India, Spice and the Moghuls
The continent whose cuisine depends more on spices than any other is probably India. The commonly used foods vary from region to region: in the tropical south, fish, coconut and bananas abound, while in the fertile Bengal regions, grains, tomatoes and other vegetables are plentiful. Southern dishes are often hot with fresh ginger and pepper, and the food of the Andhra region is spicy and hot with chillies, while food in the north is generally said to be milder, with a more complex blend of the seed spices, and a more judicious use of heat. However, throughout India, the most commonly used spices – mustard seeds, chillies, cumin, asafoetida, curry leaves, cinnamon, turmeric, cardamom – remain fairly consistent.
Moghul food refers not so much to any particular area of India as to the food of the conquering Moghuls or Mongols, who came from Persia in 1526 and founded a powerful dynasty whose courts throughout the north and centre of India brought about a melding of Hindu and Persian cuisines. As a show of wealth and sophistication, the meals created for the Moghuls and their guests often contained expensive nuts, chicken, saffron, cream and yoghurt unavailable to the common people. Aromatic spices such as cardamom, fennel seed and cinnamon were used with rose water, almonds and dried fruits to make sumptuous, extravagant rice and meat dishes.