Warning: Do not separate an Indian from his onions!

It is the one ingredient that no selfrespecting desi cook would want to be without. Whether you are

making a Mughali feast or a frugal meal, onions are absolutely crucial.

“Every time, the price of onions goes high, Delhi comes to a standstill because onions, potatoes and tomatoes are the backbone of Indian cooking,” says the noted chef Suvir Saran of Devi restaurant in New York and author of American Masala.

Onions often are the Rodney Dangerfield – “I don’t get no respect” – of Indian cooking, but try imagining some of your favorite dishes without onions and you realize you’ve long taken this pungent vegetable for granted.

According to Suraj Bhan Dahiya of Agriculture Journal, it is one of the oldest vegetables in India and is cultivated throughout the country. Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh are the main onion-producing states with Nasik, the biggest onion market in the country generally controlling onion prices and supply.

Mad as Indians are over onions, the country that boasts the highest per capita consumption of onions, surprisingly, is not India. That honor goes to Libya, which consumes 66.8 pounds of onions per person each year.

In Egypt, onions can be traced back to 3500 B.C. and were so valued that they were buried along with the Pharaohs. In the Middle Ages in Europe onions were a staple for rich and poor, and were regarded as a cure for headaches and hair loss - and get this, they were also used in lieu of wedding gifts and rent! Hmmm, imagine if you could pay for that Manhattan studio apartment’s rent in onions?

Indians have a love-hate relationship with onions. Some communities can’t do without onions and others won’t touch them with a 10-foot pole. The Chinese traveler Hiuen Tsang noted in his visits to India between 629 and 645 AD: “Onions and garlic are little known and few people eat them; if anyone uses them for food, they are expelled beyond the walls of the town.”

Historian T. Achaya notes that onions were not mentioned in Vedic literature until the second century B.C. and then, only as despised foods that were forbidden to those seeking an austere life. Ayurveda regards onions as rajasic and tamasic, leading to passion and ignorance, and not suitable for those trying to meditate and lead a pure life. Onions are also thought to be an aphrodisiac and thus, not suitable for those seeking spirituality.

Chef Saran himself is a lover of onions: “To me there’s nothing more beautiful than crispy, cold crunchy red onions with some fresh lime and cayenne.” He points out that since Indian cuisine doesn’t have lettuce-based salads, radish, tomatoes and cucumbers, along with crisp onion rings, comprise the salads that accompany spicy Indian meals.

Asked if onions were commonly cooked in his Brahmin household (many of which spurn the vegetable), Saran says, “Absolutely. We make sauces with onions and tomatoes – dum ka masala –but only in certain styles of cooking. Not every dish on the table has to have onions. We always knew the dishes with the onions were more flavorful and more fancy dishes and the simple dishes were made without onions. Still in a home where onions are used, the majority of the food is cooked without onions - that’s the paradox.”

While onions are a mainstay in meat dishes, some vegetarian dishes are also greatly enhanced by onions. Saran recalls his mother’s rajma (kidney beans) with the onions bhunoed (sautéed) – very dark and enriched with tomatoes. Another royal dish, made by his Brahmin cook, Panditji, was called khilwan urad ki daal.

“It’s yellow with the addition of turmeric, but it’s sprinkled with deep fried, caramelized onions and to this day, it’s my favorite lentil ever,” recalls Saran. “When my father and I wanted the one dish which made us both smile, we’d ask my grandmother to tell Panditji to make this. It is phenomenal and even in America when I make it in my cooking class, my students just melt and have a breakdown because of that lentil dish!”

Happily for Indian Americans, the United States has a healthy supply of onions available in fresh, frozen, canned, pickled and dehydrated forms. Onions come in three colors - yellow, red and white. Indian Americans are possibly the only community to buy their red onions in 10-lbs sacks and Indian grocery stores are probably the only supermarkets to sell them in such large quantities. For the busy onion addict, there are also bags of deep fried dehydrated onions from India and Pakistan: throw in a spoonful with tomatoes into a pot simmering on the stove and you instantly have thick onion gravy.

According to the National Onion Association, yellow onions are fullflavored and are a reliable standby for cooking almost anything. Red onions, with their wonderful color, are a good choice for fresh uses or in grilling and charbroiling. White onions are the traditional onions used in classic Mexican cuisine. They have a golden color and sweet flavor when sautéed.

The good news is that not only do onions taste great, but are also actually good for you. In India as early as the sixth century B.C., the medical treatise Charaka-Sanhita noted that the onion was good for digestion, the heart, eyes and joints.

The National Onion Association touts the many health benefits of onions. They are rich in powerful sulfurcontaining compounds that are responsible for their pungent odors and for many of their health-promoting effects, as well as chromium, a trace mineral that helps cells respond to insulin, as well as vitamin C. Onions are also supposed to be effective against the common cold, heart disease, diabetes and osteoporosis. They do contain anti-inflammatory, anti-cholesterol, anticancer and antioxidant components, such as quercetin.

Onions may make you weep, but as this savory vegetable’s addicts will agree, they are worth the tears!