Indigenous Indian Dishes Before Foreign Influence

This list features original Indian dishes that predate the Delhi Sultanate, Mughals, Portuguese, Dutch, French, and British. All these dishes were known or prepared in India before 1000 CE.

Vegetarian Dishes

Grain and Millet-Based Dishes

  1. Kheer made with rice milk and jaggery
  2. Khichdi with rice dal ghee turmeric
  3. Pongal with moong dal pepper ghee
  4. Curd rice also called Thayir Sadam
  5. Pakhala Bhata fermented rice water
  6. Ragi mudde finger millet balls
  7. Bajra roti with ghee
  8. Jowar bhakri
  9. Kambu koozh fermented millet drink
  10. Sama millet khichdi
  11. Foxtail millet upma
  12. Rice dumplings steamed
  13. Aval sweetened poha with jaggery
  14. Rice puttu steamed with coconut
  15. Idli early version called Iddalige
  16. Dosa fermented rice urad batter
  17. Adai multi lentil dosa
  18. Upma with broken rice or millets
  19. Rice roti akki roti
  20. Millet steamed balls tribal style

Lentil and Pulse-Based

  1. Moong dal with turmeric
  2. Urad dal tempered with ghee
  3. Arhar dal yellow lentils
  4. Horse gram kulthi dal
  5. Lentil sprouts salad
  6. Moong dal laddu with jaggery
  7. Paruppu plain dal Tamil style
  8. Panchmel dal mix of 5 lentils
  9. Lentil stew with bottle gourd
  10. Dhokla early version without sugar

Green Leafy and Vegetable-Based

  1. Saag cooked amaranth or spinach
  2. Mustard greens with ghee
  3. Bathua saag stir fry
  4. Drumstick leaves with dal
  5. Banana stem curry
  6. Banana flower stir fry
  7. Snake gourd curry
  8. Pumpkin with sesame or jaggery
  9. Ridge gourd curry
  10. Ash gourd with coconut

Tuber and Root-Based

  1. Boiled yam with mustard
  2. Roasted sweet potato
  3. Colocasia arbi fry
  4. Taro in sesame oil
  5. Elephant foot yam curry

Fermented and Preserved Foods

  1. Kanji rice water
  2. Pazham kanji fermented leftover rice
  3. Pickled amla with mustard
  4. Raw mango sun dried
  5. Lemon preserved with salt
  6. Tamarind concentrate
  7. Sun dried jackfruit
  8. Sun dried turmeric
  9. Mahua flower cakes tribal
  10. Fermented rice batter idli dosa

Sweets Made Without Refined Sugar

  1. Rice kheer with jaggery
  2. Ragi halwa
  3. Til sesame laddoo
  4. Moong dal jaggery laddoo
  5. Aval jaggery ball
  6. Coconut modak
  7. Chakkara pongal sweet pongal
  8. Banana mashed with ghee and jaggery
  9. Palm jaggery cake
  10. Rice flour sweet dumpling

Beverages

  1. Buttermilk chaas or mor
  2. Tender coconut water
  3. Bael sherbet
  4. Ragi ambli fermented drink
  5. Tamarind water
  6. Palm jaggery drink
  7. Rice kanji drink
  8. Herbal decoction kashayam
  9. Sandalwood sherbet
  10. Vetiver root water

Non-Vegetarian Dishes

Poultry and Eggs

  1. Country chicken curry with pepper
  2. Nattu kozhi rasam chicken soup
  3. Jungle fowl roasted tribal style
  4. Quail roasted
  5. Chicken in sesame and turmeric
  6. Chicken steamed in banana leaf
  7. Egg curry with pepper and turmeric
  8. Duck egg with curry leaves
  9. Boiled egg with ghee and rock salt
  10. Quail egg roast tribal

Goat Lamb and Sheep

  1. Goat curry with black pepper
  2. Lamb trotters broth
  3. Mutton with ash gourd
  4. Tribal goat cooked in sal leaves
  5. Mutton liver stir fry
  6. Bone broth with herbs
  7. Goat meat wrapped in leaves
  8. Sun dried mutton slices
  9. Sesame mutton curry
  10. Lamb slow cooked in clay pot

Fish and Shellfish

  1. River fish wood grilled
  2. Banana leaf fish parcels
  3. Mustard fish curry
  4. Tamarind fish stew
  5. Sun dried salted fish
  6. Grilled sardines coastal style
  7. Small fish fry with turmeric
  8. Fish head curry
  9. Coconut fish stew Kerala style
  10. Fermented fish paste
  11. River crab in turmeric
  12. Prawns in tamarind pepper
  13. Mussels in turmeric leaf
  14. Dry shrimp chutney
  15. Snail cooked in rice starch

Buffalo and Other Meat

  1. Buffalo stew tribal
  2. Dried buffalo meat with rock salt
  3. Ox meat roast
  4. Ox broth in herbal mix
  5. Buffalo brain stir fry
  6. Tribal buffalo cooked in bamboo
  7. Venison roast forest food
  8. Rabbit cooked in open fire
  9. Wild boar roast
  10. Frog legs in bamboo shoot
  11. Porcupine stew tribal
  12. Monitor lizard cooked with sesame
  13. Peacock meat in early texts

Indigenous Cooking Techniques

  1. Pit roasting underground fire cooking
  2. Leaf wrapping in turmeric banana or sal leaves
  3. Clay pot slow cooking
  4. Sun drying of fish and meat
  5. Bamboo tube steaming
  6. Fermentation of rice and fish
  7. Herbal marination using ginger pepper mustard
  8. Cooking on flat stone griddle
  9. Firewood roasting with ghee
  10. Steaming over rice water

Summary

  • These dishes were known before foreign influence (before 1000 CE).
  • No use of chillies, tomatoes, potatoes, cashews, or refined sugar.
  • Main spices used: black pepper, mustard, curry leaves, turmeric, ginger, asafoetida, sesame oil, ghee.
  • Common cooking bases: millets, rice, urad dal, moong dal, cow milk, jaggery, curd, herbs.

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