If you are fond of food, India is literally a foodie’s paradise. But many dishes are dying with the communities that create them whether it the French cuisine at Puducherry, a colonial stronghold or the great Mughal recipes from the house of Lucknow and Awadh Nawabs. Consider the Moti Pulao laden with peas and rice grains as well as a plethora of rich ingredients and delicious spices such as nutmeg and cardamom. What makes it even more exotic is the varq that covers the rice grains, adding a fragrance that is hard to resist.
Legacy of India’s Recipes: A Lost Art
With new age food out of the packet and two-minute microwave meals, the days of these age-old methods is numbered. They only exist within texts and aged manuscripts as well as legacies of family and communities or in the half-forgotten memories of chefs of famous gharanas. Recipes have passed from mother to daughter, rather than being recorded in writing. In such a scenario, the culinary maps have lost their direction and age old recipes are dying.
If the French have a passion for recording their prized dishes, in Thailand, recipes are published in funeral books in memory of those who have passed on. India has a profusion of colors, smells and tastes slowly ending their vital and vibrant existence because of lack of passion and knowledge. Few written accounts in India make for this sad state of affairs.
Food is part of India’s larger cultural heritage. There is a scarcity of recorded recipes such as Masasollasa, which details fish recipes dating back to the 11th century. A dying art is the cooking of chashnidar or sugar syrup coated food that medieval India specialized in. Exotic recipes like murassa, or 7 layered roti made with wheat and flour, with almonds and pistachios sprinkled in for taste are becoming a memory of the past, rather than making it to dining tables. Unfortunately, in this era of “Hungry kya” and pizzas in 20 minutes, these recipes which take days to cook will soon become a tradition of the past, rather than a taste for the future!
The Dying Art of Indian Cooking: Losing Out on Age Old Recipes
Posted in Indian food
If you are fond of food, India is literally a foodie’s paradise. But many dishes are dying with the communities that create them whether it the French cuisine at Puducherry, a colonial stronghold or the great Mughal recipes from the house of Lucknow and Awadh Nawabs. Consider the Moti Pulao laden with peas and rice grains as well as a plethora of rich ingredients and delicious spices such as nutmeg and cardamom. What makes it even more exotic is the varq that covers the rice grains, adding a fragrance that is hard to resist.
Legacy of India’s Recipes: A Lost Art
With new age food out of the packet and two-minute microwave meals, the days of these age-old methods is numbered. They only exist within texts and aged manuscripts as well as legacies of family and communities or in the half-forgotten memories of chefs of famous gharanas. Recipes have passed from mother to daughter, rather than being recorded in writing. In such a scenario, the culinary maps have lost their direction and age old recipes are dying.
If the French have a passion for recording their prized dishes, in Thailand, recipes are published in funeral books in memory of those who have passed on. India has a profusion of colors, smells and tastes slowly ending their vital and vibrant existence because of lack of passion and knowledge. Few written accounts in India make for this sad state of affairs.
Food is part of India’s larger cultural heritage. There is a scarcity of recorded recipes such as Masasollasa, which details fish recipes dating back to the 11th century. A dying art is the cooking of chashnidar or sugar syrup coated food that medieval India specialized in. Exotic recipes like murassa, or 7 layered roti made with wheat and flour, with almonds and pistachios sprinkled in for taste are becoming a memory of the past, rather than making it to dining tables. Unfortunately, in this era of “Hungry kya” and pizzas in 20 minutes, these recipes which take days to cook will soon become a tradition of the past, rather than a taste for the future!