HOW INDIA INFLUENCED PORTUGUESE FOOD

Amongst the world cuisines which the Portuguese have influenced the most, we find Indian cuisine.

But, human relations are rarely, if ever, unilateral, and so India has left and keeps leaving, a tremendous mark in Portuguese culture, namely when it comes to food.

A taste of India in Portugal: colonialism, migrations, spices and other foods

Home made Naan, by Zara, during a diner with friends.

When Vasco da Gama first reached India and eventually came back to the Old Continent, of course he brought back with him a much coveted range of spices, and so did the Portuguese sailors and rulers who came afterwards and who eventually founded Portuguese India. Europeans weren’t unaware of these spices but as the trading routes became busier and spices more broadly available, of course this impacted the way Portuguese folks were cooking until that point in history.