New Delhi: Over the past decade, faster living and a downturn in the economy have impacted the culinary patterns, taste preferences and nutritional diversity of the Indian diet. And chefs, farmers and experts especially point out that consumers also have a responsibility to be receptive, introspective, and action-oriented in order to revive desi vegetables. We’ve been wired to crave convenience when we crave nutritious and better food,” thinks chef Zacharias, and hopes these behaviors aren’t learned.
One post-pandemic concern is how socioeconomic constraints are biasing diets, especially for people with limited access to nutritious agricultural products. “How can you rationalize the argument for making more vegetables part of your diet?” says Pushpesh Pant, Ph.D., a noted food historian. “Until as recently as 30 years ago, 5 rupees would buy you 5 kilos of fresh green peas. Today the price is over $100. But what are low-income people doing? His solution is the option of transporting vegetables to central locations, such as Chandigarh’s farmer Mandis and cooperatives.
The solution is to support farmers, cut out middlemen and encourage fair trade. And this model is being considered all over the country. For example, Spudnik Farms, a network of Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms, offers pesticide-free organic fruits and vegetables to Bangalore consumers through a subscription model.
“Our model has gained popularity, especially during the last two years of the pandemic. It is convenient and allows people to consume responsibly,” explains founder Sumeet Kaur. This trend was also validated in the Godrej Food Trends Report 2022, which showed that 34.9% of his experts chose to subscribe to meals from trusted sources.
Indian culinary culture has its roots in eating leaves in that very spirit. Roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits, pods, and seeds are all consumed throughout the plant’s life cycle. The skins and stems that would otherwise be thrown away are also used. And what you can’t eat becomes compost in your garden. In fact, his 36.5% of food experts in Godrej Food Trends Report 2022 favor lean cooking.
Interestingly, flowers such as squash and onions, neem, tamarind, kafnal and bananas are rarely mentioned, although some are eaten for their taste and others for their nutritional value. .
“In the Northeast, we eat a lot of flowers,” says Gitika Saikia, an Assamese home chef who pioneered the field by incorporating indigenous plants into pop-up menus almost a decade ago. “In Assam, Indian sorrel and roselle flowers (Tenga Mora) are used to sour fish he curries. In Manipur, mustard flowers are made into a bitter broth and consumed for their medicinal properties.”
40% of food experts in the Godrej Food Trends Report 2022 predict plant-based menus will go mainstream.
Surplus produce is dried, pickled, preserved, or fermented based on climate. Drying vegetables is a common practice in many parts. “100 years ago, the monsoons were unpredictable, so people were always prepared. Like green leafy vegetables, some were ground into powder and cooked.When it gets expensive, use rice water instead of dal,” says Shwetha Mohapatra, creative director and food writer. I will tell you.
“In Chhattisgarh, sukhsisag was traditionally dried in the winter. We were drying things out,” recalls Garima Tiwari, a local food historian. In addition, drying changes the texture and flavor of vegetables, adding a new category to the vegetable repertoire. Dried vegetables have a cult-like following from his HokhSyun in Kashmir, Sukhsa in Uttarakhand, Ker Sangri in Rajasthan to Vathals in the south.
