I was once sitting on my couch (not really,it is just to add flavour) and watching a food show about India. Suddenly I realised I haven't tasted many of the food items shown ...Keema Pao, Haleem , Kababs etc.
III. IDLI
Our most beloved South Indian dish has unending tales attached to it.According to the Xuang Zang (Chinese traveller during the reign of Medievel Ruler HARSHA), there were no steaming vessels in India. The incoming of Hindu Kings of Indonesia, brought fermentation and steaming methods and their dish Kedli to South India .
From records of Cairo’s Al-Azhar University Library, the Arab traders brought in ‘rice balls’ to India when they settled down in the southern belt of the country. They were neo-converts to Islam from Paganism and came here when Mohammed was still alive. It is said that they preferred only halaal food and were strict in their diet preferences. Indian cuisine was like a riddle to them. So, they began to make rice balls which was easy to make and the safest option available.
IV. PANEER
The most common dish for any vegetarian is PANEER. I sometimes get bored as PANEER is the only suggestion that come out of people's mind when it is about eating veg food. But strangely it's story is not as simple as this dish seems. It had a miraculous entry just like a hero enters a movie scene.
Imagine Mongols riding horses amidst dry and dusty winds. They are carrying milk in Mushkis (bags made of raw hide). They are travelling and travelling in their own SWAG (stylish confidence) unaware of what is happening in their bags. The heat of desert has started turning the milk into paneer . They stop at a place to have some milk and they see the new invention and find it to be rather delicious( just a reminder to the readers that this whole movie is "Kaalpanic (fictional)" based on some legends and my own imagination).
After the birth of paneer,it came to India in subsequent years by the Mughals and got mixed with various Indian spices and vegetables, which eventually became a staple.
But as per the some authors, such as Sanjeev Kapoor,a form of paneer is also mentioned in Vedic literature.
V. SAMOSA
Our spicy triangular snack did not originate in our GRANDMA'S KITCHEN but in Central Asia. The traders who travelled to India using ancient trade routes could not carry heavy food with them.So they started cooking small, crisp meat-filled triangles which were easier and convenient for travel.
Eventually, it found its way to India through spice route travellers and got evolved into a vegetarian snack filled with potato.
VI . TANDOORI CHICKEN
It is said that the dish originated in Moti Mahal Delux. (sounds familier rite??)
The chef loved his tandoor. So one day, as an experiment, he skewered some chicken, applied the spices, and left it in the tandoor. The result was so marvellous that it even impressed the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru. He then made sure that Moti Mahal turned into his official banquet, as records claim.
Let's bow our heads and thank this MOTI MAHAL DELUX for introducing us to yet another delicious dish. HATS OFF!!
After going through all the history and geography of our foods,the only thing I can say is that it was just like "EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED " moment.
We Indians generally classify everything just into two religion and think that we know the whole world. The more conservative section classifies the vegetarian food as Hinduite and non veg food as Muslimite. But guess what..history tells a completely different picture as we saw above. Every dish we discussed above has either a bond with both the religions like Biryani or Paneer or surprisingly even the veg dishes have some connection with arabs or turks or mongals like paneer,samosa or idli.
So what hits your mind?
Aren't we somewhat selfish to divide even our food on the basis of religion /caste /creed?
I remember ,once I went to a well sofisticated shop in Gurgaon.
Me -"do you have Bhakarwadi ?"
Owner - "no mam..what is it?"
Me - "its a Gujrati snack"
Owner - mam ,are you a Gujrati ?
Me - "no"
Owner - "so why do you want a Gujrati dish ?"
We have turned ourselves into small cozy boxes where we just want to know ourselves and belief it to be the best. We have become so overconfident about our culture, tradition, region,religion and language that we no longer want to adjust and explore the world . Let's not divide ourselves on such delicious wonders that are gifted to Indian Cuisine. Let's sit into our kitchens and try to cook something different ....from all. Let's step out of our definitions of non secular food and respect every Indian food with its own speciality.
And If you are foody like me..eat heads of your family and friends for not introducing you to the "World Of Flavours" if they are capable of it.
For all foodies there is a lot for you and your tongue in a diverse country like India .
Cheers to Indian Diversity!!!
Note- This is not a promotional blog of Indian Cuisine ,it is just a message from a food lover :)
I wondered why haven't I tasted them ?
Then I realised these are some specific foods related to a specific religion as suggested by many.
I pondered deeper and thought , I have so many Muslim friends..so why haven't they ever told me to eat these dishes?
And this loop of thinking and rethinking began ... I came to a conclusion that may be me and my friends are so secular that we hardly discuss about non secular food on table and try to make everyone comfortable. We eat food like Chicken , Paneer ,Burger ,Chole Bhature,Parathe (that sounds a much more secular) but never had anything specific as above.
Does this mean that dishes like Idli , Dosa ,alloo chat belong to Hindu religion?
Have we have divided our cuisine on the basis of religion?
If yes, is it fair to put social pressure on non living things?
If yes, is it fair to put social pressure on non living things?
Even educated people like us who call themselves "Symbol of Unity and Brotherhood" have forgotten that unknowingly they themselves have divided the food on such grounds.
As there are always two phases of the same coin . Our discussion won't be complete if we don't look to the other side of the curtain. Let's get into the history of some of our famous Indian cuisine and find out about their origin to classify them better .
I. BIRYANI
We will begin the recent controversial dish Biryani . I wonder, who in India doesn't likes Biryani ? Whether vegetarian or non vegetarian ..it balances each one's taste and takes care of complete nutrition. Even without knowing the origin it stays into my list of secular food,don't know about others. Jokes apart, there are a lot of legend associated with our lovable Biryani.
The word ‘biryani’ originates from the Persian word ‘birian’ which means ‘fried before cooking’. According to a legend, Mumtaz Mahal, Shah Jahan’s queen asked her chef to prepare a special dish, which provided balanced nutrition for her soldiers. After many rounds of selections and rejections just like Indian Swayamvar , she finally settled on biryani(yeah..you made it champ). So the moral of the story is,please don't forget to thank Mumtaz by whispering to her the next time you visit TAJ MAHAL.
Another theory suggests that a rice dish known as “Oon Soru” was found in Tamil as early as the year 2 A.D. Oon Soru was composed of rice, ghee, meat, turmeric, coriander, pepper, and bay leaf, and was used to feed military warriors.
II. BUTTER CHICKEN
Surprisingly, this dish did not originate in any ROYAL DARBAR but in Old Delhi. The originator is said to a man named Kundan Lal Gujral, who ran a restaurant called Moti Mahal Delux in Peshawar. The restaurant moved to Delhi after partition and was called as Moti Mahal.
As per some sources, the tale begins with the entry of a VIP guest at the restaurant,late at night. The guest asked for ‘some chicken dish’ to be prepared for him. The chef was in a shortage of supplies and only had half of a Tandoori chicken to cook with. So, he prepared an unknown hybrid dish with mixture of butter, tomato, and garam masalas . At the climax of the story, it is revealed that the VIP was the Ruler of Mareelun – who loved the dish.
So, even if you are short of ingredients in your kitchen amidst the lockdown, remember that you can do miracles.
I. BIRYANI
We will begin the recent controversial dish Biryani . I wonder, who in India doesn't likes Biryani ? Whether vegetarian or non vegetarian ..it balances each one's taste and takes care of complete nutrition. Even without knowing the origin it stays into my list of secular food,don't know about others. Jokes apart, there are a lot of legend associated with our lovable Biryani.
The word ‘biryani’ originates from the Persian word ‘birian’ which means ‘fried before cooking’. According to a legend, Mumtaz Mahal, Shah Jahan’s queen asked her chef to prepare a special dish, which provided balanced nutrition for her soldiers. After many rounds of selections and rejections just like Indian Swayamvar , she finally settled on biryani(yeah..you made it champ). So the moral of the story is,please don't forget to thank Mumtaz by whispering to her the next time you visit TAJ MAHAL.
Another theory suggests that a rice dish known as “Oon Soru” was found in Tamil as early as the year 2 A.D. Oon Soru was composed of rice, ghee, meat, turmeric, coriander, pepper, and bay leaf, and was used to feed military warriors.
II. BUTTER CHICKEN
Surprisingly, this dish did not originate in any ROYAL DARBAR but in Old Delhi. The originator is said to a man named Kundan Lal Gujral, who ran a restaurant called Moti Mahal Delux in Peshawar. The restaurant moved to Delhi after partition and was called as Moti Mahal.
As per some sources, the tale begins with the entry of a VIP guest at the restaurant,late at night. The guest asked for ‘some chicken dish’ to be prepared for him. The chef was in a shortage of supplies and only had half of a Tandoori chicken to cook with. So, he prepared an unknown hybrid dish with mixture of butter, tomato, and garam masalas . At the climax of the story, it is revealed that the VIP was the Ruler of Mareelun – who loved the dish.
So, even if you are short of ingredients in your kitchen amidst the lockdown, remember that you can do miracles.
III. IDLI
Our most beloved South Indian dish has unending tales attached to it.According to the Xuang Zang (Chinese traveller during the reign of Medievel Ruler HARSHA), there were no steaming vessels in India. The incoming of Hindu Kings of Indonesia, brought fermentation and steaming methods and their dish Kedli to South India .
From records of Cairo’s Al-Azhar University Library, the Arab traders brought in ‘rice balls’ to India when they settled down in the southern belt of the country. They were neo-converts to Islam from Paganism and came here when Mohammed was still alive. It is said that they preferred only halaal food and were strict in their diet preferences. Indian cuisine was like a riddle to them. So, they began to make rice balls which was easy to make and the safest option available.
IV. PANEER
The most common dish for any vegetarian is PANEER. I sometimes get bored as PANEER is the only suggestion that come out of people's mind when it is about eating veg food. But strangely it's story is not as simple as this dish seems. It had a miraculous entry just like a hero enters a movie scene.
Imagine Mongols riding horses amidst dry and dusty winds. They are carrying milk in Mushkis (bags made of raw hide). They are travelling and travelling in their own SWAG (stylish confidence) unaware of what is happening in their bags. The heat of desert has started turning the milk into paneer . They stop at a place to have some milk and they see the new invention and find it to be rather delicious( just a reminder to the readers that this whole movie is "Kaalpanic (fictional)" based on some legends and my own imagination).
After the birth of paneer,it came to India in subsequent years by the Mughals and got mixed with various Indian spices and vegetables, which eventually became a staple.
But as per the some authors, such as Sanjeev Kapoor,a form of paneer is also mentioned in Vedic literature.
V. SAMOSA
Our spicy triangular snack did not originate in our GRANDMA'S KITCHEN but in Central Asia. The traders who travelled to India using ancient trade routes could not carry heavy food with them.So they started cooking small, crisp meat-filled triangles which were easier and convenient for travel.
Eventually, it found its way to India through spice route travellers and got evolved into a vegetarian snack filled with potato.
VI . TANDOORI CHICKEN
It is said that the dish originated in Moti Mahal Delux. (sounds familier rite??)
The chef loved his tandoor. So one day, as an experiment, he skewered some chicken, applied the spices, and left it in the tandoor. The result was so marvellous that it even impressed the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru. He then made sure that Moti Mahal turned into his official banquet, as records claim.
Let's bow our heads and thank this MOTI MAHAL DELUX for introducing us to yet another delicious dish. HATS OFF!!
After going through all the history and geography of our foods,the only thing I can say is that it was just like "EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED " moment.
We Indians generally classify everything just into two religion and think that we know the whole world. The more conservative section classifies the vegetarian food as Hinduite and non veg food as Muslimite. But guess what..history tells a completely different picture as we saw above. Every dish we discussed above has either a bond with both the religions like Biryani or Paneer or surprisingly even the veg dishes have some connection with arabs or turks or mongals like paneer,samosa or idli.
So what hits your mind?
Aren't we somewhat selfish to divide even our food on the basis of religion /caste /creed?
I remember ,once I went to a well sofisticated shop in Gurgaon.
Me -"do you have Bhakarwadi ?"
Owner - "no mam..what is it?"
Me - "its a Gujrati snack"
Owner - mam ,are you a Gujrati ?
Me - "no"
Owner - "so why do you want a Gujrati dish ?"
We have turned ourselves into small cozy boxes where we just want to know ourselves and belief it to be the best. We have become so overconfident about our culture, tradition, region,religion and language that we no longer want to adjust and explore the world . Let's not divide ourselves on such delicious wonders that are gifted to Indian Cuisine. Let's sit into our kitchens and try to cook something different ....from all. Let's step out of our definitions of non secular food and respect every Indian food with its own speciality.
And If you are foody like me..eat heads of your family and friends for not introducing you to the "World Of Flavours" if they are capable of it.
For all foodies there is a lot for you and your tongue in a diverse country like India .
Cheers to Indian Diversity!!!
Note- This is not a promotional blog of Indian Cuisine ,it is just a message from a food lover :)
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