INDIAN CUISINE
BY - CHEF VISHWAJIT JADHAV
What did ancient India eat?
prayer from the Yajurveda: “May for me prosper, through the sacrifice, milk, sap, ghee, honey, eating and drinking at the common table, ploughing, rains, conquest, victory, wealth, riches. May for me prosper, through the sacrifice, low-grade food, freedom from hunger, rice, barley sesame, kidney beans, vetches, wheat, lentils, millets, panicum grains and wild rice. May for me prosper, through the sacrifice, trees, plants, which grows in ploughed land and which grows in unploughed land.” This prayer, composed around 800 BC, gives us a pretty good indication of the food of that period. It is quoted from the eminent food historian K.T. Achaya’s book on Indian food. K.T. Achaya’s books on the history of Indian food are nothing less than a treasure house. He gives us a rare glimpse into the history and development of Indian cuisine.
Food It is believed, that the Aryans set the agricultural patterns of food production that still prevails in India. The cultivation of rice, pulses, beans, peas, wheat, linseed and even hemp is mentioned in the Yajurveda, but the Rig Veda does not mention rice or wheat, only barley (yava). Thus making barley one of the earliest grains known to India. One is curious to know about the food eaten by the Aryans. Deductions about the food of the Harappans are made from the archaeological artifacts but there is however, little or no evidence of their cooking habits. On the other hand, there are listed evidences of food eaten by the Aryans, in the Rig Veda and other books. Barley was fried in ghee and fashioned into cakes or fried and then dipped in honey. Bengali sweets could trace its lineage to this technique. Rice came in later, but went on to dominate the food scene. Common accompaniments with rice were ghee, curds, pulses or meat. Wheat though not mentioned in the Rig Vedas, finds a mention in the Yajurveda and the Brahmans. Amongst pulses the three prominent ones were urad, mung and masur. Rajma too makes an appearance and meat was commonly eaten. Ox, goats, birds; buffalo, humped bull and sheep were slaughtered for food. Animals were killed at ritualistic sacrifices and the meat would then be eaten. Dogs, village cock, boar and carnivorous animals were considered diet taboos. The taboo was relented only for times of distress. However, it should be noted that meat eating was encouraged only when there were guests or as offering to the gods. Barley is one of the oldest grains. Rice came in much later, but it quickly found a place of prominence. Meat eating was common, but killing of animals other than for eating or religious sacrifices, was not encouraged. Spices and Condiments Salt was not common in the early Vedic times. Not only was it a rarity but also students and widows were not permitted to consume it. Newly weds had to abstain from salt for the first three days after their marriage. Salt was obtained from lakes, rivers, sea, swamps and mines,and was expensive. The earliest spice was mustard, sour citrus, turmeric and long pepper. Later came in pepper and asafoetida. The spice list isn’t too exhaustive, as the Aryans did not favour the use of spices. One of the words for black pepper was kari. It was a vital ingredient in meat dishes; over the centuries kari got Anglicized and became curry, applying to wide range of seasoned dishes.
Fruits and vegetables
Fruits were an integral part of the Aryan diet. Three varieties of jujubes, udumbura fruit (Indian fig) and Saphaka (trapabispinosa) were commonly eaten, so was the rose apple and mango. Radish and ginger were munched on after meals to help in digestion. As it is in some communities even today garlic, onion and leek were looked down upon. The Rig Veda mentions the lotus stem, cucumber and later lotus roots, bottle gourd, singhada, aquatic plants, bitter gourd, a variety of methi for flavouring, mahua flowers, yam and other roots. Spinach, leafy vegetables, elephant yam (suran) and sweet potato are also mentioned. Grapes, forest fruits like berries are recorded and the newer fruits mentioned are jackfruits, banana, palm, tenduka and several species of citrus fruits. Banks of rivers beaten by foam was where pumpkins and gourds were cultivated. Areas that were frequently flooded were used to grow grapes, long pepper and sugarcane.
Sweets and Desserts
The earliest sweetener was honey. A common welcome drink of those days was madhuparka, a honey sweetened concoction of curd and ghee. Later jaggery and sugar dominated as sweetening agents. Rock sugar was common and jaggery became the base for many sweet preparations. Many of the sweets made in those times exist even now, slightly or not modified. In preparations related to dairy products there is a mention of payasya (not payasa), which was the solid part of curd mixed with boiled milk, crystal sugar and herbs. Shirkarini, the ancestor of present day shrikhand was made out of strained curd, crystal sugar and spices. Interestingly the Rig Veda cites honey from smaller bees better than the one from bigger bees.
Beverages
Milk was one of the main ingredients in the cuisines of the Vedic period. Though cow’s milk was preferred, buffalo and goat milk was also used. Grains were cooked in milk to prepare dishes. Other by products of milk like cream and ghee were also used extensively. Curd was very popular and the churning method was used to derive butter. Two varieties of cheeses, porous and non-porous find a mention in the texts. Adults consumed solidified and clarified butter while children ate fresh butter. A popular dairy oriented drink was the rasala, a sweet and spicy curd. Speaking of drinks, one cannot have a chapter on food of the Vedic period without a mention of Som rasa or Soma. It was an exhilarating drink, which was called hoama in Iran and Soma in India. Soma was usually offered to the gods and consumed by priests during sacrifices. It was believed that an individual who consumed Soma was fortified beyond his natural abilities. The process of extracting the Soma juice was an elaborate one. The Soma plant was sprinkled with water and ground with a stone on other stones placed above holes that were connected underground, the grinding then yielded a sound that was similar to bellowing bulls! The ground paste was collected on a cowhide and strained through a sheep’s wool cloth; the sparkling liquid that was obtained was mixed with milk, curd or flour and consumed. However there are no clear leads on what exactly was the Soma plant. While drinking Soma was commended, Sura was condemned. Sura, was an intoxicating liquor made from fermented barley or wild paddy and was consumed more by the Kshatriyas, but there were kings like Asvapati, who proudly declared that there were no drunkards in his kingdom. Parisruta was prepared from flowers or by fermenting certain grasses and Kilala was a sweet drink made of cereals. Masara, another drink was made of rice and spices, allowed to ferment for three days. Water was rightly called amrta or nectar. The Aryans consumed fruit juices from a very early stage. Juice of the mango, jamun, banana, grapes, coconut and edible water lily were common. According to the Sutras, hospitality is one of the five duties of the householder. Eating before offering to the gods, brahmans and guests was considered improper. Sacrificial priests, father-in-law and a king were considered specially deserving of hospitality, but one couldn’t disregard even a sudra or a lower born as a guest. Besides these, the smaller creatures were also fed. Purity of food and cleanliness while preparing food was much stressed upon. Food prepared overnight or that, which had gone sour, was considered unfit for consumption. Commercially available foods were discouraged, especially ones that were flavoured. The presence of hair, insects or rat droppings in food was not acceptable. Food smelt by humans or animals was not eaten and so was food touched by the lower castes. There are several rules of etiquette for dining, most of which are based on commonsense. Gradually as the Aryans spread themselves all over India, the entire country adapted to their ways of food and life.
Interesting trivia
• The Kashyapa Samhiti (200 BC) has detailed accounts of every aspect of rice cultivation: sowing, irrigation, seed transplanting, weeding, watering, protection from birds (using scarecrows), defense against vermin and finally threshing. Even conditions for second round of crops are elaborated. Methods that are followed to this day.
• Vegetarianism was predominant in India because of the sheer abundance of food available, even before the Vedic times. Cereals, pulses, oilseeds, vegetables, fruits and milk flowed freely. Nowhere else in the world one saw this kind of abundance. Indeed the land of milk and honey!
• Clay, wood, metal and stone were materials commonly used in making utensils. Leather vessels were used for storing liquids.
