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CHICAGO
Food historian Colleen Taylor Sen presented her “Feasts and Fasts: A History of Food in India” (Reaktion Books, 2015, 336 pages, hardcover $39), here off Little India at Northtown Branch of Chicago Public Library, May 7, as part Asian-American Heritage Month. Desis too would have learned much not only about the variety of South Asian cuisines and dietary regimens but also about their cultural evolution from ancient times to Devon Avenue.
Among the unexpected morsels: most typical ingredients were introduced to South Asia during the colonial period, only a third of the population is vegetarian, Indian medicine (Ayurveda) prescribes meat for ailments and even circumvents the upper-caste taboo on garlic, Moghul emperors were primarily vegetarian and what passes off now as ‘Mughlai’ is a recent marketing ploy, tandoori chicken was invented by Kundan Lal Gujral (1910-1987) who served it next to Delhi’s Red Fort, tempting Prime Minister Nehru’s palate before opening his Moti Mahal. Such “restaurant owners are great at reinventing their past” history, turning recent inventions into hoary traditions, Sen noted.
Despite the popularity of Indian cuisine, only one comprehensive book (1994) on its history was available. Given its wide variety based on provenance, climate, region, religion and caste, ‘Indian’ food is difficult to define. Sharing regional statistics on meat, fish, vegetable, milk consumption, Sen justified the label more in terms of culinary techniques, namely, sautéing, stewing, grilling, rarely baking; and structure, primarily rice, nearly universal lentils (dal), vegetables and especially the millennial use of condiments. Residues in cooking vessels from Indus Valley (3000-1500 B.C.) reveal turmeric, ginger, garlic, barley, chickpeas, naan, bananas, etc., so popular today.
Indian plates are ideally mixed and eaten with the hands. Dairy products have been central since Vedic times, as Sen illustrated with hymns chanted to oblations of ghee, even an ode to the sacred cow. However, Vedic religion, with its animal (perhaps even cow) sacrifices was not vegetarian in the contemporary sense, shaped rather by the nonviolent ethos (ahimsa) of Jainism and Buddhism and becoming popular for moral, economic and health reasons. Jain priests avoid garlic, onion, tubers, and fruits with too many seeds but consume yogurt. Ayurvedic physicians were dietitians who prized ghee as a panacea. Vegetarianism therefore rarely translates into veganism. With their predilection for sweetmeats, Indians boast the world’s greatest per capita sugar consumption. Though at restaurants is a recent phenomenon in India, there is a lively street food scene. Feasts and fasts are common to all communities.
Spices include turmeric, pepper, ginger, cardamom and asafetida (substitute for garlic in vegetarian cooking). Contrary to popular belief, spices are not used to mask rotting meat but, citing extensive recent research on turmeric, because of their attested antibiotic properties. Indigenous plants include eggplant, prized for absorbing flavors, jackfruit, pumpkin, mangos, citrus, etc.
Sen cited exotic recipes from cookbooks such as Lokapakara (11th C.) and Manasollasa (12th C.), which feature vada, dosa, kebab and curry-like dishes. Delhi Sultanate (1225-1526) became a magnet for people and foods from Middle East, Central Asia, etc. The multilingual Ni’matnama of the Sultans of Mandu (1495-1505) offers hundreds of recipes with 50 paintings, many Persian dishes and lavish resort to spices. Mughal cuisine (1527-1857) developed in the imperial kitchens: the largely vegetarian emperors fasted and loved rice porridge (kicheri).
Europeans brought plants from the New World such as potato, tomato, chili, okra, papaya, pineapple, cashew, peanut, guava and tobacco; later came cauliflower, orange, carrot, cabbage, spinach, all now staples of Indian cuisine, beer and whiskey. Sen cautioned against ‘nativism’, for even ancient staples were introduced from outside, such as rice in the third millennium B.C. India in turn gave the world exotic flavors, spices, mangoes and curry.
A major hub in the network of land and sea trade routes, the subcontinent always had relations with the rest of the world. Millions left in the early 20th C. for Guyana, Trinidad, Jamaica, Mauritius, South Africa and Southeast Asia taking their regional cuisines that evolved in unique ways among its different diasporas. Chicago’s first Indian grocery store opened at 2911 N. Broadway in 1967. Little India (Devon) offers Gujarati, Hyderabadi, ‘Mughlai’ and South Indian fare, but Kashmir, Maharashtra, Bengal, Goa, the northeastern states, Kerala, etc., are sorely lacking in North American restaurant menus.
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