Introduction

It is difficult for the European mind to grasp the attitude of the East towards food and cookery. The older the civilization the more do we find that food and the preparation of it are part of the ritual life of the people, and their reverence and idealism towards it make even the most refined European gourmet appear in the light of a mere sensuous enjoyer of the good things of the earth. Long before the Christian era, certain rules and principles about the art of cookery were established in India, and these formulas have altered but little and are still followed in modern times.