Christian influence on Indian cuisine has been rather marked especially since the days of the colonial rule in India. Indian cuisine is ancient, diverse, and is an amalgamation of different religious influences. The two major factors which have influenced and significantly impacted the growth of different kinds of cooking styles and food habits in India are religion and climate. The idea of cooking and the food habit changed a lot with the coming of the Christian missionaries. This was further influenced by the European settlers who came to trade with and colonise the country in the 19th century.

Impact of Foreign Traders on Indian Cuisine
In the 19th century English and Portuguese traders came to India, and the advent of European traders permanently changed many aspects of eating in the Indian subcontinent. Not only was it a case of East meeting West in terms of diet and cookery, it also meant a significant enlargement of the subcontinent`s food repertoire. For the Europeans, who came in search of Eastern spices, brought with them the vegetables they had discovered in the New World.

The earliest and foremost traders were, of course, the Portuguese who discovered the direct sea route from Europe to Asia. For almost the entire sixteenth century, Portugal virtually monopolized this route. During that time, they spread their area of operations along both coasts of India. In the east, they settled in large numbers in Bengal, along the Hooghly River. Initially, they had a fearsome reputation in Bengal, since some of them used their navigational skills to commit daring acts of piracy along the coast as well as in the interior where the numerous rivers served as primary conduits for goods and passengers. Many of the Portuguese also intermarried with the locals, thus paving the way for a more intimate exchange between the two races. Among the new crops they introduced were tobacco, potato, cashew, papaya, guava and a host of vegetables. They loved cottage cheese, which they made by `breaking` milk with acidic materials. It is believed that it was this routine technique which may have lifted the Aryan taboo on deliberate curdling of milk. Given this well-established presence, the influence of Portuguese cooking techniques on the eating habits of the Indians, especially Bengal and Goa, is not surprising.

Modern compendiums on the cheeses of the world stress the paucity of cheeses in the cuisine of Asia, a fact attributed to the humid tropical climate, which made it difficult to apply the sophisticated preservation techniques needed for the famous cheeses of Europe. Among the few cheeses found in the Indian subcontinent today are the paneer (familiar to Westerners through the good offices of Indian restaurants serving dishes like matar paneer and saag paneer) and a couple of varieties from Gujarat and two from Bengal. Portuguese influences were found on West Indian cooking in Goa, and French influences on South Indian cooking in Puducherry.

Christian Influence on Indian Cuisine introduced the native Indians to various cooking techniques of meat and fish. The Indian food now incorporated many local ingredients and cooking techniques with European influences. Indian food reflected European customs and traditions and items such as rum-flavoured cake or sandwiches reflected the authentic eating habit of the Christians. An interesting feature of the Christian eating style is that Christians have no restrictions on the type of meat consumption.

Impact of Christian influence on Indian Cuisine
The Indian food habits now tended to incorporate various new kinds of tastes and delicacies. Christian Influence on Indian Cuisine in the later period came to be known as Anglo-Indian food. The British introduced many new food items to the Indian diet such as English pork chops, soups and salads.

The Syrian Arab Christians fled to India and took refuge under the king of Kerala. They too left a rather heavy influence in the field of Indian cuisine. This goes a long way in explaining the prevalence of non-vegetarian food in typical Kerala dishes. Syrian Christian dishes are richly flavoured and food, such as, fish, seafood, duck, lamb and chicken dishes are among the delicacies produced in the region.

The Christian influence on Indian food has been rather immense. By the time the English had left, there was a notable change in Indian food. Interestingly it was not only the eating style but even the dining manners of the Indians which were also influenced by the Christians. A dining table had replaced the kitchen floor and porcelain dishes replaced the banana leaf as the utensil to eat off of. Kitchen utensils were also become modernised. Indian cooks gathered knowledge of many Christian dishes such as cutlets, croquettes, sausages, cakes, puddings, jams, and biscuits. Indian beverages also experienced a change with the coming of the Christians. In subsequent years, the food that was a result of the Christian influence on Indian cuisine came to be called as Anglo-Indian cuisine. European and Portuguese influence thus began many new traditions and customs in India and these continued to remain here even after the English had left.