‘A Letter from Indian Food , To All Of Us ‘

Author Rekha Gupta

“This is a fun, heartfelt appeal written by Indian Food. Use of ‘I ‘and ‘me’ is Indian food.”

Dear Talented young women and men of India,

Hasn’t it been long since you neglected ‘Me’ your own Bhartiya food, which has now been on the back burner for quite a few years. You have either stopped cooking at all, or even if you do cook you prefer to cook ‘My’ distant cousins from far off lands which is not even your food. Shucks.

It breaks ‘My’ heart to see you play with your health. I was and am still an all rounder on nutritive values ,taste and on numerous variety.

I especially address the young and urban in metros, as middle aged and older folks are still having fun cooking ‘Me’ and eating ‘Me’. But you guys, how careless and insensitive you have become to ‘Me’.

You prefer red curry or green curry or whatever colour curry with rice, but when it is your own desi Rajma rice, kadhi rice, chole rice, dal bhat, sambhar rice, your nose is all up in the air. Do you know, I fortify strongly the hypothesis of positive food pairing. Which states that “ingredients sharing flavor compounds are more likely to taste well together than ingredients that do not.” No why will you want to know, you are happy eating some unpronounceable dishes just because they appear cooler than ‘Me’ .C@Rg

You want to bake pastries and tarts -but not rasgullas and jalebis. You want to cook and  eat fritters  & tempuras but not pakodas. Huh? But hey you can always give me a makeover and present a gourmet to your friends? No? We can work together on this with a little of your imagination and ‘My unparalleled taste‘. I will be as adaptable as you want me to, but don’t forget me. Here, let me remind you a few things about myself:

We are living in country that revels in its diversity. I know you all are a busy lot, working extra hours, raising children, doing so much stuff on social media, hell that also wins in this race ahead of Me , but you give up on me ? You think cooking and that too Indian food is not so ‘cool’. Please don’t give up on cooking ‘Me’. Don’t you think its your moral responsibility to carry me the legacy of Indian cuisines forward to your future generations. Do you even know there is a whole lot of science going on behind me.With a history of thousands of years ‘I ‘am No ordinary cuisine. With ‘My’ aromatic mix of spices and ingredients and the health benefits behind each .C@Rg

I the Indian cuisine actually needs to be crowned the king of all cuisines, although sounds vainglorious & pompous but I am stating facts !

Yes I am a labour-intensive cuisine and together with my mix of spices , Im one above the other. So if there is a dish with heavy doses of cardamom, cayenne, tamarind and other flavours that can overwhelm an unfamiliar palate., you can be sure that each ingredient is doing some good to your body . The above if used in sambhar, rasam are great digestives in their own way. You know that already right? But still….

You know when you make Dosa and Idli, how hard I work on the batter fermentation overnight. Just so that you can get  your dose of pro- biotic food and a billion good microbes in your gut.

 When you have ocassional aloo puri , maki roti and saag ,Cholay Bhaturay, but have it with chach / lassi, Ill make sure your food gets digested properly and all nutrients reach their destination. But you simply choose to go on a guilt trip of having eaten fatty foods. Please set ‘Me’- dahi’ at home to do wonders as I am loaded with Pro Biotics and Vitamin D. Chuck, the packed one at stores which is made with chemical .

 If you want to eat healthy sweets just set me – mishti doi, phirni, kulfi  in earthen pots and see how I keep you cool and energized throughout the day.

I don’t offer you MSGs and various sauces that are all chemicals to heighten your taste buds. In fact I use the nature gifted spices strategically and present to you each time a delicious & a healthy dish.

I am as old as Bharat and am even mentioned in  ‘Ayurveda’, where it says Bhartiya food is not only food but considered as “aushadhi”. , meaning MEDICINAL naturally clearing body of ashudhi or toxins. Food items were cooked according to dincharya (day) and ritucharya (seasonal ), so that cooked food can pacify the unbalanced doshas of body. I guide you at every step,right from -Where ,How and What to eat When , so as to be at My optimum best…

Me your Bhartiy food- is for Survival, Energizing ,comforting ,satiating all the five senses and the Soul with Healing qualities . Definitely, ancient Indian women were my favorite buddies. They valued me. It seems? Or maybe no one told you as much?

And please remember next time a foreigner says  ‘I ‘ am too spicy or too oily and blah blah, please give him a slap mentally. Not only because he criticized your food, but because that is micro aggression at some level. And yes of course , to defend ‘Me’ too. I get terribly hurt each time someone reduces’Me’ to just Ghee and spices , indian curry and ghas phoos ? Come on man- I am more than they can ever imagine!. If any cuisine had to count its number of dishes – it can be counted on their finger tips. Whereas for Me, even the accompaniments are more in numbers and a life time will fall short to note down. Bharat is a land where ”food and language changes at every 100 kms.” so just imagine the vastness of ‘Me’, -perhaps as vast as Bharat is. I am called Indian Cuisine but I take pride in YOU ALL, as how differently I am cooked in every state, tasting completely different and at the same time retaining my nutritive value and essence.,goes to show how intelligent you all are and know exactly what to do with me.

Earlier girls blindly followed their mothers and grandmothers but I understand this generation wants logic and I respect it , so you should know a little bit more about Me ,who knows you might change your perception about Me .Why do I change at every 100 kms? There is a logic behind at every step beginning from- you only cook and eat thats Seasonal & local. Nature is wise to provide you only those items in summers that will keep you HYDRATED and COOL, whereas in winters , those that can provide Extra ENERGY and WARMTH. Vegetation grows also in different regions according to that areas climate . So time you stop cooking and eating nonseasonal vegetables and fruits.

Let me now tell you in short about accompaniments-A country as varied and extreme in seasons as Bharat is , requires a myraid of options . DRINKS- that are taken with a meal or offered to a guest on arrival .In summers its Chaach, Shikanji,Aam panna ,Thandai , lassi, Rasam ,Sattu , Jaljeera ,Kanji, coconut water, Sugarcane juice and fresh fruit juices . In winters its Hot badam milk, Haldi doodh ,Chai ,Coffee etc. with many more from each state . All are not just lip smacking drinks-they are infact ,energizers , appetizers ,digestives and healing . CHUTNEYS and PICKLES – That were made like a ritual every summer and winter by your moms and grand moms not just because they take the main course to another level in terms of taste because each one works as a healing food. in summers Dhaniya Pudina Chutney is a must as it’s a coolant and aids as a quick digestive, saves the lever from working long hours (throw that bottle of ketchup please) . In winters its more of lahsun & mirch chutney as it provides warmth and is loaded with innumerable benefits, round the year imli ki khatti meethi saunth is so medicinal,that the more you eat the more the benefit. Pickles aha! more popular ones are Aam ka acchar, neembu aachar and gobi gajjar ka in north , every spice added to the pickle has a healing ability then its kept out in the sun to ferment and cook on its own thereby adding so much more nutritive value to it .

The main course , mithais and savouries will be too comprehensive for Me your own food to cover and equally exhaustive for you too. But take my word ,start cooking ‘Me’ and you will fall in love with ‘Me’ all over again.I know it takes more than two hours to cook ‘Me a single meal’ ,but trust me every morsel is divine and its you and your family whose senses and soul will be satiated & healed.

You can try another cuisine from another land once in a while, so as to be on the same page as your peers, I do understand .But remember I am not a fad or fashion that keeps changing every month. I am your own Sacred food .

See around in the villages or any Indian State ,the people there have never changed ‘Me’ nor have they ever been influenced by cookery shows ,or by snobbish foodies .They take so much pride in ‘Me their own food’ that one boy from the south cooked Me ,the humble breakfast staple ”Upma” in the finale of ‘Top Chef Master’ in Los Angeles and of course I had to live upto his pride & dream thereby making him win the show and now ”Upma” is recognized the world over. Ain’t I cool.

Just last week on television, on a fictional series, the main protagonist who is constantly ridiculed by her family for not knowing anything besides cooking , makes her daughter win the competition in a mammoth talent of cooking by wisely by cooking a fusion called ‘ Thepla Pitza’. And of course a ”Mom and Me together” an invincible combination, had to win the Trophy. Now this trophy sure does speak for my adaptability .

The world on one hand mocks ‘Me’ because of its own insecurities ,yet on the other hand it is silently secretly doing an extensive research on Me, as to what makes ”Me the complete food” . But remember I’m a complete food inly if cooked with love , passion and soul and at home!!

They have already taken Me Haldi Doodh and renamed it as ‘Turmeric Latte’ in their country. Now if they can take ‘Me’ then why not with ‘My’ original name too ? I object to My name being changed as its my identity. I am proud of my origin and want people to always remember where I come from ,and hope you will defend Me this time before its too late . You never change their names ? you call it hummus ,falafal ,pizza ,pasta etc. as just that, by their original name, right ? so please dont allow them either to change My name.

Dont wait for the world to take me to their land, as in 20 years they will claim and patent Me as their own, as is their practice. I hope you do remember ,they have already patented ‘Me Basmati Rice’ , your own basmati rice and now you are battling over it for the last 23 years .I cry and reach out to you ,not so much for ‘Myself’ but for you all. They will not let you claim ‘Me’ back, as by then you will have completely forgotten how to cook ‘Me’ ..

You do not need to research on ‘Me’ as you ,”My own” have inherited Me rightfully .Take pride in Me Enjoy cooking ‘Me’ – my besties and I promise to be all this and much more.

Happy Cooking 🙏

Author Rekha Gupta

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