Logic behind Indian cooking

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During my "fitness journey", I hated Indian cuisine for 2 reasons -
1. We don't have a measurement scale instead it is a "feeling" of how much to put in.
2. We don't emphasize carbs, protein, fats. I learned later that we need protein to build muscle but I haven't heard those words until  I heard Akshay Kumar in Horlicks ad.

 But now digging a little deep into our ancient cooking I realized Indians are very smart....when western people were busy innovating many inventions that boost the economy. We Indians focused on the health and well-being of the environment. We have our strongest and greatest architecture in India- from the Iron pillar to the Taj Mahal. Indians focused on cooking from scratch - grinding spices or making ghee at home. Whereas Westerners focused on convenience and productivity that around 80 percent of their daily consumption is unprocessed food.

There is a reason for what we eat and how we eat. We eat cross-legged which in Yogasana is called Sukhasana which aids digestion. Do you know why we eat using our hands for eating? It is because we can judge food temperature, and eating with our hands makes nutrient absorption and digestion much better. Our fingertips have more sensory neurons therefore more sensitivity. We eat food on Plaintain leaves because it is biodegradable and traces of Magnesium and Zinc present on it provides health benefits. 

Our food consists of all kinds of tastes foods ranging from Sweet, Salty, Sour, Bitter, Pungent and Astringent. Each taste has a balancing ability, and provides complete nutrition, minimizes cravings, and balances the appetite and digestion. Have you ever craved dessert even after eating a meal?
 Cooking is an Art and science. Indians focused on making food, mouth watery as well as nutrient-dense. They realized that the way food is cooked and eaten affects the human body and mind, so it must be balanced and fresh.
India is known for its spices. They are used because it enhances the flavor, overall appearance of the dish and also aids digestion. Spices were used in the earlier times as a shelf life enhancer when refrigeration was absent. Pickling is one of the common methods of preservation where all the spices are blended with mustard oil to preserve food.
 Tamarind is used because of its therapeutic qualities. It is used to cure constipation, diarrhea, ulcers, and fever.
There are no bad foods, the way of cooking matters. Some meals require large amounts of oil, but there is a reason for it, for example, karela or bitter gourd is very beneficial for its detoxifying properties but due to its bitter taste it's difficult to eat. So while preparing bitter gourd, it is usually mixed with sour foods to compensate  the bitter taste and is fried in large amounts of oil. This is because sour food balances bitter taste, the oil helps absorb the nutrients better and maintain the aroma and essence of food. We Indians never focused on scales while preparing foods because food is more than just calories. Just listening to our body will guide you on how much and what to eat.

Vegetarian food is known to be protein deficient but not for Indian veg because we usually eat rice with daal or legumes. Rice has sulfur-based amino acids and daal has lysine amino acids so this combination makes the best pair.

There is a reason for foods prepared during each festival. Since this is ‘Navratri’ season. Let's talk about that alone. Nine holy days in the month of Ashwina(Ashwina is from Mid September to Mid October) are celebrated as  Navaratri. This festival is dedicated to a goddess which is a symbol of women empowerment. Usually, foods are sweet, bitter, astringent because people usually fast during Navratri and are not allowed to eat certain foods. Around this time there is a seasonal change and there is a chance to get a cold or fever so they fast. Fasting helps our digestive systems to rest and boosts our immunity too.
 

Therefore don't underestimate power of a fellow Indian.