Indian Wedding Feast: Wedding Foods

Food stuffs, apart from being the basic necessities of life play an equally important role in every occasion of our life. Indians are known to be fond of varied spicy tastes and eating habits, depending from place o place. So you can very well imagine about the food platter served at the Indian weddings, which is a grand event of one’s lifetime, therefore there is no doubt about the kind of delicacies you will get to experience. On the other hand, Indian weddings are all about having a jolly and memorable time with some traditional feel which reflects on the food items as well.

However, regions from where the bride and the groom originate also make a difference in the menu or the kind of food being served, though; the basics are almost similar to the other and without the presence of the perfect Indian platter, we cannot enjoy the real style of Indian wedding.

Types of Wedding Feasts:

Behind every successful occasion or an event be it a gathering of four persons or a big wedding, food plays a vital part to set the right ambiance. Indian Wedding Feast will be in two different shades, either vegetarian or non-vegetarian or at times it can be a mixture of both keeping in mind about what majority of the guests would prefer. Special chefs’ expert in their own department shows their culinary expertise!!

• North Indian Food: If we talk about the northern part of Indian weddings, it basically comprises of snacks like meat balls, allu tikki, finger chips and others accompanied by different sauces and hot or soft drinks, mocktails, etc. However, these snacks are served before and till the pheras are going on but the second the pheras and the wedding rituals are over, the guests are served with the main course which is likely to be both veg and non-veg, followed by the amazing deserts.
  

• Western Food: Western menus are very popular. Western menu usually is pure vegetarian without onion and garlic, comprising mainly of Roti, daal or kadhi, rice and sabzi, followed by deserts like shrikhand, jalebi and others.

• Eastern Food: Eastern food, offers a wide range of Bengali and Bihari food stuffs, snacks, finger foods and drinks. Besides, that the main menu consists of Potol Posto, complete vegetarian, Muri Ghonto (non veg), fish, Begun and Bhaja, deep fried vegetables, etc, while Roshogulla and Mishti Doi are eaten as deserts. In a Bihari wedding, emphasis is on sweets, snacks and the main course, all at the same time, while later on both vegetarian and non vegetarian platter are served, as rice the main part.

• South Indian Food: In the southern India, wedding rituals are mainly done in the early hours of morning. Food is served on banana leaves with the sitting arrangement on the ground.

• North Eastern Food: In comparison to all the other parts of India, the wedding feasts served in the north east are different. North east mainly comprises of the ‘seven sisters states’ namely Nagaland, Manipur, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura. In North Eastern food there are special menus lined up, non-veg delicacies like pork with bamboo shoots, pork ribs with shittake mushrooms, beef with seasonal green veggies to name a few and for deserts according to north easterners taste, fruit salad with dry nuts, different pastries with the cream or chocolate toppings, apple pie, etc.

Traditional Indian weddings

India is a combination of many different ethnic groups, following their own cultures, customs and traditions and this is one of the reasons why India is known as a ‘diverse nation’ and the reflection of the same can be seen on the vibrant and the multi colors associated with the Indian wedding ceremonies. Wedding is one of the oldest rituals followed and passed on by mankind from one generation to the next and there is no doubt that Indian culture is no exception in this. In fact, Indian culture and tradition are considered as one of the oldest and Indian weddings as one of the age- old events.

Weddings in the lives of the Indians are considered as sacred and holy. It’s an event which after completion of a number of detailed ceremonies unites two different individuals as one, acting as the bridge between the bride and groom and their family’s as well, creating a strong bond. Whether it’s a Hindu, Christian, Muslim or Punjabi wedding, India gives you a quick glance to a mixture of everything. Precisely, traditional Indian wedding is a combination of different shades of exciting colors exactly like that in the case of ‘rainbow’. Be the weddings in northern style like those of the Sikhs, the Buddhists or in the southern, eastern or the western style, whatever it may be, it will definitely win all hearts. In the Indian context, wedding is a connection, binding two persons not only in this present life but this holy union continues even after death, including the next seven rebirths of one’s life!

History and origin of Indian weddings:
In the ancient times in India, especially in Hindu weddings, polygamy and polyandry which are considered as illegal these days were practiced for political and social reasons and falling in love before marriage was thought to be as committing a sin. In the ancient period, Swayamwaras were arranged by the kings for their daughters, wherein princesses get to make a selection and the men on the other hand would have to prove themselves worthy of the princesses. It can be traced from the Vedas that individuals were considered matured when they attained puberty after which they were considered ready for marriage. While for others marriage took place mostly in their childhood primarily with the intention of protecting them from the foreign invaders. In fact, it became obligatory for each and every girl to step into the bond of wedding.

Though India is a ‘pot pouri’ of different cultural backgrounds but in some way or the other the wedding rituals are quite similar to one another with just some slight differences reflecting their customs and traditions, though the basic rituals remaining the same!