What is meant by food…? The immediate answer pops in our mind is “whatever we eat”.
Wait… think it over… Whats is meant by food…? Does it have any connection to Culture..? Season…? Nature…? Argh..!! Don’t go crazy… You may think. But in reality it is YES… it has connection with all of the above. Moreover food is an end product of all these, embedded with the time tested knowledge system, passed over from generations to generations. AS time progresses, due to advancement of Science and technology, transport and logistics combined with increase in per capita income, we have completely neglected the importance of traditional, seasonal and local foods. How is it going to affect me..? You may again think.Is food really connected to culture…? If yes , by losing a particular food can we lose a culture…? Is it as important as that…? It will seem as an awkward question.
Remember Incas…? Who built the famous Machu Pichu… ? A world heritage site located in Peru, over the Andes Mountains…? Inca empire , at its peak, stretched for over 4.000 kms along the western coast of South America, spread over modern day Argentina,Bolivia,Chile,Columbia,Ecuador and Peru. It was one of the largest empire in the western Hemisphere in the early half of 16th Century. Inca people possessed excellent knowledge on monumental Architecture – they knew how to build buildings and agricultural structures without any binding material, knew how to practice agriculture in extreme conditions – Hilly terrain using melted glacier water through irrigation channels ( it needs a separate post to describe about Inca’s Agriculture practices called as Archipelago Agriculture or vertical Agriculture) ,and had extensive road network in their empire. But the mighty empire bite the dust within 46 years of First Spanish Conquistadors set foot in South America in 1526. Consumption pattern of Inca people slowly changed over a period of time, to that of Spaniards and as a result the cropping pattern changed. The exotic crop could not sustain production, resulting in crop diseases eventually resulting in famine and diseases.Synchronising with Incas Succession war, the Empire was devastated in the year 1572. Exactly within 46 years. Definitely we are not Incas… Neither are we in 16th Century. But the message is clear – Lose your food, lose your nature; Lose your nature and lose your culture.
Indian Sub-continent is a diverse land mass with snow covered peaks, deserts, wetlands, forest, coastal areas and tropical forests. With excellent biodiversity and a bouquet of races and religion, its has very diverse foods and food habits. Most of the foods are evolved based on seasonal and local produce available. We, before the advancement of technology waited for next season to taste our favourite foods. Of late convenience and packaged foods are slowly and steadily making inroads across the Indian food market and our dining tables. The Indian food is entering a critical phase where processed food or “junk food” is food of preference of future generation in one hand and we are losing the knowledge holders of traditional foods on the other. Communities across our country had excellent knowledge to cook and preserve locally available foods.
The book “First Food – Culture of Taste” published by Center for Science and environment in the year 2017 is an excellent collection of very rare exclusive recipes collected from different communities by different authors, compiled into one. This book has been divided into recipes from Seeds, leaves, flowers apart from vegetables and fruits. Along with recipes, it has section on preservation and also brief notes on how to find the ingredients. With captivating photos and wealth of information , this book is a treasure trove of traditional knowledge based cooking habits. Although not exhaustive, this book definitely is a foodie’s delight.
The book has many rare and unusual recipes collected from various parts of the country, from various communities who has knowledge about that particular ingredient. Some of them includes Peepal Ki Bhaji, Murunga Ila Sambhar ( Moriga Leaf Sambhar), Mudakkatran ( Balloon Vine) Dosa , Bichhu Ghaas Saag from the leaves section; Banana flower Mocha, Ghoolar Kebab, Parijat Flower Khalakhand and Mahua sabzi from the Flowers section, Phalsa Sharbat and Ramphal Jam from fruits, Kobravel tea, and Ratalkhanda fry from roots. The book also has recipes from wild. It also has some details about marketing of some ingredients and some organisations involved in promoting those ingredients.
Drumstick Flower scrambled egg prepared by yours truly.
Emphasising on eating sustainably, seasonally and locally, the book advises us to take control of our food habit as it indirectly controls our culture. What about ‘junk food’..? To quote CSE founder – “ They ( food markets/companies) will do what they have to do. We have to blame it in our lack of self-pride or self awareness about what we were doing in our farms, forests and kitchens. We are losing this knowledge because of sheer neglect.
True that.
Good Food....Good Mood. 