India is a land of many cultures, each of which has contributed to the development of Indian cuisine. Each new wave ofsettlers brought with them their own culinary practices. The local Hindus, the Muslims from the Middle East and CentralAsia, Portuguese, the Persians and the British have all ,made important contributions to the Indian culinary scene. It was the British who started the commercial cultivation of tea in India. The Hindu vegetarian tradition is widespread in India, although many Hindus eat meat now. The Muslim tradition is most evident in the cooking of meats like kebabs and kormas.