starters

Snacks and starters are often bought from street vendors, but many of these can be easily made at home. These recipes are some great dishes to start a meal.

Many of these recipes could also be served as the basis of a light meal. 

When the British were in India, they preferred a structured meal, with distinct courses. At the time of this cookbook, the popular formal cuisine in England used  service a la russe, with each dish being brought to table in order, and individually plated by the serving staff.

Depending on the cultural heritage, formal Indian meals could have distinct courses too. The Mughals, for example, ate one dish at a time. However, some cultures favoured the approach of bringing all the meal to table at once, rather like service a la francais, which had tureens and platters that diners served themselves from. There is also the thali, in which each diner has a platter, or banana leaf, and servers go around and serve portions of each dish individually onto the thali.

Less formal family meals tended towards bringing the entire meal to table, and allowed diners to serve themselves. This has the advantage of allowing the cook to spend less time in the kitchen.

What the Europeans eventually settled on was a compromise of the two styles. Starters were served individually, soup sometimes followed, then all the main courses and side dishes were brought to the table .