India should be the food capital of the world. After all, there’s no place in the world with this kind of delicious variety. We don’t just love to eat our food, we think about it, talk about it, even dream about it (two words: butter chicken)!
1. Subtle “Curry” Traits?
2. Agra ka Petha is as old as the Taj Mahal.
No trip to Agra can be complete without two things: Taj Mahal and the famous Agra ka Petha. Turns out - these siblings were born together! Shah Jahan wanted his chefs to invent a unique dessert that was as pure and white as his beloved monument.
Image Credits: Eat Your World
No trip to Agra is complete without its delicious petha!
3. Science says Indian food’s yumminess is in the molecules!
This food fact is beyond cool. Science tells us that food gets its flavour from precise chemical compounds. When these are combined, every dish gets a distinctive taste. Most Western food pairs ingredients that have similar chemical compounds - like asparagus and butter, or white wine and strawberries.
But like our society, our food favours diversity even at the chemical level! Scientists at IIT Jodhpur analyzed the flavour molecules in 2500 recipes of popular Indian food items from all over the country. Turns out, Indian food pairs clashing flavour molecules. That’s what makes it so yummy.
Image Credits: Pxfuel
White wine and strawberries are cool. DESi food is cooler. Science says so!
4. Wheat and rice were not the OG Indian staples. It was barley.
It’s hard to imagine eating anything other than roti-chawal now, but our ancestors actually preferred barley! Today, we use it mostly to make whiskey and beer, but it was the everyday staple of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization. In fact, it’s the only grain mentioned in the Rig Veda. Our ancestors also loved to eat millets like ragi and bajra. You can grab a taste of history with some bajra-based Chakh-Na.
Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons
Our ancestors loved barley. So do we, in liquid form!
5. India is divided by geography, united by dal.
Disappointed by this Indian food fact? Don’t be! Dal is amazing. Indians everywhere, of every religion, creed, or caste, eat dal. It’s mentioned in the Rig Veda and in Buddhist literature, but archaeologists have proof that dal was eaten even before we started recording our history. And of course, we eat it even today. Dal unites Indians across millennia!
Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons
Dal is the great Indian uniter, across geography and centuries!
6. Butter Chicken and Dal Makhni came to India through Partition refugees.
Shocked that butter chicken, dal makhni, and everything made in the famous Punjabi buttery tomato gravy hasn’t existed forever? We were amazed by this food fact too! Kundanlal Gujral, a refugee from Pakistani Punjab opened a restaurant in Delhi called “Moti Mahal”. He invented the famous tomato and butter sauce we now love and used it to serve leftover tandoori chicken. That day, butter chicken was born. This sauce was so marvelous that everything “shahi” in Punjabi food uses it today!
7. Food gives energy - and takes some away.
Feel sleepy after eating lunch? Blame the pranic or "life energy" of the food you eat. The Vedas divide food into three categories - positive, negative, and neutral pranic food. It is said that neutral pranic food like potatoes do nothing but make you lethargic, while negative pranic foods like nervous stimulants and sedatives negatively affect the mind or body.
So it’s best to eat positive pranic foods like lemon, raw and dried fruits, and whole grains. Want to test out this Indian food fact yourself? Try GODESi’s wonderful collection of energizing farm-fresh foods. We know you’ll feel alive!
Image Credits: Akhil Suhas Vallabhaneni
