Original Indian Foods and Food Preparation

A number of attempts have been made from time to time to publish so-called Indian recipes. This is not one of them. The writer has never seen a true "recipe" for any ancient Indian dishes, but only descriptions of white foods adapted to Indian tastes, or visa-versa. Basically a recipe should involve careful measurements, leavening, addition of condiments, etc., all strictly according to rule. It is virtually impossible to find any such rules in ancient Indian cookery. Such methods of food preparation as leaching acorns, hulling and grinding corn or smoke drying meats were indeed processes which had to be learned by the growing girl, but they can scarcely be classified as recipes. A little study soon makes it clear that Indian cooking was done entirely "by ear".