The Cuisine

The Maharaja invites you on a journey to the Indian subcontinent, to a world of spices that will invigorate your senses. The journey will take you from the snow-capped mountain peaks of Kashmir to the sun-baked Malabar Coast; from the populous streets of Calcutta to the majestic fortresses and palaces of Rajasthan; from the fresh water rivers Bengal to the tea plantations of Sylhet. En route you will sample the dishes that are unique to each region and relive the history that shaped it’s cuisine.

Come and enter the fascinating saga of the Aryan tribesmen, the Moghul emperors, the European explorers and all the others who came to the jewel continent of the world in search of wealth and contributed to the rich tapestry of Indian cuisine. - Subtle or pungent, hot or mild, there is something to suit every palate.

The food of each region has been shaped by the passage of nomadic tribes, settlers following in the wake of invading armies, trading ships that brought new fruits and vegetables and the dietary structures of new religions. India has always embraced these influences and made them part of its own vibrant, constantly evolving cuisine.

Eating your way across India will leave you with a deep inspiration for the amazing diversity of its food. “Indian” food is a very broad description of a wide variety of regional cuisines. Cooks in each part of the country use local ingredients, special spices and cooking techniques to create unique dishes.

Much of the cooking of northwestern India and Pakistan is so similar that one, would hesitate to say which dishes belong to one country and which to the other. Pakistan, being a Muslim country, uses no pork; but boasts a diet rich in other meats and has as many sumptuous biriyani and pilau as does the celebrated Moghul cuisine of the neighboring Indian provinces. Lamb is predominant in both areas, and both use spicing and ingredients such as yoghurt and ghee in dishes that are elaborate without being hot as well as relying more heavily on wheat-flour chapati than on rice.

Bangladesh is more than 1,500 kilometers from Pakistan. With the eastern Indian province of Bengal, of which it was once a part, it shares more pungent spicing, a tendency to cook in mustard oil rather than ghee and emphasis on a variety of seafood instead of the fat lamb popular in northwestern India and Pakistan.

The culinary offerings of southern India are different again. The coconut plays a commanding role, rice largely replaces wheat, mustard seeds are widely used as a spice, and chilies come into their own - as anyone who has tackled a really hot Madras or Mysore curry will readily acknowledge!

Throughout the subcontinent, different religions impose food taboos that are rigidly adhered to. Hindus will not eat beef. Muslim will not eat pork. Buddhist will not take life and so will not even crack an egg. And many Indians are strictly vegetarian, enjoying a cuisine that is in a class by itself.