Indian Food: A Historical Companion

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Book Specification

Item Code:	IDE898
Author:	K.T. Achaya
Publisher:	Oxford University Press, New Delhi
Edition:	2007
ISBN:	0195644166
Pages:	338 (B & W Illus: 107, Line Drawings: 34)
Cover:	Paperback
Other Details	9.5" X 7.3"

Book Description

From the Jacket :

This Companion outlines the enormous variety of cuisines, food materials and dishes that collectively fall under the term 'Indian food'. Drawing upon material from a range of sources - literature, archaeology, epigraphic records, anthropology, philology, and botanical and genetic studies - the book chronologically details the history of Indian food, beginning with prehistoric times and ending with British rule. Achaya discusses the various regional cuisines, theories and classification of food, as well as the customs, rituals and beliefs observed by different communities and religious groups. This book won an international prize awarded by the Italian food promotion organization, Premio Langhe Ceretto in 1995. Extensively revised since its first publication in 1994, this rich storehouse of fascinating information on Indian food will interest food aficionados, historians, anthropologists, and general readers.

About the Author :

K.T. Achaya (1927-2002) pursued scientific research in the areas of oilseeds, vegetable oils, processed foods and nutrition. His other books include The Food Industries of British India (OUP, 1994) and A Historical Dictionary of Indian Food (OUP, 1998).

Excerpts From Reviews:

'This is a serious, in-depth research into the history of Indian food...a fascinating study...enriched by an extensive glossary, clear illustrations and a mountain of references.' - Business Standard

'This is a superb book...clearly written, [and] will be of interest not just to epicures but to historians and students of Indian society. Now that we have this book, we may wonder how for so long we got on without it.' - Frontline

'Achaya has charted a magnificent course. ...There is enough material here to tickle the fancy of a practicing foodie, for whom there are delicious tidbits....' - The Indian Review of Books

'Achaya presents his knowledge well, capturing and making manageable the vastness and complexity of Indian food....His balanced approach brings new insights to a subject which has rarely been turned into a book...should stimulate the appetite of those who are beginning to relish the role of food in the development of Indian civilization.' - The Statesman

'Achaya has done a commendable job of writing the history of Indian food... .He covers a great deal of ground in painstaking... and interesting detail.' - India Today

CONTENTS

Chapter 1
ANCESTRAL LEGACIES
The world, man and his food	1
Tools of early man in India	1
The first paintings	5
Language and food	7
Words for food in Sanskrit	7
Indian words in foreign tongues	11
Box 1: A Word Puzzle	9
Chapter 2
HARAPPAN SPREAD
Origins	13
Foods raised in the Indus Valley	15
Raising crops	19
Methods of storing food	21
Ways of preparing and eating food	23
Trade	26
Decline of the Harappan Civilization	27
Box 2: Weighing, Measuring, Counting	14
Box 3: Extracting Metals, and Using Them	25
Chapter 3
FOODS OF THE GODS
The Aryans	28
Vedic Agriculture	28
Cereals and pulses	33
Milk Products	34
Fruits and vegetables	35
Oilseeds and oils	36
Salt, spices and condiments	37
Sweet foods	37
Water and other beverages	39
The expansion of the Aryans	40
Box 4: Sanskrit Sources	32
Box 5: The Mysterious Soma	38
Chapter 4
THE FOODS OF SOUTH INDIA
Influences on the food culture of the south	41
Archaeological food finds in south India	42
Food in Tamil literature	43
Rice in southern diet	45
Other foods of the south	46
Trade in food in ancient south India	50
Box 6: Tamil Literature	44
Box 7: Chewing the Betel Leaf	48
Chapter 5
MEAT AND DRINKS
The prevalence of meat-eating	53
The emergence of prohibition and the spread of vegetarianism	55
Alcoholic beverages	57
Box 8: The Dressing of Meat	54
Box 9: A Choice of Liquors	59
Chapter 6
INDIAN FOOD ETHOS
Aryan Food beliefs	61
The idea of food	61
The classification of food	61
Kaccha and pucca food	62
Pollution and food	63
Domestic cooking practices	64
Eating rituals and ceremonies	64
Festival and temple foods	69
Fasts	69
Buddhist food concepts	70
Jain ethos	72
The Sikh dispensation	72
The jewish food laws	73
The Christian ethic	74
Food among the Parsis	74
Food and Islam	75
Box 10: Hindu Food Taxonomy	65
Box 11: Good Host and Honoured Guest	66
Chapter 7
FOOD AND THE INDIAN DOCTORS
Hot and cold foods	77
Recommended amounts and kinds of food	79
Foodgrains	82
Oilseeds and oils	83
Vegetables and fruit	83
Milk and its products	83
Flesh foods	84
Sweet items	85
Salt, Vinegar and asafoetida	86
Water	87
Therapeutic diets	87
Box 12: Fathers of Indian Medical science	78
Box 13: A Widespread Food Theory	80
Chapter 8
ROYAL FARE
Manasollasa	88
Rice, wheat and imagination	88
Meat for a King	90
The many wonders of milk	91
Satisfying a sweet tooth	91
Foods of a royal couple	92
Karnataka	92
Royal feasts	92
Dining together	92
Sivatattvaratnakara	93
The royal kitchen and cooking accoutrements	93
Kinds of food	94
Accompaniments	94
North India	95
Epic feasts	95
Three royal meals	95
Box 14: Royal Authors	89
Box 15: Royal Recipes	96
Chapter 9
UTENSILS AND FOOD PREPARATION
Domestic operations	98
Grinding and pounding	98
Ways of cooking	101
Kitchen and table utensils	103
Large-scale operations	108
Professional cooking and dining	108
Alcoholic drinks	108
Parched, puffed and parboiled rice	110
Oilseed processing	110
Sugarcane pressing and juice processing	112
Honey	114
Salt	114
Cold Water and ice	115
Box 16: Utensils of the Vedic Sacrifice	104
Box 17: Water-ices and Ice-Creams	116
Chapter 10
REGIONAL CUISINES
South India	118
Karnataka	118
The Kodavas	122
Hyderabad	123
Kerala	123
Eastern india	128
Bengal	128
Assam	128
Orissa	133
Western India	133
Gujarat	133
Bohri Muslims	136
The Parsis	136
Goa	136
The East Indians	137
North India	137
Kashmir	137
Rajasthan	140
Uttar Pradesh and Bihar	140
Box 18: Karnataka Food Progression	119
Box 19: Snacks of the South	125
Box 20: Sixteenth-Century Gujarathi Dishes	135
Box 21: Breads of India	138
Chapter 11
FOOD TALES OF THE EARLY TRAVELLERS
The Greeks and the foods of India	142
Seekers from China	145
Arab reactios	151
Box 22: Foreign Snapshots of Indian Kings	146
Box 23: Trees of the Buddha	149
Chapter 12
MUSLIM BONUS
The Sultan's etiquette	154
The food of the gentry	156
Kings' drinks	157
The Imperial cuisine	158
The fruits of Hindustan	159
The common fare	162
Box 24: The Jilebi	155
Box 25: Only Ganges Water for the Emperor	161
Chapter 13
THE COMING OF THE EUROPEANS
The early comers	163
On the wonders of Vijayanagar	165
Scientist travellers	168
The Jesuits	169
British narratives on Indian food	170
The diaries of a mixed bouquet of visitors	173
Colonial repast	176
Box 26: Cities of Yore	166
Box 27: Heady Stuff	171
Chapter 14
STAPLES OF YORE
Cereals	179
Pulses	188
Oilseeds	193
Box 28: Plant Evolution	180
Box 29: Seeds as Weights	195
Chapter 15
PLEASING THE PALATE
Tubers	198
The edible aroids	198
Yams	198
Sweet potato	199
Vegetables	199
Green leafy vegetables	199
Radish and carrot	200
Brinjal, bhendi and ambadi	201
Fruits	202
Melons, gourds and pumpkins	202
Early fruits	204
Major cultivated fruits	206
Plums, pears, apples and their like	206
Spices and condiments	213
Pungent spices from below the ground	214
The Pepper family	214
Other spices	215
The Sugarcane	215
Origin	215
Box 30: A Bunch of Bananas	207
Box 31: Citrus Relatives	211
Chapter 16
BOUNTY FROM THE NEW WORLD
Oilseeds	218
Nuts	222
Fruits	223
Vegetables	225
Pleasurable foods	227
Box 32: Early Animal Transfers	234
Box 33: Reaching America Before Columbus	236
References	239
Glossary and Index of non-English words	260
Index of Latin names	285
Author Index	291
General Index	298

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