Stay Cool with Surprising Indian Food and Drinks

(Gerry Furth-Sides) Climate was the catalyst for the most famous healthy, spicy Indian dishes.  One has royal origins and started in the north with the fusion of Indian cuisine and the Persian food that the Mughal rulers brought with them. The other, lassis, was quite the opposite and originated on a farm!

The first Mughal emperor, Babur was known as a “food snob.” He established the tradition of hiring Indian chefs to prepare Persian dishes out of local ingredients. And they needed to add new ingredients and techniques to account for the much warmer northern Indian climate.  A solution was needed and that solution was found in spices. 

Babur was magnificent even in his heritage. A direct descendant of the Timurid Emperor Tamerlaneon his father’s side, and the Mongol ruler Genghis Khan on his mother’s side, he too was known to conquer and then establish an empire with a focus on culture and culinary arts.

Babur, did not live long enough to establish a name-sake royal cuisine. But he did establish the tradition of hiring Indian chefs to prepare Persian dishes out of local ingredients with spices from both areas.

At the same time his chefs added spices to hot Northern Indian cuisine to prevent food from spoilage without refrigeration. This was centuries before it was scientifically proven that spices prevent Bacteria and food-born pathogens from surviving in heat. This is why countries with a hotter climate also have spicy cuisines.

Eating spicier foods have also been proven to cool you down far more effectively than the testing cold treats.  And this is because they draw sweat.

Lassi, the famous Indian drink that has become signature has more humble beginnings: the farm. This wildly popular signature Indian drink is so naturally rich it could be a dessert.

Classic Indian lassi was actually invented as a way to use up the “buttermilk” or rich liquid that remained after cream was churned into butter. The leftover liquid is termed as Buttermilk, which is commonly known as ‘Chaati ki Lassi’.

Thousands of years old, the drink originated in the Punjab in northern India. These days lassis are made with milk and yogurt with added sugar at just about all Indian restaurants.

Lassi’s come in so many flavors, both sweet with fruit added, to savory with salt. Rose is a surprisingly delicate choice without being perfumy.

And “yum! Especially nice to start the day when the weather is warm,” says food writer, Faye Levy, about Banana Leaf lassis. Dorothy Reinhold adds: “This is a delish, refreshing, clean bevvie! I loved it also for how cooling it is if you eat something spicy!”

To find our current locations and to order, please see: //bananaleafla.com