasts and rivers, though, people did still eat plenty of fish.
The vegetarian food that Indians ate was mainly wheat flatbreads or a kind of flatbread made out of chickpeas, with a spicy vegetarian sauce with lentils, and yogurt. Or people ate rice, with yogurt and vegetables.
The earliest Indians, the Harappans, probably ate mainly wheat and rice and chickpeas and lentils, and occasionally cows, pigs, sheep, goats and chicken. Indian cooks used many Central Asian herbs and spices - cinnamon, cumin, coriander, anise and fennel. Some of the wheat was made into stews or soups, and some into flat breads called ‘chapatis’ or yeast breads called ‘naan’. Indian people also enjoyed chewing on sugar cane, which grew naturally in India.
Sometimes they ate beef, pork, lamb and goat meat, and chicken. Rice and chicken and citron fruit seem to have come from Thailand. Wheat and chickpeas, lentils and lamb came from West Asia. Indian cooks used many Central Asian herbs and spices, like cinnamon, cumin, cilantro (also called coriander), anise, and fennel.
Cooks made some of the grain into stews or soups. They baked grain into flat breads called chapatis or yeast breads called naan. Indian people also enjoyed chewing on sugar cane, which grew naturally in India.
Food in Ancient India faced remarkable changes during the Vedic Period which not only introduced new food items but also rules and etiquettes while taking the meal of the day. This also introduced division of meals during the day. The food in Vedic period is largely divided into the food of the Aryans and Dravidians which later on got divided into north and south India. Their food items as well as habits have been illustrated in the sutras and Vedas of the period which are the earliest literature of ancient India.
But by around 300 BC, under the Mauryans, a lot of Hindus felt that animal sacrifices added to your karma. Eating meat kept you from getting free of the wheel of reincarnation. Animal sacrifices became less popular. Although people didn’t give up eating meat entirely, they ate much less of it. A lot of people became vegetarians.
Mauryan food scientists expanded fruit choices for these new vegetarians by breeding two different kinds of citrus fruit together to get sweet oranges. About this time, these same food scientists also developed a better kind of sorghum, durra sorghum, that was easier to harvest. This new sorghum quickly spread to China, West Asia (and from there to Europe) and East Africa.
Food in Ancient India that was adopted during the Maurya period has been extensively discussed by Kautilya. He defines the specifications of an ideal kitchen and a proper diet of the Raja in Maurya Empire which was largely followed as a convention by almost all the people living in Maurya Empire. While this also sets a number of special food items and food etiquettes, this at the same time describes the culture of ancient India.
By around 300 BC, under the Mauryans, a lot of Hindus felt that animal sacrifices are added to ones karma and kept one from getting free of the wheel of reincarnation. Animal sacrifices became less popular, and although people didn’t give up eating meat entirely, they ate much less of it. A lot of people became vegetarians. Mauryan food scientists expanded fruit choices for these new vegetarians by breeding two different kinds of citrus fruit together to get oranges.Food in Ancient India, History of Indian Food
In the Gupta period, around 650 AD, Hindus began to worship a Mother Goddess. Cows were sacred to her, so Hindus stopped eating beef pretty much completely.
About the same time, Indian scientists invented a way to make sugar cane juice into sugar cubes. More people started to eat more sugar and sugary desserts. By 900 AD, lemons and purple carrots reached India from Central Asia too.
Food in Ancient India which was adopted by the Gupta Empire was mainly influenced by Buddism and Jainism which made a lot of changes in the culture of ancient India. In the Gupta period, around 650 AD, Hindus began to worship a Mother Goddess. Cows were sacred to her, and so Hindus stopped eating beef pretty much completely. About the same time, Indian scientists invented a way to make sugar cane juice into sugar cubes, so more people began to eat more sugar and sugary deserts. By 900 AD, new Central Asian fruits and vegetables, lemons and purple carrots, reached India too.
And then around 1100 AD, with the Islamic conquests in northern India, most people in India stopped eating pork as well, because the Quran says not to eat it. People could still eat lamb or goats or chicken, but most of the people in India became vegetarians, and only ate meat very rarely or not at all. Along the coasts and rivers, though, people did still eat plenty of fish.
The vegetarian food that Indians ate was mainly wheat flatbreads or a kind of flatbread made out of chickpeas, with a spicy vegetarian sauce with lentils, and yogurt. Or people ate rice, with yogurt and vegetables.
