Food and Pleasure- Indian Cuisine

Food and pleasure normally go together, but I guess, best food and pleasure are well experienced with Indian cuisine. #foodislife! One of the mostly used trending hashtags these days that fascinates many and that includes me. Many of us believe that food is one of the most important survival needs. Obviously 😅 , like preschoolers do know. Having something for the reason of survival seems like a boring and sad situation isn’t it? That’s why let me flip this boring writing of mine into something extraordinary. Let’s talk about FOOD as a source of pleasure. This is Food and Pleasure Indian Cuisine.

What food gives you pleasure? Wow! This definitely is an extremely subjective question. Like if I say pizza, not everyone would agree; nor if I say “dinuguan” (Filipino blood chunks soup), or would yah? Anyway, for me right now, Indian Cuisine has been on top of my choices if I would have to eat for pleasure. I am confident that many would agree to this. Let me walk you through why INDIAN CUISINE is such a darling of my palate for more than a decade now. Let’s call this one, NAMASTE INDIA.

Colors– We can’t deny the fact that colors are a big factor that influences our wanting to eat something. Have you noticed that? If not, try to observe next time. I personally believe that because of its colors, Indian food is just so pretty to look and way prettier to devour. I always get myself trapped with colors. Colors are just magical!

Aroma– Okay; this is another big discussion, will it be? Definitely if someone didn’t grow up with all the exotic and strong aroma of all spices used in cooking Indian food, getting the first sniff of any Indian food could be extremely nauseous. Let’s be honest, it happened to me and you know what’s funny? Recalling how I reacted on that first time makes me say “isn’t it ironic?”. I love how they all smell now. All those “aloo ko sazi”, “ tikal masala”, “paneer”, “korma”, “chana”, “tandoori” and a lot lot more! *salivating

Flavors– In general, Indian food has strong flavors and is often spicy, sweet, smokey and savory. The fresh ingredients and a balance of aromatic earthy spices in each food is something that someone can’t miss. I don’t know that many spices but what I can easily identify are paprika, cumin, turmeric, cardamom, coriander, cloves, masala, fenugreek (thanks to my student who introduced this one to me lately), nutmeg, fennel, and chili powder of course. Let me know what I am missing here, or what I should still know.

Details– No one can argue about this. If you are a person who loves not just details but rich details, you then know what I’m talking about. The way I see Indian food, the details of every vegetables and ingredients of any dish have been planned carefully and exquisitely. It’s all about the details they say! I can’t argue.

Textures– If there are details, there are textures. Food can be soft or hard, mushy or crunchy, or smooth or lumpy. Texture is important to the enjoyment and acceptability of food. Not only does texture have a casting vote over a food’s acceptability, it is also essential in identifying it. There is no doubt that the texture of any Indian food is just so unique that you can identify every ingredient used in each food. You should try it and take the texture challenge game.

Tradition – I travel when I eat. Do you? However, not all food takes me somewhere. That’s how I put food and pleasure together. Not all food gives me this feeling of having a holiday to its origin, and that makes Indian food remarkable. I always have this feeling of being in Taj Mahal, Kumbhalgarh, 13Arch Bridge, or Redford every time I have a taste of any Indian food. The food has it’s magical capacity to take us to this kind of adventure. Adventure that doesn’t require us a visa nor a plane ticket. Kidding aside, what I’m trying to say is, if you can’t go and visit places yet, then atleast take their food to your palate. The feeling of eating and traveling could be mutual, that if you are having the best of Indian Cuisine.

Healthy – We all are pretty much aware of the phrase “guilty pleasure”. When it comes to food, this exists if we know that we have sacrificed our health with what we have just eaten. I never felt this every time I eat “Bharat Food”… never! Every time I taste every single dash of any spices of it, it makes me feel super healthy. Give it a try, and let me know.

Alright, pretty much that’s it. To end, I really can’t give you tips on how to cook Indian food the best way possible, but what I can tell you is that Indian cuisine is a gem. It is like a precious treasure that I believe all people from India must be super proud of. They should take pride in how, despite all the advancement of technology and ways of lifestyle of people all around the world; they (people from India) are able to preserve their beautiful, ancient tradition. I can definitely attest that their spicy, rich, flavorful and diverse food are perfect to describe their treasure, their food, Indian food.