The relationship between food and religion is a powerful and unifying factor in India’s colourful fabric. The majority of people in the country eat seasonally, locally, and, to a significant part, sustainably because of this cultural diversity and the enjoyment of it. They also love a wide range of flavours and textures.
Ancient scripture texts like the Dharmaśāstras praise both ascetic attitudes to food and aesthetic ways of experiencing it, including being a gourmet and finding joy in it.
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Indian food, irrespective of the religious distinction, has a unique bond with every individual. From elaborative feasts to something as simple as having sweet curd for auspicious beginnings, Indians share a spiritual, cultural, and Karmic connection with food.
The traditional Indian medical systems, Ayurveda (Hindu) and Unani (Muslim) classify the body into three parts based on how it responds to different diets. Our cultural practices highlight a common practice amongst Hindus to offer food articles at temples as a means of divine offering. But, did you know that Parsis, Jews, Muslims and Christians, share similar cultural and spiritual connections with different food articles?
For instance, Parsis begins their breakfast routine with eggs. The community has a strong significant bond with eggs as it represents fresh starts, birth, and fertility. ‘Akuri,’ a popular dish of spicy scrambled eggs, is frequently had for breakfast. The community’s emphasis on development, continuity, and the preservation of its legacy is reflected in the usage of eggs in Parsi cuisine.
Indian food and its mythological connections
Food plays an important role in mythology. Amongst Hindus, it is believed that those who worship Goddess Annapurna are rewarded with rice. It is also a common practice to offer cooked meals, fresh fruits and vegetables and sometimes animals to deities as a means to please them or seek forgiveness.
There is an old tale of Lord Shiva and goddess Parvati engaging in a disagreement over the importance of food. Lord Shiva maintained that all that exists in this world—including the food that humans eat—is simply an illusion or Maya. To counter this stand of Shiva, the goddess Parvati vanishes from the earth. Parvati is the goddess of fertility, nature, and providing nutrition to all beings, and her absence from the universe created turmoil.
The mythological tale states that the absence of the goddess created a famine-like situation on Earth, with no seasons, trees ceased producing fruit and the Earth didn’t produce crops or other plants. Upon realising his error that the world cannot exist without “Prakriti,” or nature, Lord Shiva appears before his wife and begs for sustenance with a bowl. Parvati returns to the world as “Annapurna,” the goddess of food and nourishment.
Then there’s the tale from the Mahabharata when Draupadi and the Pandavas had a difficult time feeding and greeting their guests since they were living in the forest and had no access to food. It is said that Draupadi prayed to the Sun God, and as a result, he gave her the Akshaya Patra, a divine vessel that will always have food in it.
Evoking a tinge of nostalgia with folklore
To those who grew up in a typical Indian household, finding an old recipe book is nothing less than finding a treasure. There is also a sense of nostalgia that hits us hard when we think of a particular dish. Indians have grown up hearing folktales about their favourite food and we carry that influence with us for a lifetime.
Folktales shape our perspective about eating habits. One such folktale is of how Chywanprash or herbal jams came into existence. The name Chywanprash comes from a mythology about two sages who gave an elderly Indian sage named Chywana his youth and vitality back. It’s thought that Chyawan’s premature birth caused several health difficulties for him, including early ageing from tissue deterioration throughout his body.
Even with a king’s protection and an invitation to wed a princess from his realm, the weak sage was unable to wed a young princess since he could not fulfil her expectations. The tale then states that the Ashwini Kumara twins, the royal physicians of Devas during the Vedic period, made a heavenly intervention and relieved the sage of his issue. They developed a formula that, when taken, gave Sage Chaywan back his youth, energy, and vigour.
Then there is another story of the “monkey and the crocodile” from Panchatantra. Wherein a crocodile befriends a monkey that resides in a red rose apple tree. Or the Birbal and the Kichadi story which serves as a moral lesson.
Hidden food gems with lesser-known backstories
There’s a story of an unusual way to make qaliya, a slow-cooked meat meal with turnip, carrot, and radish as seasonal vegetables. The dish is thought to have originated during the era of Muhammad ibn Tughlaq, who moved the Indian capital from Delhi to Daulatabad in 1327. During the mass migration, the recipe of qaliya changed to become a vegetable dish in an attempt to feed a sizable camp.
One of the best-kept secrets in Indian cuisine, saoji food is a real hidden gem. The Saoji community has different origin tales. One set of believers claims that they were a community of weavers who came from Madhya Pradesh to work in the cotton mills in Nagpur. The Saoji Masala was reportedly created by the Saoji women using a combination of thirty-two spices and jute or linseed oil to form a paste. In a different account, it is said the Saojis were a small race of warriors in the Maratha army who evolved a diet high in protein and high in energy to stay fit and powerful throughout protracted combat. They are said to have originated from the confluence of the Maratha empire’s Maharashtra, Andhra, and Karnataka.
An eternal emotional connection
Numerous mythological stories, passages from the Vedic texts, and other oral narrations have influenced our beliefs and our relationship with food. These tales imbue our food with soul and bind us to our ancestry, giving our life a more profound significance.
It’s time to revive the indigenous folktales so that our kids can have more meaningful and profound culinary experiences. We may not have an idea how deeply food has ingrained itself into our minds from a very young age through bedtime stories, rhymes, folktales, parables, and fables.
There are strong links between Indian cuisine and religion, from the communal langar of the Sikhs to the satvik foods and vegetarianism of Hinduism, and from fasting during Ramadan to decadent Christmas feasts. These connections also spread harmony throughout many cultures in addition to reflecting eating patterns. A unique peak into India’s cultural fabric is provided by the interaction between religion and food, which reveals the subtle spiritual meanings that underpin the country’s diverse gastronomic scene.
