The reasons may lie in climate, dietary structure, religion and eating methods.

The common Indian set meal platter Thali usually includes many kinds of sauces and condiments

India is located in South Asia and has a hot climate. In high-temperature climates, food easily deteriorates. In order to prevent deterioration, it is necessary to preserve food by pickling (pickles), or add a large amount of spices during the cooking process (because spices often have antiseptic and sterilizing effects). On the other hand, high temperatures cause People's appetite decreases, so it is also necessary to use spices to increase the flavor of food, or to enhance people's appetite through frying (those who have watched the video of Indian vendors should be impressed by the deep-frying in India).

Research shows that as early as 4,600 years ago during the Indus Valley Civilization, India’s ancestors had begun to add a large number of spices to their diet. In this natural environment, fully cooking the food, making it into a paste, and adding a large amount of spices can fully release the aroma of the spices, kill bacteria, delay deterioration, improve the flavor of the food, and make it more delicious. This is a very natural choice.

Ethiopia’s Injera, a porous fermented flatbread, is also eaten with paste-like sauce

On the other hand, India’s agriculture is underdeveloped, and people’s diet consists of flatbread and rice. Wait for staple food. These staple foods have a bland taste, but the thick-flavored paste can add a lot of flavor to the staple foods and make them a good meal. In fact, in ancient times when agriculture was underdeveloped, and in most contemporary countries where people eat with their hands, paste (or sauce) is one of the most common foods. For example, Injera in Ethiopia is very similar to Thali in India. Paste with limited solid content can save food and feed more people.

Many European soups, such as the Salmorejo soup pictured above, are very thick, and from the appearance, they are somewhat similar to Indian soups

With the popularity of cutlery and other utensils, and Before the development of agricultural technology and living standards, the daily diet of ordinary people in Europe was often mushy porridge, soups and stews. A thick soup or stew similar to the picture above, plus porridge or bread (in fact, bread was not common in ancient times. Due to the relatively complicated production process, porridge was the more common civilian food), and it was a meal for ordinary people.

Indian long-grain rice, shortbread and Dahl made from beans

In addition, India is a country with a strong religious atmosphere. Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, which were born in India, all emphasize not killing animals, so most Indians eat vegetarian food as their staple food. It is not easy to make vegetarian food delicious (and not easy to spoil). It is very common to add a lot of spices and make it into a paste. Indians who lack meat need to supplement protein through beans such as chickpeas. Beans cooked until they are mushy and mixed with various spices are both appetizing and protein-replenishing. Therefore, this type of bean paste is also called Dahl. Becoming a very important type of Indian food.

Indian woman eating with her hands

Finally, in Indian food culture, people believe that eating is a sensory activity, and touch is an important part of the experience. Charak Sanhita, the founder of Ayurveda, the traditional Indian medicine, believes that the eating process needs to mobilize the five human senses, including hearing, smelling, seeing, touching, and tasting. Through your own hands, you can feel the temperature and flavor of food more directly. Therefore, Indians are accustomed to eating with their hands. The paste-like sauce is very suitable for dipping into the full flatbread or rice. If in ancient times, eating with hands was only a last resort, then in the 21st century, people are still accustomed to eating with hands. This can only be said to be cultural reasons.

The spoon of the Native American Yurok people

*. Interestingly, China is not only the birthplace of chopsticks, but also the earliest fork was born in China. Spoons were born at the end of the Neolithic Age, so it is indeed interesting that ancient India, with its splendid civilization, had no tradition of using tableware to assist eating.

However, not all Indian food is mushy. For example, curry dumplings samosa, various kiln-roasted meats, pickles (yes, there are pickles in India), biryani, various pancakes as staple food, and various fried snacks, these are not mushy.

Compared with being spicy, shouldn’t the more obvious feature of Indian food be the various spices? At least in the eyes of Indians themselves, India is one of the countries with the most diverse diets in the world, because there are hundreds of spices and thousands of ways to mix them.