Indian cuisine · Tadka, dal and a subcontinental map: masala, rice, breads and heat that is not one curry.
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Indian cuisines are plural: Dravidian rice-and-tamarind, Indo-Gangetic breads, Mughal rice-and-meat, and Portuguese chili on the west coast. "Curry" is a British-Portuguese flattening of tadka, masala and gravy.
Indian cuisine sits at spice 95 in this atlas. Biryani and Masala dosa show the range better than a single heat number.
Biryani plus one regional plate — not only the export icon.
Spices bloomed in hot fat and poured over a dish.
Chili is late (16th century) and now structural in many kitchens. Heat here outruns Thailand only because black pepper, mustard seed and chili stack; many dishes stay fragrant rather than red.
The home pantry around Tadka and the labour behind Masala dosa rarely fit a takeaway box.
The dishes that carry Indian cuisine are the ones a market cook and a home kitchen would both recognise.
Eight signatures below explain the table to a first-time diner and to a grocer stocking the aisle.
Mahi Tatavarty · CC BY-SA 4.0
Layered rice and meat (or vegetables), steamed; Hyderabad and Lucknow argue the true pot.
Biryani is cooked from Delhi to diaspora rooms as a reference plate of Indian cuisine.
“The pantry lesson is dahi / achar / idli batter beside rice / roti / dosa.”
Yakshitha · CC BY-SA 4.0
Fermented rice-lentil crepe with potato filling, sambar and chutney.
Masala dosa is cooked from Delhi to diaspora rooms as a reference plate of Indian cuisine.
“The pantry lesson is dahi / achar / idli batter beside rice / roti / dosa.”
Rupamdas75 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Pani puri, bhel and cousins — sour, crunchy, wet and loud.
Chaat is cooked from Delhi to diaspora rooms as a reference plate of Indian cuisine.
“The pantry lesson is dahi / achar / idli batter beside rice / roti / dosa.”
kspoddar · CC BY-SA 2.0
Yogurt-chili marinade in a clay oven; the export grill.
Tandoori chicken is cooked from Delhi to diaspora rooms as a reference plate of Indian cuisine.
“The pantry lesson is dahi / achar / idli batter beside rice / roti / dosa.”
Yuvraj Singh 97 · CC BY-SA 4.0
A restaurant gravy that became the global "Indian curry".
Butter chicken is cooked from Delhi to diaspora rooms as a reference plate of Indian cuisine.
“The pantry lesson is dahi / achar / idli batter beside rice / roti / dosa.”
Soumya dey at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0
Steamed fermented rice-lentil cakes; breakfast architecture.
Idli is cooked from Delhi to diaspora rooms as a reference plate of Indian cuisine.
“The pantry lesson is dahi / achar / idli batter beside rice / roti / dosa.”
Moheen Reeyad · CC BY-SA 4.0
A stuffed pastry with Central Asian cousins and a thousand fillings.
Samosa is cooked from Delhi to diaspora rooms as a reference plate of Indian cuisine.
“The pantry lesson is dahi / achar / idli batter beside rice / roti / dosa.”
Spice Eats · CC BY 3.0
A Kashmiri red lamb that is fragrant more than chili-hot in its home form.
Rogan josh is cooked from Delhi to diaspora rooms as a reference plate of Indian cuisine.
“The pantry lesson is dahi / achar / idli batter beside rice / roti / dosa.”
Stats are relative 0–100 marks within this cuisine, for comparison only.
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Does Biryani abroad still count as Indian cuisine when the pantry is rewritten?
Capitals claim Masala dosa; provinces disagree, loudly.
Islands of sambal and coconut: rendang, nasi goreng and a spice-trade pantry across 17,000 islands.
Overall 68 🍗Vinegar, garlic and a fiesta table: adobo, sinigang and the Chinese-Spanish-American pantry of the islands.
Overall 62 🍜Malay, Chinese and Indian tables under one roof: nasi lemak, laksa and the mamak shop.
Overall 70