Indian - whole vs. the parts
The other day in our French class, we were discussing cuisines. Everyone had to list 3 favorite cuisines. Almost everybody voted first for their own country cuisine as their favorite. And surprisingly, 2nd and 3rd on most lists were Greek, Italian or Asian.
Then we the discussion turned to what are the most popular dishes of a cuisine. We started with Belgian cuisine. My Belgian classmate was only too eager to talk of frites (French fries) and endives (chicons) and then there was beer, chocolade, coffee, if you please !!!
When it was my turn to talk about Indian cuisine, I was really lost for words and ideas. How do I begin - go the idlis, dosas, sambhar, chutney way or take the naan, parantha, aloo gobi, matar paneer route. Even then, I would cover two states. What about the rest - Gujarat, Bengal, Orissa, Kashmir, Goa, the North Eastern states whose cuisine I myself am not clued into. What about the culture of street food all across India - churmuri, girmit, bhelpuri, gol gappas, puchkas, rolls, vada pavs? What about our legacy of sweets - laddus, barfis, rabadi, jelebi, ghewars,obbatus, gulab jamuns ..................Not to mention out unique adaption and integration of foreign influences - biryaanis, Indian Chinese, Indian Italian, Indian Mexican..........I am sure I leave a lot out. And there is the non-veg section too.
What I came out with was a tentative explanation of flat bread - naan, eaten with tadka dal, paneer tikka masala, chicken tikka masala, mango lassi and chai. I mentioned our food is diverse, just as is India. It's so difficult to categorise it. Food available in a restaurant is but 5 % of our cuisine, IMO.
Defining India or even Indianism is so difficult. 28 states, 7 union territories, diversity of languages and dialects, traditions, cultures. An average Indian speaks 3 to 4 languages minimum. We definitely and compellingly mix religion and politics and traditions and aspirations in most aspects of our lives. We are unable to compartmentalize these, or even discard any totally, not that we need to. We are open to new influences and still hold on to our value systems. We are global in our outlook and sometimes amazingly parochial in our daily lives. We are just difficult to categorize in a particular mold, yet we can distinguish another Indian by far in a crowd. Desi hai!
What do you think, any dish which is signature Indian to even an average Indian, forget to a foreigner? Or habits too for that matter? Would love to hear your views!
Then we the discussion turned to what are the most popular dishes of a cuisine. We started with Belgian cuisine. My Belgian classmate was only too eager to talk of frites (French fries) and endives (chicons) and then there was beer, chocolade, coffee, if you please !!!
When it was my turn to talk about Indian cuisine, I was really lost for words and ideas. How do I begin - go the idlis, dosas, sambhar, chutney way or take the naan, parantha, aloo gobi, matar paneer route. Even then, I would cover two states. What about the rest - Gujarat, Bengal, Orissa, Kashmir, Goa, the North Eastern states whose cuisine I myself am not clued into. What about the culture of street food all across India - churmuri, girmit, bhelpuri, gol gappas, puchkas, rolls, vada pavs? What about our legacy of sweets - laddus, barfis, rabadi, jelebi, ghewars,obbatus, gulab jamuns ..................Not to mention out unique adaption and integration of foreign influences - biryaanis, Indian Chinese, Indian Italian, Indian Mexican..........I am sure I leave a lot out. And there is the non-veg section too.
What I came out with was a tentative explanation of flat bread - naan, eaten with tadka dal, paneer tikka masala, chicken tikka masala, mango lassi and chai. I mentioned our food is diverse, just as is India. It's so difficult to categorise it. Food available in a restaurant is but 5 % of our cuisine, IMO.
Defining India or even Indianism is so difficult. 28 states, 7 union territories, diversity of languages and dialects, traditions, cultures. An average Indian speaks 3 to 4 languages minimum. We definitely and compellingly mix religion and politics and traditions and aspirations in most aspects of our lives. We are unable to compartmentalize these, or even discard any totally, not that we need to. We are open to new influences and still hold on to our value systems. We are global in our outlook and sometimes amazingly parochial in our daily lives. We are just difficult to categorize in a particular mold, yet we can distinguish another Indian by far in a crowd. Desi hai!
What do you think, any dish which is signature Indian to even an average Indian, forget to a foreigner? Or habits too for that matter? Would love to hear your views!
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