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Nutritious food bursting with flavor spices up meal time whenever Indian families gather. As a guest, you will be welcome with open arms provided you do not commit an egregious cultural faux pas. Avoid missteps by understandng how the eating habits in the Indian culture are largely based on religion and tradition. A high-vegetable diet with no beef and generally no pork comes from the Hindu religion. Habits of how and when food is eaten are based on social traditions, and most families form their particular habits around a combination of cultural and family traditions.

Tasty Vegetables

Eating habits of the Indian culture are based on culinary traditions. Most dishes feature meat or vegetables mixed with sauce and rice. Since many Indians are vegetarian, the menu for everyday meals is based mostly upon a diet without meat. When meat is incorporated in dishes, it is most commonly in the form of chicken or lamb, and sometimes seafood, such as prawns. The majority of the Indian population is Hindu, so beef and pork are often excluded from Indian dishes due to religious requirements.

Daily Meals

There are three main meals in the Indian culture, so the meal timing is similar to western cultures. In India, most people eat a morning meal, a mid-day meal and an evening meal with occasional indulgences of healthy snacks. The evening meal is generally the biggest meal of the day, followed by the mid-day meal. Green tea is more apt to be served with evening meals than alcohol, which is not heavily consumed in India.

Family Time

Family is central to Indian cultural values. Meals are most often eaten with family members. Everyone gathers around the table or relaxes on floor mats while eating chutney and curries on a big banana leaf. Women traditionally do most of the food preparation for the household. Meals are served when the majority of family members are home and prefer to eat.

Finger Foods

Cutlery is not traditionally used to eat food in the Indian culture. Food is meant to be a whole sensory experience, so an eating habit in the traditional Indian culture is to consume Indian foods such as curry, rice and naan bread by picking it up using the hands. Bread is often used to scoop up the curry sauce and rice, and it is then dipped into traditional soups such as daal, a lentil-based soup. Indian people wash their hands meticulously before and after eating. The right hand is preferred over the left hand when eating or handling food. The left hand is considered less hygienic because it is used more for such tasks as removing shoes and toileting.

About the Author

Kim Fuller has been writing food and lifestyle features since 2007. She now lives in Vail, Colo., after spending one year traveling Europe. Fuller is a regular contributor to Gaiam Life, an online fitness and wellness publication. She holds a Bachelor of Science from the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Colorado in Boulder.

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Eating Habits in the Indian Culture | Synonym

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Nutritious food bursting with flavor spices up meal time whenever Indian families gather. As a guest, you will be welcome with open arms provided you do not commit an egregious cultural faux pas. Avoid missteps by understandng how the eating habits in the Indian culture are largely based on religion and tradition.

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Research under the "Arts and Culture" and the "Daily Life" sections.

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Kids learn about the civilization and history of ancient Greece including the government, philosophy, science, Athens, Sparta, daily life, people, art, architecture, theater, and mythology. Educational articles for students, schools, and teachers.

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Greek Food

Finding a great meal in ancient Greece would have been very easy. They ate a variety of delicious dishes, some of which are still around today. Most Greeks were farmers and they ate the food that they grew. Since Greece had a mild climate, they were able to grow many different fruits and vegetables as long as they got enough rain.

Vegetables were a huge part of the Greek diet. Most Greeks ate a diet that was almost vegetarian. Among the most common vegetables and plants eaten by Greeks were asparagus, fennel, cucumbers, chickpeas, and celery. They also gathered and boiled dandelions to eat. The bulbs of certain plants, such as iris, were also edible. They even ate stinging nettles!

Fruits and nuts were also a large part of the Greek diet. Apples, pears, cherries and mulberries grew wild and were available throughout Greece. Damsons, a fruit related to plums, were also a favorite of the Greeks.

Perhaps the most important food to the ancient (and modern) Greeks was the olive. It was not simply a food. It was also a big part of Greek history. Greeks believed that the goddess Athena gave the first olive tree to Athens before it eventually spread to the rest of Greece. Olives were used in many recipes. Olives were also crushed and their oil was used for lamps. Olive oil could also be used as a beauty product. Women rubbed into their skin to make it soft and shiny.

Honey was another important Greek food. It was used much like we use sugar, as a sweetener in many different foods. It could also be used as a medicine. Greeks were fond of honey because they believed that Zeus was fed milk and honey as a baby. For them, honey was almost magical. Many families kept beehives and took good care of their bees!

Ancient Greeks didn't eat much meat. But since Greece is surrounded by water, fish were easy to get. Many varieties were available in the markets. Many Greeks thought of eating meat as something that barbarians did. The Greeks believed they were more civilized than that. As a result, they hardly ate meat at all.

The way that Greeks ate was also important. Having a meal was not only about eating food. It was also a chance to talk and enjoy the company of family and friends. A Greek meal was an event! This is still the case in modern-day Greece, where dinner with friends and family may last for hours!
A typical meal in ancient Greece almost always included these things:

Bread: this was a huge part of the Greek diet. It's believed that the Greeks had between 50 and 70 different varieties of bread.

Wine: the Greeks loved it, and even had rules on how to drink it properly. Wine was especially important for the symposia, a meeting of men to talk about ideas.

Olive oil: Nearly all Greek dishes used olives, or were cooked using olive oil. Even today, Greeks consume more olives than any other country in the world.

The ancient Greeks simply made use of the foods that were available. But we now know that the Greek diet was (and still is) very healthy. The Greeks may have found the key to living longer! But if it's all the same to you, I'll skip the stinging nettles!

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Finding a great meal in ancient Greece would have been very easy. They ate a variety of delicious dishes, some of which are still around today. Most Greeks were farmers and they ate the food that they grew. Since Greece had a mild climate, they were able to grow many different fruits and vegetables as ...

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China is an extremely large country - first in population and fifth in area, according to the CIA - and the customs and traditions of its people vary by geography and ethnicity.

About 1.4 billion people live in China, according to the World Bank, representing 56 ethnic minority groups. The largest group is the Han Chinese, with about 900 million people. Other groups include the Tibetans, the Mongols, the Manchus, the Naxi, and the Hezhen, which is smallest group, with fewer than 2,000 people.

"Significantly, individuals within communities create their own culture," said Cristina De Rossi, an anthropologist at Barnet and Southgate College in London. Culture includes religion, food, style, language, marriage, music, morals and many other things that make up how a group acts and interacts. Here is a brief overview of some elements of the Chinese culture.

Statue of Confucius at Confucian Temple in Shanghai, China.

Credit: Philip Lange Shutterstock

The Chinese Communist Party that rules the nation is officially atheist, though it is gradually becoming more tolerant of religions, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. Currently, there are only five official religions. Any religion other than Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism and Protestantism are illegal, even though the Chinese constitution states that people are allowed freedom of religion. The gradual tolerance of religion has only started to progress in the past few decades.

About a quarter of the people practice Taoism and Confucianism and other traditional religions. There are also small numbers of Buddhists, Muslims and Christians. Although numerous Protestant and Catholic ministries have been active in the country since the early 19th century, they have made little progress in converting Chinese to these religions.

The cremated remains of someone who may have been the Buddha were discovered in Jingchuan County, China, with more than 260 Buddhist statues in late 2017. Buddha was a spiritual teacher who lived between mid-6th and mid-4th centuries B.C. His lessons founded Buddhism. [ Cremated Remains of the 'Buddha' Discovered in Chinese Village]

There are seven major groups of dialects of the Chinese language, which each have their own variations, according to Mount Holyoke College. Mandarin dialects are spoken by 71.5 percent of the population, followed by Wu (8.5 percent), Yue (also called Cantonese; 5 percent), Xiang (4.8 percent), Min (4.1 percent), Hakka (3.7 percent) and Gan (2.4 percent).

Chinese dialects are very different, according to Jerry Norman, a former professor of linguistics at the University of Washington and author of " Chinese (Cambridge Language Surveys)" (Cambridge University Press, 1988). "Chinese is rather more like a language family than a single language made up of a number of regional forms," he wrote. "The Chinese dialectal complex is in many ways analogous to the Romance language family in Europe. To take an extreme example, there is probably as much difference between the dialects of Peking [Beijing] and Chaozhou as there is between Italian and French."

The official national language of China is Pŭtōnghuà, a type of Mandarin spoken in the capital Beijing, according to the Order of the President of the People's Republic of China. Many Chinese are also fluent in English.

Like other aspects of Chinese life, cuisine is heavily influenced by geography and ethnic diversity. Among the main styles of Chinese cooking are Cantonese, which features stir-fried dishes, and Szechuan, which relies heavily on use of peanuts, sesame paste and ginger and is known for its spiciness.

Rice is not only a major food source in China; it is also a major element that helped grow their society, according to " Pathways to Asian Civilizations: Tracing the Origins and Spread of Rice and Rice Cultures," an 2011 article in the journal Rice by Dorian Q. Fuller. The Chinese word for rice is fan, which also means "meal," and it is a staple of their diet, as are bean sprouts, cabbage and scallions. Because they do not consume a lot of meat - occasionally pork or chicken - tofu is a main source of protein for the Chinese.

Chinese calligraphy. Chinese writing is based on symbols.

Credit: ariadna de raadt Shutterstock

Chinese art is greatly influenced by the country's rich spiritual and mystical history. Many sculptures and paintings depict spiritual figures of Buddhism, according to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Many musical instruments are integral to Chinese culture, including the flute-like xun and the guqin, which is in the zither family.

Eastern-style martial arts were also developed in China, and it is the birthplace of kung fu. This fighting technique is based on animal movements and was created in the mid-1600s, according to Black Belt Magazine.

Ancient Chinese were avid writers and philosophers - especially during the Ming and Qing dynasties - and that is reflected in the country's rich liturgical history.

Recently, archaeologists discovered detailed paintings in a 1,400-year-old tomb in China. "The murals of this tomb had diversified motifs and rich connotations, many of which cannot be found in other tombs of the same period," a team of archaeologists wrote in an article recently published in a 2017 issue of the journal Chinese Archaeology. [ Ancient Tomb with 'Blue Monster' Mural Discovered in China]

China has invested large amounts of money in science advancements and currently challenges the United States in scientific research. China spent 75 percent of what the United States spent in 2015, according to the journal JCI Insight.

One recent 2017 development in Chinese science is teleportation. Chinese researchers sent a packet of information from Tibet to a satellite in orbit, up to 870 miles (1,400 kilometers) above the Earth's surface, which is a new record for quantum teleportation distance. [ Chinese Scientists Just Set the Record for the Farthest Quantum Teleportation]

Another 2017 advancement is the development of new bullet trains. Dubbed "Fuxing," which means "rejuvenation," these trains are high-speed transportation systems that run between Beijing and Shanghai. The trains can travel at speeds of up to 350 km/h (217 mph), making them the world's fastest trains. [ China's 'Rejuvenation' Bullet Trains Are the World's Fastest]

The largest festival - also called the Spring Festival - marks the beginning of the Lunar New Year. It falls between mid-January and mid-February and is a time to honor ancestors. During the 15-day celebration, the Chinese do something every day to welcome the new year, such as eat rice congee and mustard greens to cleanse the body, according to the University of Victoria. The holiday is marked with fireworks and parades featuring dancers dressed as dragons.

Many people make pilgrimages to Confucius' birthplace in Shandong Province on his birthday, Sept. 28. The birthday of Guanyin, the goddess of mercy, is observed by visiting Taoist temples. It falls between late March and late April. Similar celebrations mark the birthday of Mazu, the goddess of the sea (also known as Tianhou), in May or June. The Moon Festival is celebrated in September or October with fireworks, paper lanterns and moon gazing.

Additional resources

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Chinese Culture: Customs & Traditions of China

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China is an extremely large country - first in population and fifth in area, according to the CIA - and the customs and traditions of its people vary by geography and ethnicity. About 1.4 billion people live in China, according to the World Bank, representing 56 ethnic minority groups.

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India's culture is among the world's oldest; civilization in India began about 4,500 years ago. Many sources describe it as "Sa Prathama Sanskrati Vishvavara" - the first and the supreme culture in the world, according to the All World Gayatri Pariwar (AWGP) organization.

Western societies did not always see the culture of India very favorably, according to Christina De Rossi, an anthropologist at Barnet and Southgate College in London. Early anthropologists once considered culture as an evolutionary process, and "every aspect of human development was seen as driven by evolution," she told Live Science. "In this view, societies outside of Europe or North America, or societies that did not follow the European or Western way of life, were considered primitive and culturally inferior. Essentially this included all the colonized countries and people, such as African countries, India, and the Far East."

However, Indians made significant advances in architecture ( Taj Mahal), mathematics ( the invention of zero) and medicine ( Ayurveda). Today, India is a very diverse country, with more than 1.2 billion people, according to the CIA World Factbook, making it the second most populous nation after China. Different regions have their own distinct cultures. Language, religion, food and the arts are just some of the various aspects of Indian culture.

Here is a brief overview of the culture of India.

India has 28 states and seven territories, according to the World Health Organization. There is no official language in India, according to a Gujarat High Court ruling in 2010, though Hindi is the official language of the government. The Constitution of India officially recognizes 23 official languages.

Many people living in India write in Devanagari script. In fact, it is a misconception that the majority of people in India speak Hindi. Though many people speak Hindi in India, 59 percent of India residents speak something other than Hindi, according to The Times of India. Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil and Urdu are some other languages spoken in the country.

Sanskrit, an ancient Indo-European language usually referred to in action movies, came from Northern India. How the language started has been a point of argument amongst linguists. It shares many similarities with English, French, Farsi and Russian languages. New DNA research in 2017 found that an Aryan invasion may have introduced the beginnings of Sanskrit. "People have been debating the arrival of the Indo-European languages in India for hundreds of years," said study co-author Martin Richards, an archaeogeneticist at the University of Huddersfield in England. "There's been a very long-running debate about whether the Indo-European languages were brought from migrations from outside, which is what most linguists would accept, or if they evolved indigenously." [ Aryan Invasion May Have Transformed India's Bronze-Age Population]

India is identified as the birthplace of Hinduism and Buddhism, the third and fourth largest religions. About 84 percent of the population identifies as Hindu, according to the " Handbook of Research on Development and Religion," edited by Matthew Clarke (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2013). There are many variations of Hinduism, and four predominant sects - Shaiva, Vaishnava, Shakteya and Smarta.

About 13 percent of Indians are Muslim, making it one of the largest Islamic nations in the world. Christians and Sikhs make up a small percentage of the population, and there are even fewer Buddhists and Jains, according to the "Handbook."

The CIA cited similar figures. According to its World Factbook, around 80 percent of the population is Hindu, 14.2 percent is Muslim, 2.3 percent is Christian, 1.7 percent is Sikh and 2 percent is unspecified.

When the Moghul Empire invaded during the sixteenth century, they left a significant mark on the Indian cuisine, according to Texas A&M University. Indian cuisine is also influenced by many other countries. It is known for its large assortment of dishes and its liberal use of herbs and spices. Cooking styles vary from region to region.

Wheat, Basmati rice and pulses with chana (Bengal gram) are important staples of the Indian diet. The food is rich with curries and spices, including ginger, coriander, cardamom, turmeric, dried hot peppers, and cinnamon, among others. Chutneys - thick condiments and spreads made from assorted fruits and vegetables such as tamarind and tomatoes and mint, cilantro and other herbs - are used generously in Indian cooking.

Many Hindus are vegetarian, but lamb and chicken are common in main dishes for non-vegetarians. The Guardian reports that between 20 percent and 40 percent of India's population is vegetarian.

Much of Indian food is eaten with fingers or bread used as utensils. There is a wide array of breads served with meals, including naan, a leavened, oven-baked flatbread; and bhatoora, a fried, fluffy flatbread common in North India and eaten with chickpea curry.

The most well-known example of Indian architecture is the Taj Mahal, built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan to honor his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It combines elements from Islamic, Persian, Ottoman Turkish and Indian architectural styles. India also has many ancient temples.

India is well known for its film industry, which is often referred to as Bollywood. The country's movie history began in 1896 when the Lumière brothers demonstrated the art of cinema in Mumbai, according to the Golden Globes. Today, the films are known for their elaborate singing and dancing.

Indian dance, music and theater traditions span back more than 2,000 years, according to Nilima Bhadbhade, author of "Contract Law in India" (Kluwer Law International, 2010). The major classical dance traditions - Bharata Natyam, Kathak, Odissi, Manipuri, Kuchipudi, Mohiniattam and Kathakali - draw on themes from mythology and literature and have rigid presentation rules.

A study published in April 2016 in the Journal of Indian Ocean Archaeology found that some Indian horns have many similarities with horns made in Ireland. This research may suggest that the two countries may have exchanged ideas and techniques in making musical instruments during the Bronze Age. "Some horns are frankly shockingly similar, to the point where it is like witnessing time travel," study author Billy Ó Foghlú, an archaeologist and doctoral student at the Australian National University in Canberra, told Live Science. "If I were to find one of these modern Indian instruments in an Irish archaeological excavation and I didn't know what I was looking at, I would likely assume it was a Late Bronze Age Irish artifact." [ Surprising Echo of Ancient Irish Horns in Indian Instruments]

Indian clothing is closely identified with the colorful silk saris worn by many of the country's women. A traditional piece of clothing for men is the dhoti, an unstitched piece of cloth that is tied around the waist and legs. Men also wear a kurta, a loose shirt that is worn about knee-length. For special occasions, men wear a sherwani or achkan, which is a long coat that with a collar having no lapel. It is buttoned up to the collar and down to the knees. A shorter version of a sherwani is called a Nehru jacket. It is named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's prime minister from 1947 to 1964, but Nehru never wore a Nehru jacket. He preferred the achkan, according to Tehelka, an Indian newspaper. The Nehru jacket was primarily marketed to Westerners.

Diwali is the largest and most important holiday to India, according to National Geographic. It is a five-day festival known as the festival of lights because of the lights lit during the celebration to symbolize the inner light that protects them from spiritual darkness. Holi, the festival of colors, also called the festival of love, is popular in the spring. The country also celebrates Republic Day (Jan. 26), Independence Day (Aug. 15) and Mahatma Gandhi's birthday (Oct. 2).

Additional reporting by Alina Bradford, Live Science Contributor.

Additional resources

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Indian Culture: Traditions and Customs of India

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
India's culture is among the world's oldest; civilization in India began about 4,500 years ago. Many sources describe it as "Sa Prathama Sanskrati Vishvavara" - the first and the supreme culture in the world, according to the All World Gayatri Pariwar (AWGP) organization.