Indian Food

I am a self-certified foodie. I love eating different kinds of food and am always game to try new things.

I grew up in a vegetarian household. Although I do not mind tasting a little bit of meat, my upbringing has steered me towards all things vegetarian. The notable exception to being termed a pure vegetarian, is my fondness for eggs and eggs-based preparations.

Being born in a Tamil Brahmin family in the state of Gujarat, my food preferences have been a mix of what would be termed as South Indian and Gujarati cuisine.

It is tough for me to list any one particular cuisine as my favourite. 

The word Punjabi food would invoke the imagery of a variety of breads like Naans, Parathas and Kulchas accompanies by a gravy-based preparations including seasonal vegetables and Paneer. 

Rice was supposed to be a South Indian thing, while Punjabi food was supposed to star wheat, in the form of breads.

Punjabi food was supposed to include a whole lot meat, in the form of chicken. Onions and Garlic were supposed to be a must in the preparation of gravies.

Boy Oh Boy! Was I mistaken! I was pleasantly surprised to know that the percentage of population that was vegetarian, was way higher in the Northern parts of India, than in the Southern regions.

It was only after I grew up and was exposed to Punjabi home style food, that I understood that the (Gujarat based) restaurant versions of Punjabi food (full of Paneer, cream, gravies and spices) did not do justice to the rich and wholesome world of Punjabi food.

Today, for me, Punjabi food is all about fresh vegetables, lentils (especially Rajma, Chhole and Chana), dairy products (Paneer, Milk, Curds, Cream), Rice and of course breads (Naans, Kulchas, Parathas) and more.

I have grown to live a good Rajma Chawal, Kadhi Chawal, Chhole Chawal, Dal Makhani, Tadke wala Dal and more.

Naans and Kulchas can have various stuffing. The Gujarat version of Kulcha is closer to a Naan, while an Amritsari Kulcha is more of what I would expect from a Bakery Bread. A lachcha paratha or a roomali roti (are Roomali rotis, even Punjabi?) are an entirely new avenue of culinary delight. And I could compose odes to the beauty of a fluffy, hot bhatura with a scrumptious bowl of Chhole.

Gujarati cuisine is not sweet. Let’s get that part straight. While the typical Gujarati dal does have sweetness, it is not the underlying theme of every Gujarati food preparation.

One of my pet peeves about Gujarati food, is the tendency of non-Gujaratis to use the term “Khaman Dhokla” for a single food item. A Khaman is way different than a Dhokla! And you haven’t even heard about the Idada.

Kathiyawadi food (from the region of Kathiyawad, in Gujarat) is an entirely different ball game. The predominance of spice (through chillies and garlic) clearly negates the concept of “Gujarati food is too sweet!”

Coming to South Indian food, it is not all about Idli, Dosa and Vada. Not all South Indian eat rice and fish in all their meals. 

Gujarati would typically assume that all South Indians would typically eat fish and rice, all day, on banana leaves!

While non vegetarian food is indeed prevalent to a much larger extent among the Southern Population than other regions of India, my family was Pure Veg!

In fact, in recent times, Gujarati and Punjabis would probably be consuming more rice in a week, than I do.

Although, I must confess, my dad’s preference (As is common with a lot of older men from South) for a satisfying bowl of curd rice on a regular basis, does give some credence to the stereotype that Indian have for Madrasis and Rice.

A typical Tam-Brahm plate is remarkable different from a Kerala Sadhya. Mangalorean cuisine is different from Chettinad food, which in turn is distinct from Andhra food.

My limited interaction with other cuisines have been positive enough to motivate me to try more.

Be it that plate of Siddu that I enjoyed with a bunch of school group during our reunion trip to Manali, or the delicious Aloo Tikkis and Momo that I wolfed down on the street of Delhi; India has a lot to offer to cater to all kinds of food preferences.

Vocabulary

Do you ever feel dumb when you hear people use certain words and you do not know the meaning of the same?

Do you feel impressed by those who use hi-fi words in their speech?

Have you every described someone’s language as being Shashi Tharooresque?

If yes, then here’s my gyaan on the topic of vocabulary.

The knowledge of words is an integral part of building a rich communication skill. While school education adds basic words needed for simple communication, it takes a little bit of extra effort to build a rich repertoire of hi-fi words that can make you seem erudite.

Let’s start this with my favourite example: Do you know the meaning of the word “SOMNAMBULIST”?

If yes, great! You know a word that is not very common. However, if you are among those who do not know the meaning of this word, do not despair. There is an easy way to try and find out the meaning of the word, using our past knowledge.

Let’s break down this word in to smaller ones. The easiest thing to do is focus on the end of the word: IST. Think of words that end with IST – Cyclist, Pianist, Scientists, Artist, … What is common to all these words? They all denote a person who does somethings. A cyclist cycles. A pianist plays the piano. A scientist works with science. An artist works in art. So, there is a very high chance that the word SOMNAMBULIST, refers to a person who has something to do with “SOMNAMBUL”, whatever that is.

Okay, now let’s take the remaining part of the word and split it further. We could focus on SOMN and AMBUL.

AMBUL reminds us of ambulance. You may also come up with words like amble, ambulatory etc. All these words have something to do with walking. An ambulance is called when the patient cannot walk on his own, right?

SOMN may remind you of the word INSOMNIA – sleeplessness. The prefix IN, often denotes the negative. Invisible = not visible. Invertebrate – without a vertebra. Inorganic = Not organic. So, in the word INSOMNIA, (which means sleeplessness), if IN is the negation, then SOMN probably means sleep.

So, let’s put the parts together. 

SOMN = Sleep

AMBUL = Walk

IST = Person who does the former

So, SOMNAMBULIST could probably mean A PERSON WHO WALKS IN SLEEP.

Isn’t that interesting! Using our knowledge of common words, we can try and identify the meaning of new words. 

Many words are called root words which are derived from other languages. For example, the root words aqua and hydra refer to water and the word phobia means fear. So, hydrophobia could mean fear of water. 

Remembering root words like geo/terra (Earth), aero (air), pyro (fire), litho (rock), therma (heat), astra (star), cosmos (world), andro (male), gyna (female), derma (skin), cardio (heart), pulmonary (lung), gastro (stomach), neuro (brain), renal (kidney), uni/mono (one), duo/di/bi (two), tri (three), tetra (four), deca (ten), micro (small), macro (big), sub (below), ultra (more), hyper (more than), hypo (less than), trans (across), homo (similar), hetero (different) can help you remember a whole range of words.

e.g. Geothermal imaging, Aerodynamic, Pyromania, Lithograph, Astral projection, Androgynous, Monocle, Bipolar, Tripartite, Tetrahedron, Decade, Microeconomics, Macrocosm, Submarine, Ultramicroscopic, Hypertension, Hypodermic, Transcontinental, Homologous, Heterogenous – can you try and guess their meaning using your knowledge of word roots?

Sometimes, the context in which a particular word is used, may aid us in guessing the meaning of the word.

Do you recall the words REPERTOIRE and ERUDITE, which I used in the beginning of this passage? What do you think that word means?

A repertoire of words could probably mean a collection of words. If using rich words makes you seem ERUDITE, which is desirable, then most probably, the word Erudite, means having great knowledge or learning.

So, focus on splitting large words and their context to try and work out the meaning of new words that you come across.

There are a couple of things that I have found useful in improving my vocabulary. 

1. I read a lot. Reading good writers like Dickens, Hemingway, Forsythe, Sheldon, Wilbur Smith, Jeffrey Archer (to name a few) can expose to rich words. Keeping a reference dictionary (or just an online search these days) is highly recommended. Don’t just let it go, if you come across a new word and are not able to understand it from its contextual usage.
2. Once you have understood a new word, try to use it on a regular basis. Trying to rote learn the meaning of a word is bound to make you forget the word in the long run. However, using the word contextually, helps you retain it for long term.
3. I love playing word games like Scrabble, Crossword Puzzles and the like. Surprisingly, they help me understand and retain a lot of words.

Ultimately, its all about making a smart effort to try and work on improving your vocabulary.

If you consciously make efforts to enrich your vocabulary, there is nothing that can stop you from being the next Shashi Tharoor of your group.