As a 6 yrs old kid stuck at home due to various tuitions and lessons, cooking used to be my escape from this chaos. I used to sit on a mat in the kitchen, and my mother questioned me about multiplication table. I remember watching her cook and getting pleasure from it.
Fast forward to 2023 when I’m on the verge of becoming an adult, cooking has now taken the form of an art and meditation for me. Its something I can’t live without, even when my boards are going on now, I can’t resist my temptation to go to the kitchen and prepare a dish. If asked what’s my favourite cuisine, it becomes tricky. I do love Korean, South East Asian and Italian food, but “Mera desh mahan”! Nothing beats Indian cuisine.
Obviously “Mera desh is mahan” because of the spice and various masala in the foods, to be honest I’m actually the best when it comes to Indian cooking only. But “Mera desh is also mahan” due to the diversity in our cuisine. Shukto from Bengal, Pithe from Odisha, Litti Chokha from Bihar, bamboo shoot curry from Assam, Dosa from the south, Naan and Kulcha from the north, Farsan from Gujarat, there’s too many!
But there are some dishes unifying the whole Indian cuisine while bearing different names and preparations across regions. Malpua, also called pua, khichdi (or khichudi as known in Bengali) made with varying cereals, milk tea (our chai) are some of the dishes and beverages weaving a thread of unity even when it comes to our food.
At the end of the day, Indian cuisine too is a reflection of our country India. Just like how India is full of different religions, castes, genders, cultures, traditions, ideologies and is still standing strong after 75 yrs of independence; similarly Indian cuisine is full of various ingredients, flavours, textures and still has been appealing the international audience since centuries. From the blood sausages of the North East to the spicy Kolhapuri chillies of Maharashtra, we are united. Indeed, “Unity in Diversity”!