For the love of Food

For the love of Food

November 6, 2015 0 By Fried Guest
By Ankita Sarkar

Economists have termed three things as the primary necessities of life: Shelter, Clothing and of course (my beloved) Food. Food happens to form an integral part of every individual’s life. Whether it is to celebrate someone’s birthday or to mourn a person’s death, food is the way to do it. It is the best way to console someone, or to win someone’s heart or to cheer up somebody’s mood. The path to a man’s heart, goes through his stomach. Well so does a woman’s.

There is an entire plethora to choose from, and you can’t just have one. The creamy Italian pasta is just as sumptuous as the hot Thai curry.  We can’t over rule the Japanese Sushi for the Singaporean noodles or the spicy Indian Biriyani, for the love of Pizza. It is not fair for the fabulous platter of sea food from Spain to undermine the beauty of the French cuisine which is incomplete without bread, wine and cheese. The blanched vegetables with delicately smashed potatoes or the perfectly baked beans cannot negate the innate craving that we possess for the calorie-king chocolate truffle cake. The desserts will always leave you in a state of immense confusion. Why? Because isn’t is just impossible to choose between the heavenly chocolate waffles dipped in maple syrup and the orgasmic Belgian dark chocolate ice cream.

Fortunately, in India we have the best of both worlds. Being a cosmopolitan country, the Indian cuisine has been invaded upon and tampered with for many a year by all the rulers who ruled over this kingdom. The British put an end to this for about 200 years and introduced us to the western culture, along with which came their kind of food. And today India serves the world’s best cuisines. But along with that, it has a wide range of authentic dishes as well.

It is a feast for the pork lovers. The Smoked Pork in Andhra Pradesh and the Pandi Curry from Karnataka is a must try. The Irachi Ishtu, an authentic Kerelean dish is one for the meaty people. It’s a stew made with chicken, beef or lamb. And I am rest assured, you can’t just have one bowl of it. The LucknowiGulwati’ kebab is to kill for. The lip smacking daab chingri or the shorshe ilish or the ‘gurer rosogolla’ comes from the ‘City of Joy’, Kolkata. The vegetarians have a wide variety to choose from as well. The multigrain Thalipeeth from Maharashtra has a spectrum of flavors in it. Rugda, a kind of mushroom which is specific to the interiors of Jharkhand is another thing one shouldn’t miss out on. The MakkiRoti and SarsonSaag from Punjab will not allow you to stop and when you finally do you will not be able to stop licking your fingers. The street foods in India are to die for as well. The pav bhaji in Mumbai, the golgappa in Delhi, the curd rice down south and the chicken roll in Kolkata are pocket friendly, filling enough and perfectly healthy.

FoodForPeace

Food is the one solution to all problems. A full square meal can solve problems and quarrels all over the world. It dissolves boundaries and spreads love. And in India we can find the taste of the whole wide world in one country. I bet, it’ll take a lifetime for anybody to taste all of them. And another one to decide which one is their personal favorite. They will be spoilt for choice and that is an epitome of an understatement.

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