Popularity of Tea and Samosas in India.

By Richa Aggarwal

Indian cuisine is very diverse and is a result of India’s diverse population. Over the centuries, each new wave of settlers brought with them their own culinary practices which, with time, blended into the Indian cuisine as it is known today. Besides settlers from outside, Indian cuisine has been influenced by environmental, social, religious and political factors from within. Most Indian cuisines are related by significant usage of spices, and by the use of a larger variety of vegetables than most other culinary traditions. Within these recognizable similarities, there is an enormous variety of local styles.

Typically, North Indian meals consist of chapattis or rotis and rice as staples, eaten with a wide variety of side dishes like dals, curries, yoghurt, chutney and achars. South Indian dishes are mostly rice-based lentils and curries being important side dishes.

Besides the main dishes, various appetizers are widely popular in Indian cuisine, such as samosa and pakora. Among drinks, tea enjoys heavy popularity, while coffee is mostly popular in South India. The Indian snacks are usually delicious and mouth watering. Savories like samosas are commonly served in India. Tea and Samosa have been passed on for generation together in Indian homes. The crispness and tempting tastes of Indian snacks is liked by young and old alike. These can be easily prepared at any time. It is ideal to serve snacks before coffee or tea.

The samosa probably traveled to India along ancient trade routes from Central Asia. Small, crisp mince-filled triangles that were easy to make around the campfire during night halts, then conveniently packed into saddlebags as snacks for the next day's journey. According to the “The Oxford Companion to Food” the Indian samosa is merely the best known of an entire family of stuffed pastries or dumplings popular from Egypt and Zanzibar to Central Asia and West China. Arab cookery books of the 10th and 13th Centuries refer to the pastries as sanbusak (the pronunciation still current in Egypt, Syria, & Lebanon), sanbusaq or sanbusaj, all reflecting the early medieval form of the Persian word: sanbosag. Claudia Roden (1968) quotes a poem by Ishaq ibn Ibrahim-al-Mausili (9th Century) praising the sanbusaj.

By the early 14th Century, it was not only a part of Indian cuisine but also food fit for a king. Amir Khusrao, prolific poet of Delhi royalty, observed in 1300 that the royal set seemed partial to the "samosa prepared from meat, ghee, onion and so on". In 1334, the renowned traveller Ibn Battuta wrote about the sambusak: "minced meat cooked with almonds, pistachios, onions and spices placed inside a thin envelop of wheat and deep-fried in ghee". And the samosa obtained a royal stamp with its inclusion in the Ain-i-Akbari which declared that among dishes cooked with wheat there is the qutab, "which the people of Hind called the sanbusa".

The present day samosas are of a fried triangular/pyramid-shaped pastry shell with a savory potato, onion and pea stuffing, but other stuffing like minced meat are also used. The size and shape of a samosa, as well as the consistency of the pastry used can vary considerably. It is spicy and is often eaten with chutney, such as mint, coriander or tamarind. It is often savored with tea or coffee. It can also be prepared as a sweet, rather than savory, form. In the city of Hyderabad, India, a smaller version of the samosa with a thicker pastry crust and mince filled center is called a Luqmi. Samosas are often served in chaat, along with the traditional accompaniments of yogurt, chutney, chopped onions and coriander, and chaat masala. But whatever the filling, samosas are a treasured snack the perfect companion to a cup of chai.

Indian meals are usually started with an appetizer. The dinners indicate their choice to order, rice being the staple of the main course. Tea is normally served while the dessert is being prepared. 

The four main types of tea are distinguished by their processing. Camellia sinensis is an evergreen shrub whose leaves, if not quickly dried after picking, soon begin to wilt and oxidize. This process resembles the malting of barley, in that starch is converted into sugars; the leaves turn progressively darker, as chlorophyll breaks down and tannins are released. The next step in processing is to stop the oxidation process at a predetermined stage by removing the water from the leaves via heating.

Tea has potential health benefits if consumed in limited quantity but should not be preferred to nutritious diets like fruits and vegetables. Research shows tea is a better source of natural antioxidants substances that protect body cells against damage - than most fruits and vegetables. Studies in some European countries have shown tea intake reduces heart diseases which are yet to be confirmed through large-scale human trials.

Drinking tea, as a habit, is deeply ingrained in India, consumer lifestyles and consumption patterns are evolving rapidly. In an environment increasingly dominated by cola and coffee it is imperative to offer tea to remain a relevant and attractive beverage for consumers.