Cultural History Of India By Om Prakash 22.pdf
Chieko Boteler
This paper aims to present a socio-historical review of Indian cuisine and its evolution. Based on a thorough analysis of a wide range of documents, the investigation focuses on four eras, each having a significant and lasting effect on Indian cuisine. Parallels have been drawn to modern Indian cuisine wherever possible. This study follows the advances in Indian cuisine through the prehistoric era, into the Vedic era, where religious scriptures, especially the Hindu scriptures, affected what was cooked during the time, followed by the invasion of the subcontinent by the Mughals. Finally, the effects of European colonization on Indian cuisine are critically analysed and an attempt is made to examine threads, if any, connecting culinary preferences of people across these phases. The results of the analysis indicate the intriguing impact of intricate connections among several sociocultural factors on the evolution of Indian cuisine. At the end of the paper, a few areas are identified for future exploration.
We collected data for the study through thorough document analysis. We surveyed ancient religious scriptures from archives, newspapers, memoirs, travelogues, research articles, poems, history books and books written on food cultures, and made comprehensive notes. All the notes were verified through information collected from more than one source. Then, we searched for patterns in the data and organized the details under the four most frequently found patterns in food culture: Prehistoric, Vedic, Mughal, and European colonization. For each era, we arranged the information in a systematic manner which mainly focused on discussions on the evolution of food through a close interplay between sociocultural factors and the availability of raw materials required for the preparation of food.
Bones of cattle, goats, sheep, buffalo, and pigs have been found at Harappan excavation sites. While cattle, goats, and sheep may have been domesticated, it is also possible that they were hunted or raised for their flesh. Cattle farming was mainly restricted to the Zebu cattle, native to the Indus Valley region (see Fig. 1) [21]. Bones of wild animals like boar, deer, and gharial have also been found. Along with these, the remains of fish and fowl were also discovered. Grilling was the preferred way to cook meat. The animal would be roasted whole on an open fire or cut into bite-size chunks [33, 35, 36]. These chunks were pierced onto a skewer and roasted, like modern-day tikkas. The animal was lodged onto a stick, which could be rotated, and placed over the fire. Pottery from prehistoric times has revealed the presence of bowls with wide mouths, which indicates the use of boiling as another method of preparation [24].
Pulses and grains were consumed by the people of the Indus Valley [23]. Various pulses like chickpeas, red lentil, and green peas were introduced from Western Asia to the Indus Valley in around 4000 B.C. Barley and wheat were also found along with the pulses at archaeological sites. Their use carried over into the Vedic era, when barley was one of the primary grains. Rice was consumed much later.
Several stone tools of varying sizes have been discovered at excavation sites. Large saddle querns have been found, probably used for grinding grains to make flour. Two types of stones may have been used with the querns: a small one for rolling, like a rolling pin, and a larger, heavier one to pound on materials. Curry stones would have been used to grind spices. However, it remains unclear whether the spices were grown within the region or obtained through trade or barter.
The Aryans considered food to be a gift from God and a source of strength. In the four Vedas, Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda, and Atharvaveda, there are various mentions of the grains used during those times [38]. Initially, barley was a staple food of most Aryans. Cultivation of other crops such as wheat, sugarcane, and millets followed. Lentils, mainly red, green, and black, were also grown. Later, the Aryans added rice and other cereals to their diet [13].
Sweetcakes called apupa have been mentioned multiple times in the Vedas. Apupa or Malpua (see Fig. 2), as it is called today, was made with barley flour. The batter would be flattened into cakes and fried in ghee. Before serving, the fried cake was dipped in honey. Many variations have developed over time, and malpua is now paired with various condiments. Today, the batter is made with refined wheat flour or semolina flour and milk. Like the Vedic version, the batter is spread into flat cakes and fried in ghee. Instead of honey, the cakes are soaked in sugar syrup flavoured with saffron or jaggery (cane sugar) syrup. They are topped with chopped almonds and pistachios and paired with rabri, a sweet made by boiling milk at low heat with sugar and spices.
Malpua and Rabri: Malpua is an Indian sweet fried pancake, made from a batter of wheat or barley flour. It is fried in ghee and then placed in sugar syrup. Souce: Shutterstock -photo/malpua-traditional-indian-sweet-pancake-coated-1035620161
Fried barley called dhana was not just eaten as food but was also offered to the gods. Pulverized barley seeds, called saktu, have been mentioned in the Vedas. Sattu, a flour made from ground pulses, is used in many kitchens today, and it may have roots in saktu. A porridge called odana was made by boiling barley in milk. Yet another preparation called karambha had yogurt mixed with barley, and it is still popular in parts of Gujarat.
Animal meat was presumably used by Hindus in what is now Punjab. Cows, goats, buffalo, and bulls were killed for their meat, and slaughterhouses have been mentioned in the texts. The practice of eating horse flesh was introduced by the Aryans, but its consumption did not seem to settle well with the natives. However, there have been accounts of slaughter of cows and bulls for their meat [24]. Meats were mostly roasted in clay ovens or on spits over charcoal. The consumption of meat as a survival strategy can be contrasted with the current debates about meat eating and its consequences [46].
Sesame seeds were important as both food and in rituals. As food, they would be cooked with vegetables, added to bread, or crushed to extract oil. Turmeric, pepper, and mustard seeds were used as flavourings. Various fruits and vegetables are mentioned in the Vedas including the bael fruit (Aegle marmelos), mangoes, dates, lotus stalks and roots, gourds, jujubes, and water chestnuts. These are not very different from the ingredients used in Indian kitchens today.
Alcoholic beverages existed in Vedic times, as suggested by the mention of sura in the Rigveda but disapproved for consumption. The drink has been mentioned only in a few places, and at times, in conjunction with soma. Soma was considered the drink of Gods and an elixir. The plant from which the drink was made has remained a mystery, but historians have speculated candidate plants [34]. It could be a type of millet, called ragi. Ragi is still used to make marua, an intoxicating drink in the Eastern Himalayas. Cannabis could also be the plant referred to in the texts which was used for preparing the soma drink [4]. Yet another suggestion is the fly agaric mushroom, because of its intoxicating effect when consumed [51]. Soma was prepared and offered to gods by Brahmans [17]. It is unclear as to whether or when fermentation took place [19]. There is debate surrounding the effects of soma [7]. While one branch of research views the description of the drink in the Vedas as intoxicating, other researchers argue that it was simply exhilarating, not intoxicating [44].
The descriptions about the culinary culture around 500 BC are not separately dealt with in any treatises as such. Rather, one can find these details in the memoirs of foreign writers and philosophers who visited India during those times. Megasthenes, an ambassador of Alexander and Chinese visitors such as Fa-Hsien and I-Ching, and Xuan Zang, a learned monk from China, have vividly described sociocultural practices including food and drinks [1].
Muslim rulers who were based in Sind (currently in Pakistan) started invading India after 700 AD with a desire to have access to the material riches the country possessed. In the consecutive millennia, continual attempts were made by several warlords such as Mahmud of Ghazni, Muhammad of Ghor, Bakhtiyar Khalji, and so on. However, no Muslim empire could flourish and sustain till Mughals came to India in the sixteenth century [22]. With Mughals came a flood of culinary inspirations and innovations that remain highly influential in the culinary practices of India [29]. Indian food culture, much like architecture, art, music, and language, would be unthinkable without considering the Mughal influence [10]. The predecessors of the Mughals, the Afghans, had brought with them a lot of culinary wealth. Afghan flatbreads, called naan, are now common in most Indian households and restaurants. These breads may bear some influence of Egyptian and Mesopotamian breads [12, 15, 30]. Koftas in Afghanistan are meatballs of minced beef flavoured with onions and other spices. Indian koftas are very similar to their Afghan counterparts, but beef is often replaced with other meat. In the southern and eastern regions of India, koftas are made from fish and shrimps. The meatballs are then served in gravy made of broth, milk, and cashew paste. A vegetarian version of the dish replaces the meat with grated vegetables or paneer. Jalebi (see the details in Fig. 3) is an Afghan dessert that has placed itself so well in Indian cuisine, that most people often forget its origin. Jalebi is made by frying a batter of refined flour in ghee or oil and then soaking it in sugar syrup, which is often infused with saffron giving jalebi its colour and fragrance. It is served simply with rose petals or alongside rabri. Phirni is one of the recent additions of an Afghan dish into Indian cuisine and is made by boiling soaked rice in milk along with nuts and khoa.
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