Since ancient times, eating with the hand has been a natural way to eat, as people became civilized and learned customs, different ways of eating emerged. The natural way was used in most cultures until the 11th century. The tablespoon has a long history, in ancient Egyptian tombs spoons made of wood, stone, ivory, gold and other materials were discovered.
In India, as in many places in Asia, it is customary to eat with the right hand and a tablespoon, and food is still preferably served on steel. The food is normally consumed with the right hand and the bread is used to pick up the food as a pinch. The development here was metals known in history as silver, copper, tin, steel. Stainless steel cutlery and serving equipment are most commonly used, although porcelain has also become more and more common.
In all kinds of religious contexts, only steel is used because it is considered a "pure" product. As it contains natural antibacterial properties and is easier to keep clean of bacteria and thus more hygienic.
The food is served in a thali , which is a serving platter with several small bowls for the different dishes. In the south, it is common to serve on banana leaves and drink liquid lentil soups directly from the bowl. Cutlery is not used and rice etc. is eaten with the right hand. In the north, a tablespoon is often used for rice, vegetables and liquid lentils and stews. Eating a meal with the right hand is a cultural experience that everyone should try once!
Since everything varies from state to state, here you see a picture of a thali from Rajasthan from one of my previous trips and the one below from the state of Punjab where I am now.
Punjabi
Rajasthani
The traditional way was to sit in a tailor's position on the floor and have the food served on a plate with a placemat. A thin towel on the right shoulder was used as a napkin and hand washing is still a very important ritual before the meal. Almost all restaurants have a hand wash available, in finer restaurants you get a bowl of lemon water or rose petals like the royals did in their time.
According to Ayurvedic texts, we are all made up of five main pranas, or life energies. These five elements correspond to each finger on our hand - the thumb indicates fire, the index finger correlates with air, the middle finger indicates sky, the ring finger stands for earth and the little finger indicates water. An imbalance in any of these elements can lead to diseases. When we eat with our hands we usually join our fingers and thumb to eat, this is actually a mudra which is a form of mudra vigyan, or the study of mudras and their healing power on the body. Therefore when we eat, all the five elements come together and become energized so that the food we eat helps us to get healthy. This way all our pranas are kept in balance.
I hope you found this interesting and somewhat explanatory about why Indians eat the way we do :) Have a nice day! I'll be home from my trip soon and can't wait to share lots more.