On the day I received my copy of First Food: A Taste of India’s Diversity, I read it from start to finish in a couple of hours. In its 160-odd pages of text and pictures, it contains dozens of short essays, and about a 100 recipes, covering everything from aegle marmelos (the fruit better known as bael or wood apple or stone apple) to zea mays (aka corn).
First Food has been published by the research and advocacy organisation Centre for Science and Environment, in association with its fortnightly science and environment magazine, Down To Earth. Along with essays and recipes, the book contains narrative stories about edible plants (fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, etc.) that are native to India but have been threatened or neglected by us. “It is about linking our food with our culture and its historical importance,” says Vibha Varshney, the co-editor of the book, and the science editor of Down To Earth. “Most of these foods are part of our biodiversity, which is getting lost.”
The idea for First Food crystallised only in 2010, but some of the pieces in it date back to 2002, the year that Down To Earth started a food section that would feature articles about India’s edible biodiversity. The book is a collection of features from the magazine. Through them we learn that many of our everyday foods have surprising qualities. For instance, drumstick seeds have the inherent ability to purify water; and guar gum, which comes from gavar beans, is used as a stabiliser in ice cream. We also come to know about edibles rarely, if ever, found in Mumbai markets, such as jute leaves, bhangjeera seed (which is related to Japanese shiso), and omavalli or Indian borage plants.
Most of the essays centre on one plant and provide a vast primer to it, touching upon its history, place of origin, mythology and lore, regions of cultivation, medicinal uses, nutritional value, botanical structure, and its names in various languages. They also list the chemical compounds contained within the plant, and describe the ways in which different communities prepare it. There is of course a description of its flavour, and a simple recipe. Though it sounds terribly dry, by the end of the book I was hungry, curious, and in the mood for a much more adventurous next meal. I also had a page full of notes that will lead to many, many Google searches over the next few weeks.
The narrative essays, on the other hand, talk about dying traditions and techniques through personal stories. My favourite one is written by Bharat Lal Seth, in which he talks about the bacterial component of his grandmother’s dowry. At the time of her daughter’s wedding, Seth’s great-grandmother carefully dipped a piece of muslin in yoghurt, put it out to dry and wrapped it in paper before giving it to her. Perhaps, she felt it was the best way to pass on the family’s (yoghurt) culture to the next generation.
Even for people who are not interested in biodiversity or in fascinating trivia about India’s edible plants, First Food makes for an excellent recipe book. Varshney said that the book is, by design, organised like a menu card. Its sections are titled loosely after courses, or the elements of a thali – breakfast and snacks, meals, chutneys and pickles, beverages, and sweets. The recipes are challenging, not because they require expert kitchen skills, but because of the effort required to procure the ingredients.
While the book doesn’t list any stores, it specifies the regions in which these plants grow, so it seems like the best way to get hold of the ingredients is to find a supplier in those places, or to visit them yourself. Some of the most intriguing dishes listed are the savoury laddoos made with mahua flowers, and a chutney made with bhang seeds, apricots, mint and coriander – both items that can be made with just one turn of the wrist to start the grinder. “The beauty of rural Indian cooking is that it is very simple,” says Varshney. “We’ve started eating very commercially processed food. We wanted to show that making breakfast cereal out of makhana is as simple as opening a packet of cornflakes.”
First Food: A Taste of India’s Diversity, edited by Sunita Narain and Vibha Varshney, is available online at Cseindia.org for Rs950.