I strongly believe that every meal has a story.
These are some thoughts sparked off by today’s lunch:
1. The percentage of meat/fish eaters in India is higher than those who are vegetarians. Vegans are minimal at this point.
2. Fish/ meat consumption is not a daily affair. Affordability, terroir, weather, age etc play a part. As do periods of fasting observed by certain religions.
3. Meat/fish do not dominate a meal. Grains, millets, pulses, vegetables, dairy (curd) are usually present. This reduces the proportion of fish/meat in a meal.
4. We had fish/ egg daily in kolkata. Meat (chicken in our case) was left for weekends or special occasions. This was not so for K & me when we set up house. Vegetables have made an appearance in our diet, & meals which do not feature fish/ meat, as we grow older.
5. Koshimbir, kachumber, raita etc… salads exist in India. They are made with locally grown produce. Not lettuce, avocado etc. Tomatoes & chillies were once not native to India. It’s hard to predict the future.
6. The saucer & bowls in the picture were bought by my grandparents after they got married & were kept for special guests. In recent times didu took them out when I visited her. She’d serve lunch/ snack and say, ebar chhobi tolo. Take your pictures now. She’s passed them on to me. She felt that I’d value them. She was right. I used the table mat K recently got me. She knows that I love dinnerware. My mum gave us some of our cups & saucers. We use them when we have espressos. My parents brought them back from Iran during the war. Some of these didn’t survive our house help in Mumbai!
7. I believe in minimalism when it comes to food plating, food photography…or even life. You keep something only if it has a role to play, not otherwise.Writing in Instagram (with its word limit), instead of the blog, has taught me the merits of brevity.
8. Art is subjective, it’s fine if you belong to the tweezer & piping bag school. No skin off my teeth.
9. Please remind me to teach our cooks how to make vegetables without using ‘all the oils of Arabia’, with apologies to the bard. The pumpkin was swimming in oil. Unlike in undhiyus or niharis, oil added nothing to the dish.
What is your Sunday lunch story?
