History of Indian cuisine/ja

この記事は、 1947年のインド分離独立以前のインド亜大陸における食の歴史についての説明である。現代のインド共和国については、 インド料理を参照してください。 パキスタンと バングラデシュに焦点を当てタモのについては、 パキスタン料理 と Bangladeshi cuisine/jaを参照してください。

インド料理の歴史は、インド亜大陸の豊かで多様な料理から成る。この地域の、深い熱帯から高山に至るまでの多様な気候は、インドの多くの料理学校で容易に入手できる食材の幅を大きく広げるのに役立ってきた。多くの場合、食べ物は宗教的および社会的アイデンティティの指標となっており、様々なタブーや好みがある（例えば、ジャイナ教の人口の一部は根菜や地下茎の野菜を一切食べない。ジャイナ教の菜食主義を参照）。これもまた、これらの集団が許容される食品源で広範な革新を行う原動力となってきた。

インド料理に強い影響を与えているのは、ヒンドゥー教徒とジャイナ教徒のコミュニティの一部における長年の菜食主義である。インド人の31%、つまり3分の1弱が菜食主義者である。

Historic developments

Indian cuisine reflects an 8,000-year history of various groups and cultures interacting with the Indian subcontinent, leading to diversity of flavours and regional cuisines found in modern-day India. Later, trade with British and Portuguese influence added to the already diverse Indian cuisine.

Prehistory and Indus Valley Civilization exchanges with Sumeria and Mesopotamia

See also: Meluhha, Indus–Mesopotamia relations, and Indian maritime history

After 9000 BCE, a first period of indirect contacts between Fertile Crescent and Indus Valley (IV) seems to have occurred as a consequence of the Neolithic Revolution and the diffusion of agriculture. Around 7000 BCE, agriculture spread from the Fertile Crescent to the Indus Valley, and wheat and barley began to be grown. Sesame and humped cattle were domesticated in the local farming communities. Mehrgarh is one of the earliest sites with evidence of farming and herding in South Asia.

By 3000 BCE, turmeric, cardamom, black pepper and mustard were harvested in India.

From Around 2350 BCE the evidence for imports from the Indus to Ur in Mesopotamia have been found, as well as Clove heads which are thought to originate from the Moluccas in Maritime Southeast Asia were found in a 2nd millennium BC site in Terqa. Akkadian Empire records mention timber, carnelian and ivory as being imported from Meluhha by Meluhhan ships, Meluhha being generally considered as the Mesopotamian name for the Indus Valley Civilization.

Vedic and vegetarian Buddhist exchanges with Roman empire and influence on Southeast Asia

Main articles: Ayurveda, Buddhist vegetarianism, Indian Ocean trade, Silk Road, Indo-Roman trade relations, Indian influence on Southeast Asia, and Indian influence on Filipino cuisine

The ancient Hindu text Mahabharata mentions rice and vegetable cooked together, and the word "pulao" or "pallao" is used to refer to the dish in ancient Sanskrit works, such as Yājñavalkya Smṛti. Ayurveda, ancient Indian system of wellness, deals with holistic approach to wellness, and it includes food, dhyana {meditation} and yoga.

Thai cuisine was influenced by Indian cuisine as recorded by the Thai monk Buddhadasa Bhikku in his writing ‘India's Benevolence to Thailand’. He wrote that Thai people learned how to use spices in their food in various ways from Indians. Thais also obtained the methods of making herbal medicines (Ayurveda) from the Indians. Some plants like sarabhi of family Guttiferae, kanika or harsinghar, phikun or Mimusops elengi and bunnak or the rose chestnut etc. were brought from India.

Filipino cuisine, found throughout the Philippines archipelago, has been historically influenced by the Indian cuisine.

Cuisine exchange with Central Asian and Islamic world

See also: Central Asians in ancient Indian literature

Later, arrivals from Arabia, Central Asia, and centuries of trade relations and cultural exchange resulted in a significant influence on each region's cuisines, such as the adoption of the tandoor in Middle East which had originated in northwestern India.

Cuisine exchange during European colonial period

See also: Colonial India, Portuguese India, British raj, European exploration of Asia, and Girmityas

The Portuguese and British during their rule introduced cooking techniques such as baking, and foods from the New World and Europe. The new-world vegetables popular in cuisine from the Indian subcontinent include tomato, potato, sweet potatoes, peanuts, squash, and chilli. Most New world vegetables such as sweet potatoes, potatoes, Amaranth, peanuts and cassava based Sago are allowed on Hindu fasting days. Cauliflower was introduced by the British in 1822. In the late 18th/early 19th century, an autobiography of a Scottish Robert Lindsay mentions a Sylheti man called Saeed Ullah cooking a curry for Lindsay's family. This is possibly the oldest record of Indian cuisine in the United Kingdom.

Contemporary developments

See also: Greater India, Indosphere, Indianization of Southeast Asia, and History of Indian influence on Southeast Asia

In 2019, according to data released by United Nations, 17.5 million of overseas Indians formed the world's largest diaspora, including 3.4 million in UAE, 2.7 million in USA, and 2.4 million in Saudi Arabia. Indian migration has spread the culinary traditions of the subcontinent throughout the world. These cuisines have been adapted to local tastes, and have also affected local cuisines. Curry's international appeal has been compared to that of pizza. Indian tandoor dishes such as chicken tikka enjoy widespread popularity.

The UK's first Indian restaurant, the Hindoostanee Coffee House, opened in 1810. By 2003, there were as many as 10,000 restaurants serving Indian cuisine in England and Wales alone; 90% of Indian restaurants in the UK are run by British Bangladeshis. According to Britain's Food Standards Agency, the Indian food industry in the United Kingdom is worth 3.2 billion pounds, accounts for two-thirds of all eating out and serves about 2.5 million customers every week. A survey by The Washington Post in 2007 stated that more than 1,200 Indian food products had been introduced into the United States since 2000.

Indian cuisine is very popular in Southeast Asia, due to the strong Hindu and Buddhist cultural influence in the region. Indian cuisine has had considerable influence on Malaysian cooking styles and also enjoys popularity in Singapore. There are numerous North and South Indian restaurants in Singapore, mostly in Little India. Singapore is also known for fusion cuisine combining traditional Singaporean cuisine with Indian influences. Fish head curry, for example, is a local creation. Indian influence on Malay cuisine dates to the 19th century. Other cuisines which borrow inspiration from Indian cooking styles include Cambodian, Lao, Filipino, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Thai, and Burmese cuisines. The spread of vegetarianism in other parts of Asia is often credited to Hindu and Buddhist practices.

A 2019 research paper by US economist Joel Waldfogel, based on travel data from TripAdvisor, affirmed India's soft power which ranked Indian cuisine fourth most popular. Italian, Japanese & Chinese food being top 3. Indian cuisine is especially most popular in United Kingdom, South Korea, Thailand, Japan, Germany, France and US. In another 2019 survey of 25,000 people cross 34 countries, the largest fans of India cuisine who have tried it are the Indians (93%), British (84%), Singaporeans (77%), Norwegians (75%), Australians (74%), French (71%), Finnish (71%), Malaysians (70%), Indonesians (49%), Vietnamese (44%), Thai (27%), and mainland Chinese (26%).

The popularity of Indian cuisine has been attributed to a large number of distinct diaspora and fusion Indian cuisines such as Indian Chinese cuisine, Malaysian Indian cuisine, Indian Singaporean cuisine (based on Tamil cuisine), and Anglo-Indian cuisine (developed during the British Raj in India with adoption of western dishes with Indian ingredients).

ギャラリー

• 
  1790年頃のインドのバング喫食者。バングはインド亜大陸原産の大麻の食用調製品である。古代インドのヒンドゥー教徒によって、紀元前1000年には飲食物に用いられていた。
• 
  美味とレシピの書である『ニマトナーマ・イ・ナーシルッディーン・シャーヒー』の一葉。キール作りの妙技が記録されている。
• 
  中世インドの写本ニマトナーマ・イ・ナーシルッディーン・シャーヒー（16世紀頃）に描かれたサモサが供されている様子。

関連項目

• Indian cookbooks/ja
• Ayurveda/ja