Food Culture: North Indian Cuisine, Hindu - Essay Example

North Indian Cuisine (Food Culture) My interview with Divya Aggarwal provided me with great insight into North Indian Hindu food culture and cuisine. Divya Aggarwal is a 23 year old Hindu girl from North India. She was born in New Delhi. She immigrated to the United States of America with her parents at a very young age. Being from a family that is North Indian and Hindu, and having parents who cook Indian food, Indian cuisine is an integral part of Divya’s life. Thus, she is also very familiar with the many unique aspects of her food culture and cuisine. According to Divya, food plays a huge role in North Indian culture. The women in the Indian families are expected to learn to cook Indian food at a very young age. Since Divya was mostly raised in America, she never ended up learning how to cook Indian food when she was younger. However, as she is deeply interested in carrying forward the food culture and cuisine she cares about so much, Divya would still like to learn how to cook Indian dishes. She is doing her best to put in more conscious effort to learn to learn how to cook Indian food. As per Divya, Indian families eat three meals a day including: breakfast, lunch and dinner. This is different from Saudi families who skip breakfast. Breakfast is an important meal as it prepares one for the day ahead. Many Indians prefer a heavy breakfast that comprises of Indian bread as well as the leftover curries and lentils from the previous night’s dinner. Some Indians, however, do opt for a lighter breakfast that comprises of toast with butter, cereal, or lentils with chapatti (a type of Indian bread). The North Indian lunch also happens to be light, much like the breakfast. According to Divya, dinner happens to be the most important meal for North Indian families as it is generally the time when all the family members get to eat together. As per Divya, in America her family does not get much time to eat together because all of them have different times schedules. Still they do their best to eat together, whenever they can. Thus, North Indian food culture does have a social aspect to it. Divya revealed that Dinner also happens to be the most elaborate meal comprising of rice, different types of Indian breads (like chapatti, naan, and paratha), lentils (called ‘dal’ in Hindi), curry, mixed vegetable (called ‘sabzi’), and yogurt. Divya stated that Basmati rice, a type of white rice, and Indian breads tend to be the staples in North Indian cuisine. She also stated that spices constitute an essential ingredient in Indian food. Many spices like turmeric are commonly used in North Indian cuisine (Albala, 2011, p. 190). Divya also mentioned that these spices have been found to have antioxidant properties, and thus are beneficial for health. Additionally, North Indian cuisine includes an array of comfort foods and many types of sweets and desserts like barfi (Indian fudge), and gulab jamun (an Indian doughnut) (Albala, 2011, p. 299). There are also savory comfort foods like samosas, which are essentially fried dough pouches filled with potatoes and vegetables (Albala, 2011, p. 82). Indian sweets and desserts, which are sugary and mushy, are almost always made for Hindu weddings and festivals like Diwali (which is the Hindu New Year). Indians also offer sweets to their deities during the special Hindu prayers. Indian food culture overall is actually is very diverse throughout the country. As per Divya, while Indian cuisine could be divided into two broad categories: North Indian and South Indian foods, several North Indian states also have their own special cuisines. For example, there is ‘Punjabi’ food from the state of Punjab, and ‘Gujrati’ food from the state of Gujarat. In the coastal areas of India, fish and other sea food are commonly consumed. However, being land locked, North Indians do not have easy access to fish. In South India dosas (Indian crepes) are primarily consumed. Coconuts, however, have significant importance throughout the country as they are used in the prayers and ceremonies of Hindus. Divya mentioned that most Indians follow the Hindu religion. She told me that Hindu religion is not very restrictive with regards to practices. The one exception, however, is for the consumption of beef. Hindus do not eat beef as the cow is considered to be a sacred animal in the Hindu culture (Albala, 2011, p. 95). Hindus believe that cow is sacred because it provides the people with milk. Even fast food chains like McDonalds have adapted to the Hindu religious preferences by omitting beef from their products and instead using more chicken in the burgers they sell in India (Paarlberg, 2010, p. 138). Divya also mentioned that North Indian and Hindu food culture happen to be oriented more towards vegetarianism. Hindus are not particularly fond of red meats, and even those Hindus who happen to be non-vegetarian prefer to consume chicken. Divya expressed deep concern for the many diet related health issues facing the Indian population today. She said that many Indians are becoming obese at a very young age (Gluckman & Hanson, 2006, p. 119). She also mentioned that India is rapidly becoming the country the greatest incidence of diabetes (Gluckman & Hanson, 2006, p. 119). As per Divya, the primary culprit behind these health issues appears to be the excessive use of white rice, refined flours, sugar, and oil in traditional North Indian dishes. She did however also state that there are many healthy aspects of North Indian meals such as the significant use of lentils, beans and vegetables. Thus, Divya believes that Indians do not need to do much to make their food healthy. All that is required are slight changes to the traditional dishes. For example, using brown rice instead of white rice and whole wheat flours instead of refined flours. She also recommended an increase in overall consumption of complex carbohydrates amongst Indians, and a reduction in the amount of oil used in cooking. Divya believes that the Indian food served in the restaurants in New York is more ‘Americanized’ in that it is prepared to suit the tastes of non-Indians. She has also found the portion sizes to be greater, and the food to feel much ‘heavier’ as compared to the food cooked by her mother at home. Divya feels that the Indian food prepared at home by her mother seems healthier. She told me that in India people often ate their food in ‘thalis’, which are rimmed metal plates with small metal containers. This plate design helped them manage their portions. However, Indians living in both India and America have started to use bigger ceramic or porcelain plates traditionally used by non-Indians. Thus, as a result, Indians have started eating much more, and that is causing many of the diet related health issues the population is facing today. It was also interesting to learn from Divya that in India women does most of the cooking for the family. This is also true for Indian women who work outside the home. Divya acknowledge, however, that among Indian families living in the United States, men will also cook. She mentioned that her father knows how to cook many Indian delicacies and that she has learnt much cooking from him. Divya told me that when her parents first moved to the United States it was very difficult for them to cook the Indian food in America because the necessary ingredients were not easily available. However, with the proliferation of Indian grocery stores in the U.S. today, it is now very easy to get these special ingredients. Divya said that North Indian cuisine relies on simple cooking techniques. Rice is mostly boiled, and the preparation of bread involves making the dough and then rolling it into the right shape. ‘Roti’ happens to be an Indian bread that is very easy to make. There are other Indian breads that are thicker and heavier like naans, parathas, and bhaturas which require more time and effort to make. According to Divya, the way Indian food is cooked in India seems to be different from the way it is cooked here, primarily because each country uses different stoves and kitchen equipment to prepare the foods. Divya also mentioned that here in the United States Indian food culture has incorporated many local elements. For instance, Divya and her family will eat Western bread with Indian lentils and sabzi and sometimes make sandwiches using the Indian vegetables and stuffing. Loaf bread, like we eat here in America, is readily available everywhere in India, and is now commonly eaten there. It was really interesting to learn that India was once a British colony and so Indian cuisine was also influenced by British food culture (Albala, 2011). She also shared that Chicken Tikka Masala, a popular item considered to be an Indian dish, was actually invented by Indians living in the United Kingdom. Divya was happy that Indian food was becoming very popular in the United States. Many of her American friends really enjoy Indian food and often ask her to make it for them. However, she also said that Indian food can be very aromatic and not all people can tolerate the smell of the food. Divya’s favorite aspects of North Indian foods are their spicy flavor, uniqueness, and delicious taste. She did mention, however, that having been raised in America; she still has not got used to the spiciness of North Indian food, and prefers her food to be milder. Furthermore, although she acknowledged the fact that they do make the food taste better, she also dislikes the excessive use of oils and fats in the preparation of the dishes. As a future nutrition professional, this interview helped me appreciate and respect the fact that food culture of a particular community is influenced and shaped by a variety of religious, geographic, cultural, and demographic factors. Thus, when helping an individual make healthy dietary choices, it is important to consider that individual’s food culture. It was also very nice to know that the younger generation, across a variety of cultures, is becoming more health conscious. Young individuals are learning that they can improve the nutritional quality of their culture’s cuisine by making simple changes. This interview also added to my overall cultural literacy and enhanced my knowledge and understanding of North Indian and Hindu food culture. In conclusion, my interview with Divya Aggarwal was a very insightful experience that both enhanced my knowledge and broadened my understanding of cultural awareness. References Albala, K. (Ed.). (2011). Food Cultures of the World Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood. Gluckman, P., & Hanson, M. (2006). Mismatch: Why Our World no Longer Fits Our Bodies. New York: Oxford University Press. Paarlberg, R. (2010). Food Politics: What Everyone Needs to Know. New York: Oxford University Press. Read More