Food in India is an identity marker of caste, class, family, kinship, tribe affiliation, lineage, religiosity, ethnicity and increasingly of secular group identification.

The aesthetic ways of knowing food—of being a gourmand and deriving pleasure from it—as well as ascetic responses to it—are lauded in ancient scriptural texts. In the Yogic tradition food is alive, with a prana of its own. When consumed, the quality of food influences the qualities of your body and mind. However, historically in India, food consumption has also paradoxically been governed by under- standings that lean toward asceticism and self-control as well.

There is a choice of East, West, North and South. Each region offering its own spice and flavour.