THE EXCITEMENT IN MONOTONY
When I was younger, I used to get really upset, disheartened even, when the answer to my question, "What's for dinner?" would be, " Dal, rice, roti, sabji." I knew that those four items satisfied the hunger of the stomach, they always failed to satisfy the hunger of a child's heart. Just the thought of eating 'Gobi (Cauliflower) and Baingan (Eggplant)' made me want stay hungry. Despite that, one day I gathered all of my will power and ate 'Patta Gobi' or Cabbage, and that dish changed my entire opinion about the daily home cooked meals in general.
While our regular home cooked meals might seem mundane, they have the capability of being as exciting as exotic or gourmet food; either by themselves or along with accompaniments. A traditional Indian home-made meal has four main components as mentioned before, which are, Dal (Pulses), Rice, Roti (Bread) and Sabji (Vegetable). Incorporating a different vegetable dal or even changing up the kind of bread or rice that we have along with the gravies can turn our meals around. For example, if we had 'Baingan Bharta with Bajre ki Roti' for lunch and 'Gatte Ki Sabji and Tandoori Roti' for dinner, those two meals would feel and taste completely different, hence getting rid of the dullness and the repetitiveness of our daily food.
The other way we can make eating everyday food an exhilarating experience is by adding accompaniments. The oldest and the most classic example of this is the Thali system. A basic Indian Thali has the following components: 4 vegetables/non-vegetarian equivalents, 2 'Dals', 'Rotis', a plate of rice, 2 different appetizers, salad, 'Chutneys', pickles, a 'Papad' and a dessert along with a beverage such as 'Lassi' or 'Chaas'. From chilies and lemons to mango pickles, we have an array of accompaniments to ensure that our everyday food is jazzed up and full of life. The important thing to understand here is that it's simple, great ingredients that make monotonous food, scrumptious.
As Julia Child said, "You don't have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces. Just good food from fresh ingredients." No one has the luxury of having rich and varied food everyday throughout their lives, due to reasons relating to health or otherwise. But that should not stop us from treating our taste buds by using the small things available to us. Instead of sulking about the 'same ole' dinner' every night, we can mix it up and just have fun with it. We need to ask ourselves, are we the dining dead? And if so, can we ourselves infuse life into our everyday food?
-By Vidisha Wani
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