LIFE SCIENCE FOR GENERAL UNDERSTANDING: PLANTS --VI

LIFE SCIENCE FOR GENERAL UNDERSTANDING:      PLANTS --VI

SPICES IN FOOD AS A ROUTINE

Spicy food is typically Indian by our culinary protocol. Generally, food in Europe / USA is said to be free of items like Tamarind, Chillies, Curry leaf, Cumin etc. But our recipe for daily consumption includes Turmeric, Tamarind, black pepper, Curry leaves, cumin seeds, Fenu Greek , Salt and other items like Cinnamon or leaf of Smilax [Brinji].

The lavish use of spices is not advisable, as they tend to trigger irritable behavior and is not good in the long run.

What is important for us to recognize is, limited and rationalistic application of spices by appropriate periodic changes in day to day menu. The suggestion is to sustain ‘moderation’ in approach and application of spices to the advantage of health.

As a matter of fact, our dietary practices as obtaining in India are a matter for deeper scientific assessment, just to understand our culinary evolution. Culinary evolution is an indicator of Evolution of humans in a  geographical territory; we [in India] do not consume anything raw or incompletely cooked. We do not pick items from cold store and right away eat them. Cold storing is just to help the product stay ‘free from’ scope of spoilage in warm humid situations. Neither we are happy to keep things ‘ad infinitum’ under the assurance of storing in a refrigerator.

 Even vegetables are held in refrigeration for just 2 days plus and not far beyond. Such practices have helped our society to ‘prepare fresh food’ everyday, instead of relying much on stored food or ‘tinned food’ popular across Western societies. So much for our food habits which keep our people busy –preparing / eating or both and we have a craving for variety. We are never happy with mere ‘salt –pepper smeared’ surface decoration just for the palate.

Consider how many different food preparations in Rice parade on our Dining tables merely for avoidance of oft-repeated ‘feel’ by sheer looks.  We have the traditional 3 step meal [three course meal sounds baffling]; honestly we have come to equanimity in volume while eating. The first two items that go with rice have the rich tradition of spice- dominant composition ensuring digestion / satiation. The third is a ‘calm down man‘  stuff -the butter milk.

Let not any reader hastily jump into bias that the menu has no place for vegetables. There are a variety of them as boiled garnished seasoned or fried –spiced or the congenially mixed / cooked team of vegetables blended with taste and flavor the two inseparable cousins of south Indian vegetarian diet. The terminal candidate –a sharp shooter ‘the pickle/ ‘pickles’ have a history of a hoary past of a tradition that they are the most authentic examples of ‘natural  preservation’ without resorting to  chemical preservatives like benzoates.

My familiarity [leave alone any false claims of knowledge] of other regional culinary schedules preclude my assertion of their evolutionary progression in the field of Culinary history. But, I am confident that across our country several regional practices of cooking have been perfected so well that there are a variety of delicacies in our great country.

Basically all our food habits/ preparatory schedules have been perfected to pitch on the right model to sustain our health suitable to the climate of the region of our living.  Our ‘surviving through Covid-19’ is proof enough of our immunity substantially strengthened by spices in our daily diet.

We may soon try to figure out the advantages that spices provide us with.

Prof .  K.Raman