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CCC104: Food, Language and Indian History

Is there such a thing as 'Indian Food'? Or is it only


as assortment of regional variations?

Name: Balaji Vunnava

Roll No: 1610110089

Net ID: bv808

Date of Submission: 20th April 2017

Instructor: Meera Vishvanathan

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Acknowledgement

I would like to thank the Food, Language and Indian History instructor Ms. Meera
Visvanathan for helping me throughout the course and providing me this opportunity to
understand the intricacies of food and language and their relationship with history.
Moreover, I also thank her for providing this platform to develop this argumentative and
analytical essay.

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Food, after everything, is not about nutrients and calories, its about identity. Most of us
have memories about food be it the homemade Dal or the delicious birthday cake or grannys
mouth-watering snacks. Food has its way of transporting us back to the past. This characteristic of
food has regionalized it and confined some unconventional ways of cooking and their idiosyncratic
tastes to that region. Be it the delectable taste Lasagna from Italy or the Khagra from Gujrat. These
associations and assortments of food to a region leads to the existence of regional food. Critics
argue that origins of different dishes cannot be associated to a confined region and hence that no
such thing as regional food exist. However, saying that Rajma-Chawal is and Indian dish and
that Smoked Salmon Streak is American is not false. However, is it possible to say that Bread is
only European? Despite having its origins from Europe, bread has been widely used around the
globe since the Medieval period. So, is bread regional? Such contrasting cases lead to questioning
the existence and classification of regional food. Despite, Rajma-Chawal being Indian food,
bread is also widely used in India. So is bread Indian food. Hence this essay will try to explore
if there such a thing as 'Indian Food'? Or is it only as assortment of regional variations?

Indian food, one of the most diverse and ancient cuisines of the world, is known for its
variety and distinctions. However, rapid changes in the recent world have led to the globalization
of trends in cuisine leading to the dilution of authentic traditional Indian cuisine and hence leading
to questioning its origins. As stated by Devdutt, the best way to destroy a culture is to destroy its
kitchen.1 These rapid changes in cuisine has been showing its effects on the recent cultural changes
in India. One such significant change observed in the recent times is the concept of Jhoota. In
India, food was always served either in a leaf or a metal plate which could either be disposed or
washed and re-used. Moreover, every individual ate in separate utensils to advocate the concept of
Jhoota. Every Indian child learns the concept of Jhoota. They learn that one can never taste or
either smell others food, and doing so pollutes the food. But, neither a Chinese nor a Zulu kid
learns the concept of Jhoota for this concept is popular only in India and is in fact looked upon as
illogical concept by other countries. So, Jhoota is as equally important part of Indian Cuisine as
are the ingredients of a dish. An interesting question that arises here is that why isnt there a work
for Jhoota in English or any other foreign language while most of the languages spoken in India

1
Pattanaik, Devdutt. The Talking Thali. Devdutt, 15 Jan. 2012. Html. 13 March 2017.
<http://devdutt.com/articles/myth-theory/the-talking-thali.html>

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have a word for it? This can be answered by the fact that the concept of Jhoota is only prevalent
among Indians. So, it is no exaggeration in saying that this concept is a part of Indian cuisine
which despite being surprising is true.

Modernization and changes in the patterns of lifestyle have greatly impacted the Indian
cuisine.2 With lives becoming busier day after day, people started adopting fast food culture and
readymade eateries. For instance, India is now one of the largest customer base for McDonalds.
This has thus led to the replacement of the Indian meal by Burgers. Modernization, is one of the
most important factor that has led to the questioning of existence of cuisines and their histories.
However, though times have changed, some of the food practices in India are still the same,
however, with some modern twists. For instance, with the fast moving and busy lifestyles, Thalis
have taken a packaged form. However, it is noticeable that despite a transformation in the way it
is served, Thali is still being eaten which is one of the most ancient traditions of India. So, despite
the culture being diluted in some ways, it still exists in many parts but has undergone some
transformations. This also reminds of the usage of banana leaf in Indian cuisine. Despite, changes
in some cultural practices, most of the dishes remain the same. This is another strong evidence to
prove that though modernization had its impact on Indian cuisine and led to questioning of its
origins, India still has its own cuisine which is of its kind and is a part of its identity.

Cuisine, as it suggests, is the method of cooking and its associations of a region or location.
Indian cuisine forms an identity for the country. One of the most relevant and best examples of
this is India being referred to as the Land of Spices for food cooked in this land is famous for the
use of spices that is because India is rich in spice cultivation. So, such food which richly uses
spices is termed to be Indian which hence is not just an assortment of some dish but is one of its
kind. However, sometimes the origins of a dish may not be emerging from a region but gets
associated to that region over time due to various factors. A legend says that Turk-Mongol
conqueror, Timur, brought the precursor to the Biryani with him to India when he arrived in the
frontiers of India in 1398. Later, in Shah Jahans reign, Mumtaz Mahal visited the army barracks
and found the soldiers weak and undernourished. Then, she asked the chef to prepare a balanced
nutritious dish (which had roots from the precursor bought by Timur) and the result was Biryani.

2
Nandy,Ashis. The Changing Popular Culture of Indian Food: Preliminary Notes. South Asia Research. New
Delhi: SAGE Publications, 1 May 2004. PDF. 13 Mar. 2017.

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Later, the Nizams of Hyderabad and Nawabs of Lucknow became famous for their appreciation
of the subtle nuances of Biryani which passed to their kitchens over time. These rulers were
responsible for popularizing their versions of the biryani and its accompaniments. However, later
the varieties diverged and 15 biryanis came into existence.3 Hence, over time Biryani became
famous in India through royal practices and regionalized. Thus, despite having origins in a far of
land, the political influences, the passing of the recipes and becoming common dish in a particular
area regionalizes a food. Today, Biryani is referred and is not Persian. Though, critics might argue
that since some of such origins of dishes are unclear there is nothing as regional food. But, is it an
exaggeration to say that one thinks of India when Biryani is referred? Biryani evolved to be an
intimate part of India and its cuisine which is again an important evidence to the fact that cuisine
develops identity and is a form of communication.

Roti and Rice, the staple food of India is an effect of the fact that the geographic
characteristics of India support the growth of rice and wheat. But, would roti and rice still have
been the staple food of India if growing wheat and rice were not possible in India. Roti, overtime
has become the most common food in India and is referred to as the Indian flatbread which again
makes it very Indian. The existence of Roti in India is also mentioned in many Indian texts while
not found to be consumed by any other countries even in the past. So, language and literature play
an important role as evidence in regionalizing food and distinguishing the reasons for its origins
from other ones. Roti, as said by Madhulika Dash dates back to the Vedic period where
purodhashas, from where the word pataha or parota eventually came, was usually stuffed with dry
lentils or vegetables and offered as thick pancakes during yagnas and homas in Indian tradition
there is little mention of the humble chapati. So, it wouldnt be wrong to state that roti or chapati
could have been a common mans/traders innovation, which eventually did reach the court
because of its lightness and taste of wheat and ghee. In fact, the chapati is noted in Ain-i-Akbari,
a 16th-century document by Mughal Emperor, Akbars vizier, Abul-Fazl ibn Mubarak as one of
the Great Emperors favourite. 4

3
Pal, Sanchari. The Story of Biryani: How This Exotic Dish Came, Saw and Conquered India! The Better India, 7
July 2016. Web. 22 Apr. 2017. < http://www.thebetterindia.com/60553/history-biryani-india/ >
4
Dash, Madhulika. Food Story: How India's Favourite Flatbread Roti Was Born. The Indian Express, 8 Jan. 2015.
Web. 22 Apr. 2017. < indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/food-wine/food-story-how-indias-favourite-flatbread-roti-
was-born/>

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Considering all the above arguments it can be said that Indian cuisine is a distinguishable
entity in the large world of food. Cuisine is not just food but all the practices of food and an identity.
It is a form of communication. Cuisine is a constitution of the dishes of an area, the ideals revolving
around the food practices and their origins. A dish can be regionalized based on its origins and
more importantly the frequency of its usage over time in a region. The Indian cuisine is a blend of
many tastes all in perfect blend that makes it one of the most rich, diverse and famous cuisines of
the world. It has many idiosyncratic tastes and intricacies that can never be duplicated by another
dish. This makes it not just an assortment of dishes but an independent entity with its own
characteristics. Food, as stated earlier, is above all an identity of a region and a strong form of
communication.

Word Count: 1497

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References

1. Pattanaik, Devdutt. The Talking Thali. Devdutt, 15 Jan. 2012. Html. 13 March 2017.
<http://devdutt.com/articles/myth-theory/the-talking-thali.html>

2. Nandy,Ashis. The Changing Popular Culture of Indian Food: Preliminary Notes. South
Asia Research. New Delhi: SAGE Publications, 1 May 2004. PDF. 13 Mar. 2017.

3. Pal, Sanchari. The Story of Biryani: How This Exotic Dish Came, Saw and Conquered
India! The Better India, 7 July 2016. Web. 22 Apr. 2017.
< http://www.thebetterindia.com/60553/history-biryani-india/ >

4. Dash, Madhulika. Food Story: How India's Favourite Flatbread Roti Was Born. The
Indian Express, 8 Jan. 2015. Web. 22 Apr. 2017.
< indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/food-wine/food-story-how-indias-favourite-
flatbread-roti-was-born/>

5. Collingham, Lizzie. Curry: A tale of cooks and conquerors. n.p. n.d. Print.

6. Pande, Ira. Khanasutra. India International Centre Quarterly, Vol. 35, No. . India
International Centre. n.d. Print. p.282-290.

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