Ancient Vegetables: What did Indians Eat Before Colonisation?
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- Опубликовано: 18 дек 2023
- When I posted my Pav Bhaji video( • The Amazing Story of P... ) a while back, I had made this observation that almost every vegetable in the Pav Bhaji was introduced by the Portuguese or the British in the last 150 years. This made a lot of folks wonder in the comments section - Wait, what vegetables did we eat before these plundering Europeans arrived?
Turns out that it’s not an easy question to answer, given the general paucity of documentary evidence (we tended not to write things down in general). While archeologists and food historians have their ways, there are some simple ways in which laypeople like us can try and appreciate what vegetables our ancestors might have eaten:
1. Dishes cooked during Srardha rituals,
2. Dishes cooked in old temples and
3. Food eaten by the poor in remote villages - where older eating practices are more likely to have survived.
In this video, I will just focus on 1 - what is cooked by my family once a year in memory of our ancestors. As with anything to do with Indian food, this is one anecdotal example in a giant country with a million different cuisines and eating habits. But it’s one tiny window into the past in terms of what vegetables might have been available before colonization.
Please note: The vegetables likely varied tremendously by region and you can also appropriately add local sources of protein - such as fish, poultry, goats, or cattle as appropriate
Odias know very well what India ate before colonisation. It's funny that other indians are mindblown that potatoes, tomato, chilli, cauliflower etc are "foreign" veggies
Then What did odia people eat?
Yeah, but to be fair, history of food isn't something we are taught in school as well
What did odians eat ?
Odias ate only locally grown Indian veggies .
You are absolutely wrong
Can you do a longer episode on this? Maybe going in detail how the pre colonisation food tradition looked like? Would appreciate a lot! also what foods have remained unchanged in our culture :)
This video was a clickbait, just to get views.
It wasn’t about what we ate pre-colonization but what we didn’t eat, which was an easier answer.
Will do! What we ate across India is a really hard question to answer given the huge amount of regional variation
@@krishashok yes I can imagine, but maybe we can start in Punjab first? Since it's my state ;)
Actually, we didn't research in that topic. Food historians, anthropologists and much more disciplines might need to work this question. But as a society we don't value these kinds of quests. So there will be no funds to such research. There is no scientific temper to our academics as well.
@@GurparasSainiI'm from Ganganagar, bordering southern Punjab. This region is arid, my mom tells me what they used to eat.
Basically anything that could be dried up and stored, like kachri (cucumis pubescens), snap melon (known as "kakario" in my language) and Sangari (fruit of the Khejri tree), Kair (capparis decidua), and all kinds of lentils.
Most of the weird vegetables I mentioned grow during the monsoon, and in the winter, they ate those fresh while in the season, and dried and stored them for the summer. We still use this method, storing vegetables for the summer when we want to cook the dried veggies we just boil them in water and they absorb water and become as if they were fresh.
As sweets they used to eat Lapsi (Dalia with jaggery), mithi kadhi (boiled wheat flour with jaggery) and halwa.
They ate Bajra mostly as it grows easily around here. That's it.
We Odias have a whole array of Vegetarian food called Habisarna( which doesn't use a single piece of foreign vegetable, its said in our culture) and we Odias still eat it regularly as temple food. Kartika month is the holiest month for Odias( just like Ashwin is for North Indians) and we all completely leave non-veg for the entire month compulsorily, specifically gorging on these foods. Our grandparents used to say, these all foreign vegetables are brought by invaders to the land, so they are linked with loads of lives being sacrificed with them. But, basically such racism helped in preserving our culture. These all diet is also inscribed in 1700 year old books called Madaļa Panjis( in Old Odia and Sanskrit).
So for a start, we Odias have 3 food courses mainly, the extremely chaste Habisarna/Belikiya( which totally detests foreign influence), Neetiya Nirainsaw( which allows foreign vegetables to an extent, but no non-veg item, neetiya means Daily in Odia), Neetiya ainsaw( which allows non-veg and veggies, no restrictions). We Odias eat lots of veggies and meat like Duck, mutton, eggs, seafood, fishes etc, all around the year. The restrictions also apply on spices too( like Cloves are considered Niramisa or veg, but not Habisarna because it's not native to Odisha). All are cooked in Mustard oil mainly, sometimes Ground nut traditionally in Odisha.
Elephant apple( Ou in Odia) is one of the most favorite vegetable used among Odias. I seldom see that in other states, even the variety of millets in Odisha( Southerners will get it) . Even, spinach is not used in Habisarna, because it's supposed to come from Persia or some middle-east for instance.
But, it is such, i see comments comparing Keraliyaw Sadya with Habisarna, please don't 🙏 compare. Sadya uses vegetables indiscriminately even according to Odia standards, spinach is used for instance. It also uses cloves, which are otherwise forbidden in traditional Odia Habisarna course. Jagannath temple Bhoga aka Abadha is a great example, still continuing for millenia of what a Habisarna tastes like.
Why are you using mobile phone?
This is soooo interesting! Thanks for sharing
You repeated neetiya niramisa🥺, jus letting ya know
Good information shared.
Don't mix Brahman tradition with odia tradition
In the Bengali dialect we speak, we call tomatoes as "bilati begun" which translates to foreign brinjal. In Assamese too tomato is referred to as bilahi.
I'm Assamese and I never knew that's how bilahi got its name!😮
@@faehiir even I am not 100% sure of the Assamese one. I think it refers to the same as it sounds similar. But I am sure of the Bengali one as have heard about it from my parents.
Same in odisha we call tomatoes, bilati baigana means foreign brinjal
We Jharkhand dhanbad call it Biloti, I guess from bilati and from biliati.
The Urdu word Vilaayati = Foreign/ has been adopted by East Indian people who cannot pronounce the letter "V". @@rajendradangi2585
Take a visit of Puri Jagannath temple and eat Mahaprasad. All of those items are made from local grown produce, no foreign veg. Quite a knowledge gaining trip that would be.
That would be very restricted diet. I love to eat and thankful that we don't live in those times.
@@TUAREGZEPHYRthen you don't know anything about it. 56 different dishes and that's only from one temple. Does that sound restricted to you ?
@@TUAREGZEPHYR i have tasted the mahaprasadam & its the best taste of any niramis item i've ever eaten
@@TUAREGZEPHYR bandar kya jane adarak ki swad 😂
@@sambit_sahooYes bhi kya jaane ki wo temple nahi Buddhist math tha, jise kabja karke pakhandiyo na apna bna liya.
My great grand mom was a farmer from AP born in 1890 lived for 95 years used to say they used to eat rice during Dussehra and Pongal festivals which was hand pounded and rest of the time jowar cooked like rice. Non veg was eaten twice in year. Sweets with jaggery only as there was no sugar.
Were you able to find out about any vegetables?
All goodies. Jowar is better than rice and jaggery is little better than sugar.
Somehow people were blindsided by food corporations to think the garbage is better for them.
I fondly remember her saying they used to eat elephant foot yam, sweet potatoes, bitterguard, bottle guard,brinjal, rigidguard, beans, raw babana raised in back yard cooked with tamarind and jaggery mix curry we call it pulusu in Telugu. Potatoes and egg curry when there were guests at home.
Most of the food is grown in back yard of house with organic manure. Eggs from pasteurized hens. Still that custom is going on.
For sale in city for commercial purpose now they are using pesticides.
@@darapudeepthi greed is hell of a drug
Thanks you! That is good to know@@darapudeepthi
This is the reason most of the Vaishnava n Vaikhanasa temples of South India like Tirumala do not use chillies etc in their prasadams as they follow the prasadam recipes as prescribed by the Paancha raatra aagamas.
With respect, the prasadams are not good in taste
@@kumaragurusubramanian581 it's an offering who gives a shit about taste
I completely love the taste of prasadams in tirumala and other temples also. Food reflects the culture of that place.theres a book written on tirumala prasadams and their recipes if you are interested do read that book
@@kumaragurusubramanian581 the quality is not being maintained. In the name of swamy prasadamu the administration is eating money.
@@kumaragurusubramanian581 , they are so good. We enjoy it very much in Telagana
In Kerala, pumpkin ashgourd cucumber (cooking variety) were grown as summer crop in the paddy fields. When harvested fully ripe, they will keep well in the store till next summer. Then you had the banana s(nendran, monthan, padatti etc - all cooking varieties) throughout the year not to speak of the ubiquitous coconut. Leafy greens you didn't have to spend time cultivating were moringa leaves and fruit (and flowers too), the stems of taro and elephant foot yam, banana bunch flowers. The list goes on and on. There was so much diversity in an average household in terms of food even when the family income in terms of cash flow /income was low. Now you have high income but low value food.
.
Pumpkin was form N. America
And jackfruit !!! Be it tender, mature or ripe... (COVID increased the value of the fruit 100 times)
And the ton of tubers.. taro, kachil, koorka and so many more tubers - their many varieties... Tapioca, breadfruit was introduced during Portuguese invasion
Pumpkin is called parangi Kai in tamil which literally means foreign vegetable😂
I don’t think he’s referring to the regular orange pumpkin but a different variety, kumbalanga, vellarikka, etc.? Also isn’t banana from S. America?
I think moringa is also from South America?
During my childhood 30 years ago in my village almost every native mango tree (that was not hybrid variety) had a different flavour in it. Unfortunately every of those trees have been replaced by hybrid ones of just 2-3 types. Now modern generation can never realise that taste of nature.
You are right.
😂
Sasta bhi to chahiye hum ko .. hum vo log hai jo mirch ugane Wale se kharidane par dhaniya free chahte hai aur sirf khana parosane wale salaried person ko tip thank you bolkar dete hai.
Thank you.
Those mangoes were also selectively bred by our ancestors. True "natural" mangoes barely had any flesh.
You should 100% do a detailed video on this. There's several works of prominent figures like K.T Acharya who've done a lot of research on this. My favorite is "Indian food tradition - A historical companion". Contains food history from the times of Harappa to the modern day!
Will do!
That book is written in 1994, I wonder if there is a better understanding with more modern analysis which could have been performed. Especially with new sites being discovered!
@@GauravAgarwalR Don't think anything as comprehensive as Indian food tradition has been written after it
@@yugmathakkar4023 seriously, this needs to change!
@@GauravAgarwalR Yep, absolutely. We really need to improve our academia, by writing about ourselves and our culture a lot more than we do rn.
Actually yours is the only video that even mentions a few ancient Veggies of India. It would be great to have a list of spices, veggies and fruits.
It is likely to have varied tremendously across the country
The vegetables eaten by ancient Indians (Mahabharatha times) may be the following.
Pumpkin
Bottleguard
Ridgeguard
Bitter guard
Ashguard
Root vegetables like yam(Kanda, Chema etc.).
Leafy vegetables.
Sarson ka saag was called" Sarshapa shaakam" in old Sanskrit scriptures.
"Bimbi" was favourite vegetable of Bimbisaara.😊
What is bimbi
Mahabharat is fiction not a fact
@@SriGutta Mahabharat talks about a city near coast of Gujarat thar was submerged in sea and it has been found under water I am talking about Dwarka. If text talks about an incident that actually happened than how on earth is it fiction. Only possibility is a Left loonie mind.
@nik2007hil There is no evidence linking both. Ayodhya could well be a Thai city..they have a city of the same name.. You are just a fanatuc who wants to believe made up stories to be real
@@user-lj9zv6pp7o And middle earth and westeros are factual too..because they were written in a book
In Telugu, Potato is referred to as 'Bangala Dumpa'. Most likely because it got first introduced via Bay of Bengal
Yep! First cultivated mostly in Bengal. One interesting thing nowadays is that most potatoes in TN used to come from Ooty (it requires a colder climate) but another variant comes from AP, which is low starch, high moisture. Works better for gravy sabzi but not so well for fried/roasted potatoes
@Brottasalna-ny9vg tomato is a 100% colonial import, did u mean ancient mayan literature of americas? it cant be ancient tamilian or australian, what ancient literature?
@Brottasalna-ny9vg sweet potato and potato are different. Sweet potato ( Indian variety) is very native to our country. That's not the case with potatoes.
@@user1.2__.__ Neither sweet nor regular potatoes were originally indigenous to India, but they did absolutely make their way to parts of India long before colonization.
@@Olive_O_Sudden sweet potatoes made it's way to India before colonization/ we're native to India. I don't know much about it.
However, potatoes are not native. They came during colonisation era. Didn't come earlier.
When I was a kid...and used to asked my mom as to why the regular vegetables were not used during the ceremonies, she used to tell me that those vegetables were artificially created by sage vishwamitra when he created a parallel universe.and hence not used in traditional recipes... ofcourse, when I researched later I knew the reason, but that was sucha fascinating story ... Its amazing how stories are cooked up across timelines
Some of these stories are real.
@@keshavrao212 how can it be real and story at Same? 🤔🧐😎
@@kbhas ‘True story’, ‘news story’, ‘life story’. A story is just a narrative from a particular character's perspective. It doesn't speak to whether it's true or not.
@@deus_ex_machina_ agreed....I guess I was too lazy to say, this one ain't based on facts
@@kbhasvishwamitra created another universe is a fact and some veggies were not used because it was created by him artificially is a story
In Odisha tomato is called "Bilati" which is taken from word Vilayat that is foreign. If you want to know traditional veggies of Odisha, just have Prasad at Jagannath temple, Puri
Nice. I am from Odisha - the kitchen at Shri Jagannath Temple includes only desi vegetables - pumpkin, raw banana, yam, gourd, long beans, flat beans, coconut, jaggery...
Isn't pumpkin from the new world too?
Hi Can you share some traditional dish names? if possible would love to connect and learn more
Will they allow normal people to have lunch at the temple? looking forward to visit it
I went to the jaggannath temple in odisa when i was in class 7. And my mind was blown in this regard. I am from calcuttaand hence our diet is essentially foreign. But one i moved to the northeast i realised that something coomom place a potatos were not used except for dishes which perhaps celebrate pototoes and use it as a replacement. I have used 5 different types of root vegetables in place of where i would potatos in calcutta.
Yeah. The same thought came to me too . No potatoes or tomatoes are used in jagannath temple cooking . Potol / parwal begun / baingan , kumro are predominantly used
@@pam1001100 that is traditional Odia food actually, we don't crave for potatoes as Bengalis do.
@@pam1001100jagganath puri is only temple which doesn't use foreign vegetables...thats why it is called mahaprasad....
@@infinite5795What about Dahibara-Aludom?
@@soumiksaha48thdimension that is special, as it has potatoes in it. The dish is celebrated because of potatoes majorly, otherwise you would hardly find potatoes in Odia dishes unlike tonnes of it in Bengali dishes.
👍 yes, potatoes are native to Peru in S. America; tomatoes and its close relative Chillies are from Central America. All three are recent additions to Indian cooking. Since ancient times, Indians ate many gourds, many varieties of greens, root veggies, and varieties of brinjal (eggplant) too. Over two dozen ways of preparing brinjal(‘badane’) are documented by king Someshwara in 12th Cent CE and by poet Mangarasa in 15th Cent. Another 15th cent poet Bommarasa of Terakanambi describes a ‘Bajji’/mash made from brinjal, which I made recently, and it tasted exquisite!
Pepper corns and long pepper(‘hippali’ in Kannada) were the ancient source of pungency; both have a far more sophisticated taste for my palate than do chilies
Brinjal maybe a local food. But it's not a satvic food according to ayurveda and you will not see being used in any temple to make Prasad or even used in such traditional functions or even rituals of the late elders in the family
Like Sohplang!
ಗುರುಗಳೇ, ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ನಂಗು ಮಾಹಿತಿ ಕೊಡಿ 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಕನ್ನಡಲ್ಲಿ ಇನ್ನು ಜಾಸ್ತಿ ಮಾಹಿತಿ ಕೊಡಿ.
ಆ ಕವಿಗಳು ಯಾರು???
ತೆರಕಣಾಂಬಿಯ ಬೊಮ್ಮರಸ - Bommarasa of TerakaNaambi (1450’s) describes a type of brinjal bajji (mash in Kannada) that was served at a gala dinner:
ತಿಲದ ಮಾಷಾದ್ಯಖಿಲ ಚೂರ್ಣo
ಗಳನು ತೆಂಗಿನಕಾಯ ತುರಿಯನು
ಲಲನೆಯರು ಕರಿಬೇವಿನೆಲೆಯೇಲಕ್ಕಿಗಳ ಬೆರಸಿ ।।
ಹಿಳಿದು ಜಂಬೀರೋದಕವ ಹದ
ಗೊಳಿಸಿ ಲವಣದಿ ಕರ್ಪುರದಿ ಪರಿ
ಮಳಿಪ ಬದನೆಯಕಾಯ ಬಜ್ಜಿಯ ತಂದು ಬಡಿಸಿದರು ।।
Sesame seeds and Urad dal both ground
With shredded fresh coconut
Curry leaves and cardamom, the maidens mix
Lemon juice squeezed and seasoned
With salt and camphor and then serve they
Fragrant badanekaayi bajji !!
Jambeera - is Citron lemon (ಹೇರಳೆಕಾಯಿ), which is the original variety of lemon used in ancient times, before current hybrids were developed. Brinjal belongs to the nightshade family of vegetables which includes tomatoes, potatoes, chili peppers. These contain alkaloids/solanine, histamine in varying amounts. Some people are allergic, or have itchiness on the tongue, etc., This might be why brinjals were ‘nishiddha’ (to be avoided), but roasted, oil-fried brinjals (called ‘ತಾಳಿದ’ in ancient Kannada texts) were quite popular, as they are today.
Could you share the brinjal Bajji recipe please? would really love to try it and any other ancient recipes.
This video and comment section is so refreshing to watch . People all around india coming and sharing themselves . I come from a muslim family and I've never had this food which you've and others in comment section mentioned except a few . Lately was trying other vegetales too and today I've learned that they r actually ancient one and none buys em now .
By control ing food u control a population. This was done deliberately to keep slaves working hard and b dependent for thousands of yrs. Conversions of every sort, education/culture/philosophy/art etc. r essential to dominate a people. By erasing their past and installing new things that u want, u can keep them as ur puppet
@vishalmalik0519 My father's side is from mahrera and they converted through the saint Hazrat Sayyid Shah Barkatullah Marehrwi (Radi ALLAHu Ta'ala Anho) ( present grave is mahrera shareef ). My grandfather's side is from the rajput group in hindus and my grandmother's ancestory is from a lower class group called the manihar ,her mother even had to change her town because she had refused to sleep with the upper class zamindar's . Later they also converted and grand mom and grand father ended up marrying each other as muslims don't believe in superiority complex. If u are mad about us getting convert just know we are great ful they we ended up converting coz polytheism dont make sense to us and the history which is being taught to you by your fav politician is just made up . My mother is from delhi and is the descendants of the mughal's army .
@vishalmalik0519 do you really think women 1400 years ago were malnourished and dumb like the one in present day ?! She ia the women who gave maj of the hadiths ans remember all the incidents !! We don't have caste systems . It's the muslims who have made grae qorshiping and castes ong themselves and these things are way common in subcontinent coz of the polytheist ancestory . All these things are biddat and hence haram . You should really educate to yourselves atleast about one thing . And I am happy with my beliefs , and not asking others to believe . Please educate yourself.
@vishalmalik0519 lol maj of the subcontinental muslims converted through the saints that's why dargahs are way common in North India and pak .
@vishalmalik0519 so you are claiming you know about my ancestry more thn me ?!
Count in Ragi mudde or gangee, soppu/greens tat grows everywhere - berike soppu(simple meaning assorted greens) still very much availabile, uppu saaru of horse gram, avare, alasande comes to mind from semi dry regions in old Mysore.
YESSS
ನಿಜ ❤
ಗುರುಗಳೇ ಬಾಯಲ್ಲಿ ನೀರ್ ತರುಸ್ ಬಿಟ್ರಿ 🫡🫡🫡
Hi Can you share some more traditional dish names? if possible would love to connect and learn more
Im Muslimah Pakistani born in Britain, and i suscribed.
We're both South Asians, your history is my history. 🤝
Indeed
As a Caucasian American Muslim, it gladdens me to see people holding onto the traditions of their forefathers.
I love to learn the traditions and customs of other cultures.
I seek knowledge, so that I may glory at the splendor.
And the eats are a nice bonus!
And our yours
I've heard of a lot of root vegetables from my father, like koova kizhangu, koorka, kaachil, cherukizhangu, mullankizhangu, pidikizhangu also some tubers from vining plants like adathaappu and ofcourse elephant foot yam. Apart from that some local veggies like kovakka/ ivy gaurd, nithya vazhuthana/clove beans, chundakka/turkey berry, bitter gaurd. Fruits like amla, karakka, lololikka, rough lemon/bitter lemon/ kari naaranga for pickles apart from mango, jackfruit and its seeds and some unripe plantain varieties used like vegetables. Cucumbers, ash gaurd, bamblimas, amaranth, moringakka, moringa leaves and flowers, agasthi cheera and flower, tamarind and kudampuli. I have once had a delicious rasam with hibiscus flower. Can't forget the consistent presence of millets.
Koorka mezhukkuparati is the best🤤
U just listed the veggies used till date in kerala meals daily 🤔
My mom used to make thoran from hibiscus flowers. In Kerala, in my childhood, we had different vegetables in different seasons. Rainy season we used stored root veg, salted mango, jack fruit seed and of course fish. By August, all vegetables are available like fresh yarms, coloccasia, different types of local beans varieties and of course banana and gourd. We only bought cabbage, potatoes, onions, and tomatoes occasionally. I studied in Manipal in 70s. There also we got vegetables available locally. The first time I saw cauliflower was when I went to Delhi in the 80s. We had all sorts of vegetables, ragi, muthira/horsegram, and rice. We ate wheat only in the 70s as if it were a punishment . No biriyani, pulao. Only boil rice. Food was mostly fish , vegetables and diary products. Meat also occasionally used
@@aleyammarenjiv7978 you got it right . GMO wheat was introduced by the Congress Govt under Indira's leadership , thus slowly poisoning its own citizens. Spoiled the gut health of those who ate GMO wheat which more than 50% gluten. While the millets, - gluten free was kept away from the people or made it hard to find. Jowar and bajra was readily available in MH. the villages in Gujrat, MH, Andhra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu lived on the many millets that they grew !
Hi Can you share some more traditional dish names? if possible would love to connect and learn more
Lotus root was used as a root vegetable in South Asia before Potatoes were brought to India. The Persians may have introduced onions too.
Onion and garlic are tamasic foods
I vaguely remember reading a lesson in my high school Tamil book 4 decades ago in which description about a curry made out of raw pomegranate using ghee and pepper ( from an ancient Tamil poetry) Food research institutes should also employ people to research ancient literature to revive our traditional recipes
You are right, this particular recipe is mentioned to be part of brahmin cuisine then. But it's not ghee, it's butter along with unripe baby pomegranates and pepper.
Hi Can you share some traditional dish names? if possible would love to connect and learn more
In Tamilnadu my home town a village near mamallapuram, my ancestors eaten following vegetables, country eggplant 🍆, broad beans, lentils, unripe plantains, unripe figs, gourds, different pumpkins varieties, tamarind, peppers, peanuts, lots of millet like ragi bajra , very less rice. I’m typing based on what i heard during my childhood.
lovely to hear
Hi Can you share some traditional dish names? if possible would love to connect and learn more
Guruji, you forgot Perandai, a creeper, also called adamant creeper, because its so drought resistant. it could cure 300 ailments and is a rich source of calcium. Its called Vajravallai in Sanskrit.
Vajra is the weapon of Indra and valli is creeper. So vajravalli strong creeper
I was looking for this comment only. In varshabhdikam, perandai thuvayal is very common. While we make kariveypilai thuvayal at home, we don't make it for this ceremony.
Hi Can you share some traditional dish names? if possible would love to connect and learn more
This was a great intro for what I wish was a longer video on topic. Good stuff, still wanted to learn more!
Sambhar or Sambhaji+Aahaar was a alternative Kokam Dhal introduced by chefs of Marathas.
Traditional food of Tamil Nadu is Kulzhambhu like Paruppu Kulzhambhu, KaraKulzhambhu,
VathalKulzhambhu, etc
Both are based on Hindu saatvik food. If you don't understand the question, do research on it. Don't start giving views.
Satvik food is a culture. It is based on pure vegetarian ingredients which are not bad for body and which don't cause any doshas as vat dosha or pitt dosha
He told nothing about Saatvik food, he merely stated about the origin of Sambar
@@kiranp5611 Sambar is a Sathiv Food for you kind information if cooked with specific Sathvik Vegetable & ingredients
Sambar is mentioned in a Tamil inscription long before sambhaji. The sambhaji story is just a trivia invented by tanjore Marathis.
@@adityanarayan1654 kindly quote such Tamil literature
In South India we still eat those veggies on a daily basis- ash guards , pumpkins , cucumbers , banana stem banana flowers, ridge guard etc , infact I remember my grandfather calling tomatos and carrots " English vegetables" 😂
India*
The British and other Europeans started growing potatoes and tomatoes when they obtained them from the Spanish/ Portuguese. They originally came from the Native Americans.
More than the Colonisation angle which is important by itself, local vegetables and cereals suit the local environment. In a time of climate change we should think about if local vegetables are better suited to the soil and offer cheaper nutrition. It might also suit our bodies more.
Very thought provoking video!
Also interesting would be more detail about the seasonings, and the cooking oils used.
Researches and evidences proves that carrot was cultivated almost 2000 years ago in Afghanisthan region which was part of Bhaarath at that time. But that carrot's colour is different from present orange colour carrot.
Indian carrots are tasty unlike the modern carrots grown now in western big agri farms that have no flavour , CAll vegetable grown on Indian small farm holdings are very tasty but if India allows the big Afri business in and Bill Gates crops its food will become poison like ours is
I agree. Our traditional recipes in north of Maharashtra are made with jaggery, black pepper, ginger and garlic. There is extensive use of lentils and millets. Taste is awesome!
Hi Can you share some traditional dish names? if possible would love to connect and learn more
@@Creatrixz. Eg. Red chana made with black pepper & ginger as spice than green or red chillies and garlic. Most of the halwa are made with equal qty of milk, jaggery and rava or aata.
The beauty of humanity is sharing art, cultures, traditions and food. This way we CAN (but we are not currently) continue with good things and discard bad things (seriously why no one is doing this).
Only in North India they mainly consume potatoes beans carrots cauliflower etc. In the South, we cook only country vegetables for Puja and festivals. There are more than a couple dozen country vegetables that are used by people regularly.
I have always wondered this. It’s fascinating to imagine the kind of meals people had not 200 years from today.
When india was actually rich 25 percent of world gdp. Now 2 percent of world gdp
I've always wondered about this. Thanks for the video!
Thank you!
This should have titled 'Colons before Colonisation' 😂
During jackfruit season, in Karnataka (coastal and ghat region)we prepare tender jackfruit sabzi, curry ,fry, jack fruit Dosa, idli etc, even jackfruit seeds were put into sambar. That how we show love to jackfruit ❤
Lovely video, and very informative even though its short. Must appreciate you for the idea to make such a video. Thanks, I also had similar question of what our ancestors ate.
My grandfather talked about an okra/ bhindi which had long hook like thorns on them which were local to his village in Haryana.
Fascinating. Bhindi is indeed local
And the red ones
my grandparents were from north karnataka .they used to eat jowar and bajra.some times foxtail millets. rice in festivals.
they never had potatoes.
sorrel leaves,amaranth leaves, suha leaves were eaten.
This is one of those questions one asks oneself when you can't sleep 😂. Good video, would appreciate a longer one!
In Uttarakhand and Himachal and mountain areas people still eat what they used to eat before colonization. Colonization effected plain areas like Punjab Bengal madras the most
Indeed
Excellent! Kerala Hindus eat tubers cooked as ‘puzhukku’ during Margazhi/Thiruvathira time. Its yummy. Sometimes cooked w chori beans. Green banana, yam, long beans, pumpkin variety, red spinach & lentil/beans of all varieties were & are still part of everyday cooking. Coconut is a must in Kerala cooking style. Glad we continue many of sane foods.
I always wondered what we are before chillies and tomatoes!!! Thank you for sharing 😊
Ancient Indian food!!! A very good topic to pursue further.
how to define ancient? which time period? I am sure before 1000 years ago they might have eaten different set of foods. India was invaded numerous times, and whenever they came they introduced something to India.
@@AsokaTw-mz3lrancient India means indus valley civilization to later vedic age
As Britishers introduced potato in India Bengal, So potato 🥔 in Telugu called as బంగాళదుంప ( Baṅgāḷadumpa) which translates Bengal potato.
Small correction.Bengali tuber
@@1949Stuber is English word dumpa is telugu
Worth reflecting that, before the discovery of the New World, the Italians similarly got along without tomatoes and the Brits without potatoes. Nobody had tobacco either.
Eat mahaprasad in Puri jagannath Temple, you'll know most of the traditional indian food. That's how Odias know what are really indian food.
In my small city Dibrugarh, Assam from North East India.... We still eat our native fruits & vegetables.... We have lots & lots of native vegetables nd fruits... My South Indian husband was surprised to see such varieties of vegetables found in Assam in different seasons... Proud of my Assam😊😊😊
Interesting question, short, to the point video, no BS.
Great work sir👏👏
most vegetarian dishes we Bengali's eat at home during summer are actually extremely indigenous, be it shukto or lau chingri or pui kumro or chorchori's & most colonial vegetables are actually considered as winter specialties like fulkopir dalna or koraishutir kochuri or a cabbage dish with potatoes and peas
bengali's are the only people on earth who can eat lau chingri and still call it vegetarian
@@suyashmallik118 so the ratio is 1kg lau to 250 gms chingri so basically yes
Lau Chingri has prawns right? Its not vegetarian.
@@suyashmallik118That is a typo. Bengalis consider even onion and garlic non vegetarian. Even mushroom and masoor dal are considered non vegetarian. Lau(Lauki) with fresh grated coconut or coarsely ground deep fried bori (sun dried lentil dumplings) are the vegetarian version of lau chingri.
Potato was introduced in Bengal by the Jesuits missionaries. Used to be called 'Hali anaj' at that time.
This was the question I was asking google literally a month ago! Glad to find my answer
Hello sam, how are you doing today
I have always thought and wondered about the topic.thanks for the video
Thank you for creating and sharing such content
Best video🤝. This is where culture and traditions meet
Thank you!
My grandmother was 108 when she passed away in March 2014. Her diet comprised mostly of foods that had ragi as the main ingredient. My father recalls that she had one discarded alcohol bottle in which she stored cooking oil extracted freshly from a mill nearby and that was all the oil used for the month.
Cool! Does your father remember what kind of oil she used?
Good to see you on RUclips Ashok !
thank you
I was thinking on the same tppic and you had given me a glimpse ..Thank you very much..Like others looking for a detailed video ..statewise if possible
Excellent work. The Jagannath temple mahaprasad uses only Indian vegetables
I think that leafy vegetables, local fruits, played a big role in the ancestral diet. Cooked, or raw the nutritional value and benefits were tremendously utilized by them. A well known recipe, is the pazhayasoru was popular all over India. The names varied with every region. The two things that strike my memories of fruit/vegetable are wild jackfruit and Breadfruit, apart from sugarcane. Anjili chakka and Sheema chakka in local dialect. Both have disappeared from the markets.
Yes, fermentation was pretty common given the need to preserve food in a pre-fridge environment
I think pazhayasoru is one of main the reason why poor are healthier in India and poor are unhealthier in western world.
Kathal / Green unripe Jack fruit is found in the markets and subzi bazaars in Bihar and North Bengal. It is still used as a vegetable.
Millet foods and keerai (leafy vegetables) are the best combo.
wow... glad to be reminded of anjili-chakka & there was Pazhankanji..
We also have different types of puli among the main spices mixed with thenga (nariyal) - vallam puli irumbi puli kodam puli 🫛☘️🥔🥥🫒
Superb channel with very knowledge-dense easy to digest content!
Wah super. Recently while teaching history I got this doubt and googled. Now i understood. Great.
Srardam samayal. Good one. I used to ask my grandma a lot of questions like when they started using refined oil and a lot of frying. Answer Radio oil...lol, radio was the brand. Sweets and appals (deep fried stuff in general) were made and consumed only during festivities. Make a long series or something.
Aviyal is one Kerala dish prepared with traditional vegetables…later on they started adding some foreign vegetables. Kerala sadhya food too don’t use these foreign veggies much but coconut dominates most curries. For a complete kerala sadhya i might have used around 6 whole coconuts scrapped, hardly 1 onion, and 1 tomato, even very few pods of garlic and ginger too only for inji curry, rest consisted of all the regional veggies legumes and pulses. The most preferred drink tea too is an export. Now Indians can’t do without it . Feels like it’s centuries old while it was introduced just 200yrs ago in India
Coffee is foreign too.
Tea isn't foreign. The tea that we drink in Tapri (milk based stuff) that's foreign. India had tea from well withing early medieval times came via silk route. It was called Kahwa.
Similarly, coffee of India isn't foreign either. It was famous since Mughal times brought from Hajj via Yemen by Baba Budan.
P.S. anything not brought via colonial import to me isn't foreign.
Even 50 yrs ago in Kerala we hardly used potatoes, tomatoes etc. We had all types of banana, yam different type, colocacia, even kasava is imported . I saw cauliflower in Delhi . I studied in Manipal. That time there were also.using local vegetables. After globalization everything is available everywhere. I remember potatoes we used only on special occasions and also onions. We used lot of shalot
@@sudharshanve85192 times you contradicted yourself - tea isn't foreign then you mention Kahwa which again is via silkroute.
Coffee too from Arab traders.
Foreign is foreign, what's this BS about colonial foreign vs Chinese/Arab foreign? 😂
@@maxpayne69. coffee wasn't brought by Arab traders. It was Indian saint who smuggled from Yemen and localized it. Thus making it as Indian as every other Indian.
Great video! Thank you for this
Love your videos!
Even Sabut Dana usually eaten during fasts is of foreign origin, it comes from tapioca roots that came from brazil and was food introduced in kerala in 1860s, It was in then kingdom of Travancore that this tapioca tubers was introduced to save people from a terrible famine since its very high in carbohydrates and its pearls or sabut dana could be more readily available than rice during the famine
In my home, mother makes something called “Aanam” which is kind of thick gravy using only Indian vegetables on some occasions as a traditional food.
Wow very interesting stuff, please make a hour long video on these topics
In the Puget Sound area, folks ate a lot of clover roots (major favorite delicacy for spring festival feasts), cattail roots, specific types of fern roots, wapato roots, purple camas (NOT white death camas) roots, yellow pond lily seeds, a truly astonishing number of different berries, acorns and hazelnuts, pine nuts, some types of cambium bark, certain types of lichens (made into a porridge), plenty of shellfish and seaweed, a LOT of salmon (preserved either dried & smoked or dried & packed into containers like pemmican), other types of fish, and occasionally deer, bear, etc. (I am not a member of the Coastal Salish peoples, but I do live in this area and have done some foraging.)
Let us pay respect to the talented Indians of the past 2 centuries who concocted amazing recipes during this period. The same creativity, and resourcefulness our generation inherited and leverages to succeed in life.
I would love to see more in depth content about the pre colonial diet
Thank you so much! I've always wondered these things and i love this video ❤🌟🙏
Need more on this
Thank you ❤
Exactly. If we start eating our food following our ancestors before colonialism i find its suits well to our body health conditions. Our family followed for ten years get ride from suger, arthritis, thyroid, etc....now we are medicine free for the past four years with good immunity. Till now we're following the same diet.
Can you please share a little about the name of the recipes or even just the vegetables? I'd be very much grateful to know about them. Thanks
Funny thing the Spinach we used to eat itself is like 20 different varieties (thuthuvalai, moringa etc) and quite a load of them are actual medicines which is replaced with less nutrious vegetables.
Moringa is not of the Spinach family it is leaves of a tree
@@rawraj1578 I thought leaf defines spinach i am not claiming to be a herb any way it is imported from Indian cusine is my point.
@@rawraj1578 even thuthuvalai is from shrub not herb incase if you want to point it out.
@@s3narasi Thuthuvalai is the best medicine for all types of respiratory problems
1:03 I like that brown wet soft double layers donut thing. Looks appetitizing.
So good to see this topic being discussed! Hope we can go back to our indigenous vegetables
i recently had a conversation with some people about the exact topic...but from europe.
potatoes came from the andes in south america, tomatoes came from mexico, "pasta" came from china (not pasta, but noodles...later turned into pasta)...
what did the europeans eat??? wheat? meat? fish? most of the european dishes that exist today are less than 500 yrs old (maybe even less)
and yes, the same for the old country...the americas did not have cattle (beef or milk), or horses and had very little knowledge of cooking
All food changes in every few hundred years
In bihar we still eat all these.
Fabulous! I feel it is important to know this and go back to some that were easily grown in the regens without harming the environment, and that people survived off of. Also, lots of 'wild' plants too!
Hi ... just started watching ur videos ... loved them ... could you enlighten us about the right way to eat sprouts
Nice to see that you're still doing jalsa showing jilpa on RUclips. Interesting content! Would love to see more similar ancestral content. Maybe the same on clothing? How did scantily clad civilization of ours as shown in sculptures become like how we are now? I've had similar questions on every cultural facet since a long time.
Something worth calling out....Turmeric, Long pepper and grated coconut is not common in srardha samayal in many house hold. And yes a longer episode would be super helpful. I for once haven't yet found out why Pumpkin, Sorakkai Onions, garlics and drumsticks (but for the obvious K Bagyaraj effect) don't find a place in Srardha samayal and why not roast the kolakesia in oil with pepper and jeera. Strange enough the thamboolam has ilaichi and clove, but it is not used in spicing up the food. And yes the cinnamon is very much native why isn't it used...
bro out here asking all the valid questions
Simple reason.. Sradha samayal is supposed to be very very basic and simple without the addition of too many masalas.. Its supposed to tickle the different types of tastes (sour, hotness, bitterness, etc) and thats it but not too extravagant.. Thats why the addition of other spices might not be appreciated
@@kaushikiyer4881 Apart from the fact श्राद is supposed to be सात्विक, as you've mentioned, there's also the practical consideration that it should be suitable to the digestive system of the crows it's fed to.
Thanks and Yes I am aware of all these. All I am looking for specific details, perhaps in some ancient texts that refers to certain traits of specific compound or molecule that changes the behaviour and so on. What is the definition of satvik in this case? For ex. how is clove and ilachi is satvik as tamboolam but not as a spice in cooking? To simply put I am looking for something similar to what @krishashok's video on asafoetida/garlic)
thank you so much for this video. My take away was long black pepper is hot! I have a nightshade allergy. I also love spicy foods. I have found many spices and cooking techniques by researching pre colonization recipes. You were describing your ancestral dishes, I was almost in tears because not only did they sound amazing! But, they are all nightshade free!!! I didn't see the recipes on your channel. I will definitely do some research on each. Are you willing to share the recipes for these dishes?
Thank you Sir.
This was very informative
A few years ago, I came across a recipe book in Marathi written in the mid 1800s. There is no mention of chillies, tomatoes, potatoes in any recipe. The fat of preference for cooking seemed to be ghee. There is mention of cold pressed oils such as coconut in Konkan and groundnut on the Desh.
Because the book was written by a Maharashtrian Brahmin, very little mention of onions or garlic.
@atulvanaprasthi can u share the name of the book plz ? pdf asel tr ajun ch chhan :)
was it titled, 'tasteless food'?
I hope someone translates this book to Hindi & other Indian languages & english ✨
Even many of the the older vegetables were introduced by other civilizations.
Like tamarind was introduced from Africa, Cumin was introduced from Ancient Iran, Coriander from Ancient Italy etc.
Just like pepper, a staple European food, is of Indian origin while tea is from China
Coffee from Arabs
Nah tamarind was used in our ritual for previous few thousand years.. idk about the other two though
@@anmolwadekar1229No, Africa.
@@19683 it's seeds are first found in Africa and that float to india but tamarind was there in ancient India
I do not know all the terms, so I might have missed out on some items. Lentils, chickpeas, urd and mung beans are from the old world and especially urd beans have been native to the Indian subcontinent. Also Peas, eggplants and a variety of cabbages and mustard plants could have been available, too. Now carrots originated from the area of Iran/Afghanistan/Pakistan about 5000 years ago and may very well have been present and consumed on the subcontinent for thousands of years. Don’t forget, there have been cultural exchanges and trade for hundreds of years.
You are missing the fact not all can afford nutritious food.
I'm from Tamilnadu, my grandma used to say Idly and dosa is only cooked in Festivals.
We're lucky that we can have choices in food. ♥
Just go to Puri Jagannath temple and see what they will offer as bhog... Those are our native crops...
Yes, from that region! In the past, due to lack of long distance supply chains, all food was necessarily local
@@krishashok yes.. very true... And very good video..👍👍🙂
Potatoes, Onions, Garlic, Chillies be it green or red, big or small always have been a part of North East India. I am from Assam so these foods were there even in our kings recipes of ancient times. Our varieties are smaller.
Edit :- Even Tea was there. Some might think british brought Tea to India from China. No in Assam or in lower Arunachal Pradesh Singpho Tribe used to drink Tea as medicine since ancient times. The thing is people didn't do commercial cultivation or thought about it. But yes Britishers made it a world famous product.
Potato and chillies are impossible that NE used to have because these came from New World (America's). Onion and Garlic was present in the rest of India as well, but eating them was not allowed to upper caste as they were regarded as ritually impure.
Potato, Tomato, Chilly (including what we call Capsicum) are new world vegetables. There's no way they would have come to the North East prior to the Portuguese colonisation of the Americas.
@@vikaskhetan4891 You have better knowledge of NE than me? Caste system was never rigid in NE. Hinduism prevails mainly in Assam, Tripura & Manipur. And that again nothing rigid. Animal sacrificies by Hindus still prevails, like the Incas & the Mayans till 19th century there used to be human sacrifices in our Hindu temples, carried out by Hindu Priests. Again, many Hindus here eat beef, Brahmins here eat Pork. Many of my Brahmin friends here eat Beef and even many of my muslim friends here eat Pork. Muslims, Hindus, Christians here drink alcohol, smokes, make love(caste & race hardly matters especially now among the youths here).
I never talked about capsicum. But those mentioned dishes were there in our Ancient Kings recipes. Our climate and people are similar to South American people and South East Asian people more than mainland India. We share many racial and cultural features similar to those people and our climate and topography is similar too. Chillies like kon jolokia, bhoot jolokia, mem jolokia, kon aloo(potatoes), etc. have always been a part of our dietary system since ancient times. The thing is we never traded or exported much outside of our on territory, we followed a closed door policy like the Chinese & the Japanese.
@@mybirthday1986 they did and were there. Come to NE, and ask people about their Vegetables. Get some practical life experiences you will know your country much better.
@@bgsdiary1131regardless of your arguments about the castes in NE, there were no chillies or potatoes anywhere in Asia or Europe before the Americas were discovered and American plants were introduced to Europe and Asia. It's a simple and indisputable historical fact.
Thanks for this enchanting enlightenment. As an expat of Durban, Natal, in South Africa, home to the largest Indian population outside of India. I grew up eating delicious Indian curries and other edible delights. It never occurred to me that the use of European type vegetables entered these recipes so recently.
In Uttar Pradesh , millets were the primary food. Milk products + baajre ki roti/bhat was popular dish.
hey, can you make a video on ancient indian warrior diet? were kings like Maharana pratap, Prithviraj Chauhan, bajirao ballahd ate non veg or not? if not how what did they ate to maintain their level of physique
I would love a video specifying ancient indian warriors diet❤
They sure ate meat, you can be sure of that…
@@gauravaggarwal6083 only on special occasions right? like when sacrificing an animal but what was their usual diet
no, maharajas ate meat frequently and same recipes have been passed down, watch raja aur rasoi show. Rajasthani maharajas eat meat everyday.@@shantanuzodpe9880
@@user-lj9zv6pp7o thanks alot for your reply mate :)
@@gauravaggarwal6083Chauhan and Pratap both mostly were veg may be ate non veg during sacrifices but Baji rai being a brahmin was a complete.U can be sure of that
Puri Jagannath temple haa most of the ancient dishes of past
What a great topic to consider 👏👏
Thnx a lot for the most valuable info.