THE HISTORICAL JOURNEY OF INDIAN CUISINE

By Chef Venkatesh Sharma

Food in Vedic Times

What did ancient India eat?

A 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 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 Harappa’s 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, moong 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. Newlyweds had to abstain from salt for the first three days after their marriage. Salt was obtained from lakes, rivers, sea, swamps and mines, 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.
• Practice of rinsing the mouth before and after eating was common.
• Moderation in food consumption was advocated in those times too. It was said that eating only twice a day would make a person wise and intelligent. People fasted on the day of a sacrifice.

Heritage Cuisine Utensils and Styles of Cooking

Indian cuisine is diverse and the use of exotic spices imparts to the preparations, fantastic flavours, enticing aromas and tantalizing tastes. Indian cuisine, like the rich cultural heritage, also possesses a 5,000-year-old history and a wealth of heritage.

Indian society is multicultural and multifaceted and the manifold regional culinary varieties enrich the diversity of the cuisine making it increasingly popular all over the world. Each region has its own cuisine and style of preparation. Cooking utensils play an important part in the preparation process. Down the ages, pots and pans discovered by archaeologists and now housed in museums possess immense heritage value. Made of clay, metal, alloys and also stone, they were used in the preparation of cuisines during the reigns of prominent empires and dynasties and reveal interesting details of the blending of that period’s culinary habits, agricultural production, economy and infrastructural progress. Excavations at the Indus Valley, one of the oldest and at that time a highly developed civilization in the world indicate that around 1500 B.C. the Aryans entered India. Over the ages, India witnessed the rise and fall of several empires – the Mauryas, the Guptas, the Slave dynasty, the Mughals and Sikh rulers of the North, the Marathas of the West and the Cholas, Pandyas and Cheras in the South.

Starting from the 15th century onwards ships carrying Portuguese, British, French and Dutch traders started arriving in India. The British later colonized and ruled over India for about 200 years till 1947 when India gained Independence.

Tracing cooking utensils with heritage value would necessitate tracing their origins. The Bronze Age on the Indian subcontinent began with the Indus Valley civilization. Inhabitants of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa developed techniques in metallurgy and produced copper, lead, bronze and tin. Artisans produced a wide range of utilitarian and decorative objects using specialized techniques of stonework, ceramics and metallurgy. Copper, bronze and shell were used to make utensils. Pottery or ceramic ware of the era was heavy and fine clay was used in making smooth surfaced vessels which were then painted in black over red. Coarse grey ware was meant for rough use such as cooking. The surface of the vessels was rough, coarse grey and decorated with incised designs.

Wheat and barley were the main food crops grown by the Indus valley farmers. Peas and dates were also grown. Cattle, goats, sheep provided milk and meat. Food was cooked on hearths and grain was ground to flour by rubbing a rounded stone across on top of a flat stone. Bread and porridge were part of everybody’s diet. Commoners thrived on vegetables and fish and the rich ate poultry and game.

During what is called the Golden Age of India, that is, the Mauryan and Gupta Empires, during the 320-550 BC, pots and pans recovered from that period reveal that a high degree of skill and perfection was reached in the preparation of clay utensils, which were popular in daily domestic use. Influences of Buddhism, Jainism and later Islam affected food habits of the people. Even the rock edicts of Ashoka supported the benefits of vegetarianism but the utensils in, which they were prepared, were not mentioned. From the Mauryan Empire to the frequent invasions by Turco-Mongolian marauders into the country from around the 10-11th centuries and prior to the establishment of the Mughal Empire, Vasco Da Gama arrived in India in 1498 leading to colonization of parts of India by the Portuguese. As with other cuisines, Indian cuisine absorbed the new world vegetables such as tomatoes, chilies’ and potatoes. The Mughals (1526-1857) introduced Mughlai cuisine to India, the influence of, which spread from Kashmir and Awadh in the North to Hyderabad far down in South India. The cuisine was different in each region but it was rich, aromatic and spicy. The cooking utensils used, that is the degh or degchi and handi were common as these were used in the preparation of traditional North Indian cuisine.

While the British were in India till 1947 they introduced a cuisine of their own. Anglo-Indian cooking was almost a culinary balancing act of local ingredients and foreign tastes. Mulligatawny, kedgeree, Indian curry powder and Worcestershire sauce are all products of the British Raj. The pots and pans used by the bawarchis cooking for the British were of Indian origin. We learn from history that not all food was cooked in utensils. The hordes of Mongols invaders who came in search of riches to India chose to eat while in the saddle. They gorged on chunks of meat roasted on hot slabs of rock or on skewers over logwood fires as they did not find time to cook regular meals. From the 13th to the 16^th centuries, the armies of Chengiz Khan, Taimur Lang and Babur were compelled to travel long distances on foot, horses and camels to reach India. Those roasted chunks must have tasted like today’s barbecued steaks. There were other forms of unconventional cooking which are prevalent even today. The Patthar ke Kebab owe their origins to the erstwhile nawabi era of Hyderabad. Marinated lamb is cooked over a patthar (stone). A black granite stone about half-an-inch thick is heated over a bed of hot charcoal and the meat is cooked on the stone. Another form of an “outdoor” kitchen is the khad (deep pit) style of cooking of Rajasthan. When hunting wildlife was not considered a violation of animal rights, members of the royal family would set out on a shikar. The big game would be carried back to the castle by coolies, minor shikar such as wild boar, teetar (partridge), bater (quail) and rabbits were lunchtime fare for the hungry hunters in the jungle

In the khad style of cooking large leaves and mitti (wet earth) were used in lieu of a utensil. The heat source at the base of the pit was by burning charcoal covered with dry twigs and cow dung to provide the heat. The marinated shikar was tightly wrapped in the leaves, which were then coated with mitti and placed in the pit which was then covered with sand. After a passage of time the pit was dug up, the dried-up mitti crust was broken and the deliciously aromatic preparation, cooked in its own juices, was ready to be eaten. The Khad khargosh is prepared today on special occasions replicating those shikar days. The Kashmiri preparation of Gushtaba and Rishta involves the pounding of pieces of boneless mutton along with the fat with a wooden mallet on a wooden block overnight till the strands of mutton split and the mutton turns into mince which is used to form koftas.

Since centuries cooking utensils have been made out of different materials and defined shapes based on the dish to be prepared in them, style of cooking, temperature required and source of heat. Utensils of different eras were based on the local and regional agricultural produce, which was governed by the environmental surroundings such as climatic conditions, supply of water and quality of the soil. Manmade influences included religious traditions, community taboos, caste distinctions and prevalent zaika (taste).

Typical kitchen of the 18-19th century. The tradition of using wood-fired stoves and metal utensils is followed by some villagers for their daily cooking.

All these factors combined to define the cuisine of each generation, their cultural milieu, social philosophies and economic standing. Although cuisines, recipes, ingredients and styles of cooking differed from region to region, there was not much of a difference in the conventional designs of the utensils. A reflection on the socio-economic system that prevailed in India centuries ago was that shelves of royal kitchens and the upper classes were agleam with silverware. Intricately worked serving dishes made of gold, silver and base metal belonged to those classes. The metals were believed to impart purifying and healing properties to the food. Terracotta kitchenware was for ordinary people. In common use in the clay-rich areas of the Indo-Gangetic plains of the North, these sun-baked vessels were environmentally friendly. They were ideal for preparing dishes over even heat. Cooking in earthenware vessels imparted a unique flavour to the food.

Those living in the eastern, western and southern regions used utensils made of various metals and alloys, the areas being mineral rich. Another reason was that they did not break as easily as pots and pans made of clay. Cast iron cookware is heavy, doesn’t rust easily. Food cooked in them enhances the iron content of the food benefiting those with iron deficiency.

Aluminium was introduced in India in the earlier 1800s. Affordable, light and strong, it was a good conductor of heat but not a good cooking alloy as contact with strong acids, alkalis and salt from food caused the metal to dissolve. Peetal (brass) is an alloy of tamba (copper) and zinc, while bronze (kansa) is an alloy of copper and tin.

Copper and brass vessels react to acids and salt and can cause food poisoning. Therefore they must be coated with kalai (tinning) regularly. Just as bronze disappeared during the 1950s, brass and copper utensils have also been replaced with stainless steel cookware. Superior conductors of heat, they are rarely seen in kitchens today as they wear out easily and require kalai frequently. Till the 1960s the kalaiwallah was a regular visitor to all homes to bring a shine to the utensils. Popularity of stainless steel drove him out of business. Copper is still used to clad the exterior of stainless steel cookware for heat conduction as stainless steel is not a good heat conductor. Some cookwares use a sandwiched layer of aluminum at the base for uniform heating. Such vessels are called heavy bottomed. Cooking utensils retained their original shapes even when the material used in their manufacture kept changing. Down the ages recipes and tastes have changed, culinary preferences and perceptions kept shifting but the conventional shape of the utensils has not altered. The type of utensils used in Indian kitchens for cooking depends on the dish to be prepared, ingredients and the style of cooking. A selection of cooking utensils includes

DEGH / DEGCHI: Not usually seen in modern-day kitchens, this brass vessel with a spherical base tapering sharply from the middle and ending in a narrow opening allows steam to condense and roll back into the food. Ideally used for the traditional slow-cooking process today known as the DumPukht style of cooking.

Degchi used for Dum cooking

HANDI: A spherical clay pot along with a lid, this utensil is used for cooking Dum Biryanis over a slow fire, and for preparing curries requiring low heat. The handi has been used for centuries and has been handed down from one generation to another.

PATEELA / BHAGONA: A circular vessel made of brass or stainless steel. It has straight walls and a narrow brim and is used to boil milk or cook many types of dishes.

KARHAI: A shallow wok with around base. Traditionally made of copper or brass, it has generally been replaced by stainless steel. Deep frying, sautéing and making dry preparations are done in the karhai.

CHAKLA & BELAN: The dough for chapatis is rolled out on the traditional chakla, a round board, and belan, a rolling pin.

TAVA: A round thick iron griddle with a slight concave in the centre, it is a must in most Indian households. Used for making rotis, chappatis and paratha.

SIL BATTA: The sil is a flat stone and the batta a cylindrical grinding stone. Used pan- India, having different names, these grinding stones are used to prepare chutneys and spice mixes for cooking in the North, East and West and to grind soaked lentils in preparation for dosas and vadas by South Indians.

TANDOOR: A cylindrical clay oven with thick walls to retain the heat generated by burning charcoal at the base. Used for roasting or baking tandoori rotis, vegetables, paneer (cottage cheese), marinated mutton and chicken.

BAGHAR: Small frying pan with a long handle, used forgiving tarka (tempering) to dals and vegetables.

BOTI (chopper), CHULHA (stove), CHAKKI (wheat grinder) have no utility in modern urban kitchens designed for stand-up operations. These are commonly used today by villagers in the rural belts of India.

so i hope this blog helps you to gain some knowledge about indian food story.

For such blog and Food plating ideas please follow us on social media.

Facebook: chefvenkatesh sharma

Instagram: chefvenkatesh sharma

Google: Chef venkatesh sharma

Youtube: Chef venkatesh sharma