Caste, Gender, Region and Cuisine: Trajectory of Food Culture in India

The food choices of a human being are not so simple and easy like any other animal. While deciding its meal so many factors work. Anthropologically and historically human beings are carnivores. In pre-historic age of development, a man had no social boundaries of food, every edible thing were the part of his food. With running time so many social institutions born and they made their own rules what was called civilization. These social institutions made their rules of what to have in daily routine, what to cook in the ceremonies and to greet the guests. The choice of that was totally dependent on the availability and accessibility. Later the societies got more civilized and with this so many religion, castes and sects also took place. These ethnic communities had their own rules, regulations and restrictions and the followers were meant to follow those customs. These customs were reflected in the platters too. In this paper an attempt is made to understand the different factors which affect the food choices of a person in Indian context.