Ayurveda is a traditional medicinal system that believes in regulating the diet for a healthy body and mind. Traditional Ayurvedic literature illustrates how an individual can recuperate by establishing the connection between elements of life, food, and body. According to Ayurvedic concepts, food is responsible for different aspects of an individual, including physical, temperamental, and mental states. To stay healthy, maintaining a stable, healthy diet routinely is essential. The body absorbs the nutrients as a result of digestion. However, Ayurveda states that the food first converts into rasa (plasma) and is then followed by successive conversion into blood, muscle, fat, bone marrow, reproductive elements, and body fluids (Ramaswamy 2018). Inappropriate diets create an imbalance of the body’s organ systems, the mind, and the spirit, followed by various diseases. The Ayurvedic system explains various treatments for various diseases that are established and are being used consistently over a period. Multiple therapeutic approaches are being used for cleansing the body, which further purifies the body and soul by eliminating various toxins. Traditional Indian foods have been prepared for many years, and preparation varies across the country. Traditional knowledge about the processing of food, its preservation techniques, and its therapeutic effects has been recognized for many generations in India. A variety of foods available in our system can deliver numerous biological functions through nutritional components in the human body. Indian traditional foods are a good example of a variety of natural health components, such as body-healing chemicals, antioxidants, dietary fibers, and probiotics. These functional molecules help the body in a variety of ways, such as weight management, blood sugar level balance, and generation of immunity. The functional properties of foods are further enhanced by processing techniques, such as sprouting, malting, and fermentation (Singh et al. 2015). The most commonly used process is fermentation, and a variety of fermented food products are being consumed in everyday life, which provides a good amount of friendly and healthy bacteria to our bodies. Traditional fermented foods are a rich source of lactic acid bacteria and other good bacteria required for the gut; however, today, these are defined under the category of probiotics. Probiotics are defined as live microorganisms that, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host, per FAO/WHO. Although these probiotics were defined only in 2002 for the first time, these have been consumed for thousands of years. Present research is inclined toward unfolding the scientific evidence for the traditional probiotic-based fermented foods. Volumes can be written on traditional approaches to nutrition research and development; however, this chapter intends to focus on probiotic-based fermented food to highlight various fermented foods and various nutritional approaches that are being used to unfold their potential by screening, identifying, and evaluating various friendly bacteria in foods.

Various unique, indigenous foods, such as vegetables, fruits, cereals, and milk, are produced across the globe and are considered staple food meals in India and other continents, like Asia and Africa (Prajapati and Nair 2003). The optimum health and nutrition of individuals are dependent on a regular supply of food and intake of a balanced diet. When diets are suboptimal, the individual’s capacity to work with optimum efficiency is greatly reduced. The most vulnerable groups are women, children, and infants. Non-availability of food, dietary restrictions and taboos, misconceptions, and limited time available for feeding or eating aggravate poor nutritional status.