Srishti Khurana – Itisaras

A plate full of Tawang: the land of the Monpas

October 16, 2020October 16, 2020 Srishti Khurana 0 Comments 2nd largest monastery, 6th Dalai Lama, beverage, Bhutan, border town, Buddhist, butter tea, chamin, Chhang, chillies, Coffee, cold climate, cultural identity, fermented cheese, matrilineal society, momo, Monpa Tribe, Nabaneeta Dev Sen, non-vegetarians, nutrition, packaged produce, pastureland, Raksi, salt tea, staple, Tawang, Thukpa, Tibet, Tourism, traditional food, unity in diversity, versatile cuisine, water spinach, yak butter, yak husbandry

The immense diversity in India often renders us oblivious to the variegated staple cuisine from different regions of India itself, Tawang being one of them. Yes, you read it right; Tawang is an Indian town with a versatile cuisine which not only offers delicious flavours but is cooked with regards to the lifestyle of the region. Yet, changing times calls for changing landscapes.

Culture

Colonial influence on Indian cuisine: Birth of Anglo-Indian

October 1, 2020October 1, 2020 Srishti Khurana 0 Comments Anglo-Indian, Arjun Appadurai, BBC Food, bread, British empire, Chef Bridget White Kumar, chefs, Coffee House, colonial, cooks, Corvus Blue, creativity, cuisine, Culture, curry, Dean Mahomet, East India Company, English cuisine, European ingredients, flavour, food, food scientist, French, Hindostanee, historical inventions, Indian cuisine, Indian flavour, ingredients, Kantha Shelke, Keith Floyd, khansama, kitchens, local, Mughal empire, mughlai, Portuguese, Queen Victoria, Rick Stein, spices

Cookbooks tell unusual cultural tales, says Arjun Appadurai, a sociocultural anthropologist. They became the way India was assimilated into the empire. Recipes were formulated which had no significance in an Indian kitchen and thus, the authenticity of the cuisine was compromised.

History

Sugar: India’s white gold

September 25, 2020September 25, 2020 Srishti Khurana 1 Comment Aska, candy, Chinese businessman, Chinni, Christopher Columbus, commodity, crystalized sugar, delicious, desserts, elixir, essential food ingredient, expensive, fodder, Gupta Dynasty, Gur, havan, jalebis, Napoleon, New Guinea, orissa, placebo effect, placebo therapy, plantations, rare, rasgullas, religious offerings, shakar, South America, sugar, sugar blockade, sugar medicine, sugar plant, sugar tablets, sugarcane, sweet poison, sweet tooth, sweets, table sugar, West Indies, white gold, Yang Daijing

Sugar being an essential condiment in our daily lives has a layered history.It is the only commodity to have a revolution to its name. From being considered as precious as gold and an effective medicine, it has now been tagged as the “sweet poison” which is a bit too accessible.

Culture

Chhena Poda: The Indian cheesecake

July 20, 2020July 20, 2020 Srishti Khurana 1 Comment Abinas Nayak, burnt, charcoal, cheesecake, chhena, chhenapoda, cooking, culinary skills, dried fruits, geographical indication, Heena Punwani, Indian desserts, ingredients, La Vina’s Basque Cheesecake, MasterChef India, Odisha, rosogulla, sweet, sweet cheese, The Bombay Canteen, West Bengal

TweetShareSharePin0 SharesBy Srishti Khurana The long-drawn battle between Odisha and West Bengal contending Rosogulla’s origin, finally came to an end

Culture

The Korean connection

May 21, 2020May 26, 2020 Srishti Khurana 3 Comments Ayodhya, Ayuta, Bin dae duk, board games, Culture, diversity, Dravadian, dravido-koreanic language, fish, food, Gautam Pal, Gimhae, hallyu wave, Heo Hwang-ok, Homer B. Hulbert, K-pop, Karak clan, Kim Jung-sook, King Kim Suro, Korean dramas, Korean music, Kyugsoo Kim, language, Mahabalipuram, Manipur, mini Korea, Pachisi, Padmashree Kim Yang-shikh, Pesarattu, Princess Suriratna, Queen Heo Park, Rabindranath Tagore, Republic of Korea, Sarang, Tamil, twin fish, Yut

The richness of global cultural diversity is not restricted to individual countries but has spread across borders. Currently, the Korean culture is the talk of the town. Interestingly, India has its history intertwined with this culture since time immemorial. So this World Day of Cultural Diversity, let’s discover what connects us with the Republic of Korea celebrating the intercultural dialogue.

Click on the link below and be taken by surprise!