Paella most likely began with rice farmers around the Albufera lagoon near Valencia in the 15th century, who cooked one-pot meals in the paddies using what was around them: rice, snails, waterbirds, green beans and lagoon water. Rice had arrived in Spain through Arab cultivation in al-Andalus from around the 10th century, and it became a staple by the 15th. Along the Mediterranean coast the rice was more often cooked with fish, and dry cod was added to meet Lent's rules. The name paella comes from a Valencian word for frying pan, which traces back through Old French to the Latin patella. Food historian Lourdes March has described the dish as a union of the Roman cooking vessel and the Arab rice that fed Spain for centuries.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.