Food History: What Did Medieval Indians Eat?

When we imagine medieval India, we often picture warriors, poets, and temples — but what about what they ate? The answer is both familiar and surprisingly diverse. Medieval Indian cuisine was a fusion of regional ingredients, trade influences, caste customs, and religious beliefs, resulting in a rich and layered food culture that evolved over centuries.

From millet porridge cooked over village fires to saffron-laced biryanis in royal courts, food in medieval India reflected the social structure, climate, and cultural exchange of the time.

 Sources of Information

We know about medieval Indian food through:

• Literary texts (like Ain-i-Akbari, Manasollasa, and travelogues by Al-Biruni and Ibn Battuta)

• Temple inscriptions and religious texts

• Paintings and carvings showing kitchen scenes

• Archaeological remains like spice residues and kitchen tools

 Staples Across Regions

India’s regional diversity meant no single diet. However, some common staples were:

 Grains

• Wheat and barley in the north

• Millets (ragi, jowar, bajra) in the Deccan and South

• Rice was a dominant staple in the east and south

 Pulses and Legumes

• Lentils like moong, urad, masoor, and chana

• Often cooked into dal or ground into flour for dishes like vada or dosai

 Vegetables and Fruits

• Brinjal (eggplant), gourds, yam, colocasia, pumpkin, spinach, radish

• Mango, banana, jackfruit, grapes, pomegranate, guava

 Dairy

• Ghee, milk, curd, buttermilk, and paneer were widely consumed

• Rich households used ghee liberally, while poorer ones used oil or lard

 Meat and Fish

 Dietary Norms Varied

• Hindus: Many followed vegetarian diets, especially Brahmins and Vaishnavas. Others (especially Kshatriyas) consumed meat.

• Muslims: Introduced new dishes and techniques (grilling, marinating, kebabs, biryani)

• Buddhists and Jains: Strictly vegetarian, with some avoiding root vegetables

 Common Meats

• Goat, mutton, wild boar, deer, and fowl

• Fish and seafood were popular in coastal areas

• Pork and beef were consumed selectively depending on region and religious custom

Spices, Oils, and Flavors

India was already known as the land of spices, and medieval kitchens were vibrant with:

• Turmeric, cumin, coriander, asafoetida (hing), fenugreek, pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, saffron

• Cooking mediums included mustard oil, sesame oil, coconut oil, and ghee

Sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, and astringent — food aimed to balance all six rasas (tastes) according to Ayurveda.

Courtly Cuisine vs. Common Fare

🍴Royal Kitchens

• Exquisite multi-course meals

• Dishes like pulao, biryani, korma, shorba, haleem

• Sweets like malpua, laddoo, phirni, barfi

• Use of silver leaf, rosewater, saffron, nuts

• Elaborate cooking manuals — like Nuskha-e-Shahjahani and Ain-i-Akbari

🍵 Village & Temple Food

• Simpler meals: rice or rotis with vegetables and dal

• Temple kitchens (like at Jagannath Puri) created massive, ritualized meals using seasonal produce and sattvic guidelines

• Many traditional dishes we eat today were prasad-based preparations

Drinks and Beverages

• Buttermilk, spiced lassi, sugarcane juice, and herbal decoctions

• Alcoholic beverages were common in many regions:

  • Sura (fermented drink), toddy, and palm wine

  • Mughal and Rajput courts served imported wines and local brews

• Tea and coffee arrived only later, via Arab and European trade routes

 My Final Thoughts

Medieval Indian food was deeply local yet constantly evolving. It was shaped by geography, caste, religion, climate, conquest, and trade. Today’s Indian thali, with its mix of flavors and variety, is a living heir to that medieval complexity.

To explore Indian history is to explore its food — because in every ancient pot and every handwritten recipe lies a story of how people lived, worshipped, celebrated, and survived.