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:: Food in Ancient India ::
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"The saintly persons get relief from all kinds of sins by partaking the food that has been first offered to gods as sacrifice. But those who prepare food for their selfish ends eat but only sins. "
- Bhagavad Gita [3:13] |
Ancient Indians were good farmers. They cultivated barley, wheat, rice, melons & cotton. They also kept Zebus [a kind of cow], pigs, buffalo & sheep. They lived on the banks of rivers and fish were caught from the river. They ate both vegetarian & non-vegetarian foods. Their main food were products of wheat served with barley or rice along with fish or meat. Each town had a large central storage building for grain. Crops were grown, & the harvest stored centrally, for all in the town to enjoy. Vegetarian food (strictly excluding animal & fish meat) became the norm for as much as half of the population after the coming of Buddhism. In the Gupta Empire, they mostly ate vegetables, cereals, fruits, breads, and drank milk. |
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Despite the many differences of religion, caste, community & class, there are common factors in Indian Cuisine. The basic part of an Indian meal is a grain (rice, wheat, millet or maize, depending on the region). This is usually eaten with dal, vegetables & savory pickles or chutneys. Dishes of fish, meat or poultry may be added. The lentils, vegetables & other dishes will be always be seasoned with spices which add to the taste of the food & also have medicinal values which were recorded in religious texts up to three thousand years ago. |
Spices in Indian History
Black pepper was an important export, even from ancient times. The pepper vine has played a vital role in shaping southern India's history. When the Queen of Sheba made her celebrated entry into Jerusalem, she carried in her train ‘spices, gold, precious stones & the wood of the sandalwood tree' from India. Pliny, the Elder of Rome complained in the first century, that the Roman nobility of his time had depleted the treasury with their greed for pepper, which they imported from India. Even Christopher Columbus made his trip in 1492 to the Americas trying to find a faster way to the Spice Islands, & mistakenly called the islands he reached the "Indies" & the people "Indians". |
Forbidden Food, or Food Taboos in Ancient India
We get a glimpse of forbidden food in the works of Purandaradasa. He condemns the man who eats sour radish & onions. In another context he forbids garlic, nuggekai (drumsticks), kavadekai, mulangi (radishes), gajjari (carrots) & pundipalle. The guggari of avari (beans) on Ekadasi, the fortnightly day of fast, was strictly forbidden. |
Conclusion
Thus we can conclude that our forefathers used to eat plenty of fruits, green vegetables & salads & were aware of their high nutritive values. The use of digestive spices such as green ginger & pepper were very significant. The practice of eating rice & soup in the beginning, sweetmeats in the middle & milk products in the end has set such a healthy convention that it has continued even to the present day. |
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