Full of tradition, flavor and spice, Indian cooking goes back thousands and thousands of years. Some of the traditions have been dated as the oldest in the world. Most Indian cuisines are related by similar usage of spices. Often, Indian cooking is distinguished by the use of a larger variety of vegetables than many other well-known cuisines. Every extremity of climate is found in India, due to which a large variety of flavors and spices have originated here and have given birth to a enormous delights.
Where, in the north and the west, Kashmiri and Mughlai cuisines dominate the kitchens; in the east Bengali and Assamese cuisines show influence of East Asian styles. All coastal kitchens make strong use of fish and coconuts. The desert cuisines of Rajasthan and Gujarat use an immense variety of dals and achars (preserves) due to lack of fresh vegetables.
The use of tamarind to impart sourness distinguishes Tamil food whereas the Andhra kitchen is known of using excessive amounts of chilies. All along the northern plain, from Punjab through Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, a variety of flours are used to make chapattis and on the other hand in the rain-swept regions of the north-eastern foothills and along the coasts, a large variety of rice are used.
