A Historical Dictionary of Indian Food

This book contains a wealth of information on the food materials, food ethos, cuisine, and recipes of India. It traces the gastronomic history of India, drawing on archaeology, historical writing, botany, genetics, and the country’s oldest literatures in Sanskrit, Pali, Tamil, and Kannada. Arranged in alphabetical order, the dictionary – situates Indian foods in time and place; offers fascinating information on the migration of food plants from the New World to India, and their rapid integration into Indian cuisine; draws attention to the transfer of words, across languages, from the aboriginal Munda tongues into Sanskrit, from Tamil and Malayam into English and vice versa; has an extensive cross-referencing system that guides readers along the food-routes of India.