The Surprising History of Indian Food | Masala Lab Author Krish Ashok Reveals

Join Varun Duggirala and Krish Ashok, author of ‘Masala Lab’ and TCS Global Head, as they explore the origins of Indian cuisine and the cultural influences that have shaped it over centuries. Krish sheds light on the fascinating history and science of flavours, spices, and techniques that make Indian food so unique and beloved worldwide.
From understanding why no dal ever tastes as good as the one your mother makes, to the rich history of Biryani to why jaggery is not really any better than sugar, Krish busts every food myth and explains the truth behind it in this latest episode of Take aPause!
Krish Ashok heads the Digital Workplace unit at Tata Consultancy Services where his team helps reimagine the future of work for large enterprise customers. In between MS Teams and Zoom meetings, he also likes cooking, a passion that resulted in a book called “Masala Lab: The Science of Indian Cooking” published by Penguin Random House in December 2020. Between eating and work, he additionally writes columns on topics at the intersection of technology and culture for a variety of platforms such as LiveMint etc.
Follow Krish Ashok to learn all about science, food and more fun stuff! :
Instagram : / _masalalab
KZbin : / krishashok
Twitter : / krishashok
Timestamps
00:00 Intro
02:32 Krish Ashok On His First Unique Food Experience
04:59 Krish Ashok On The Diversity of Flavors within Indian Cuisine
07:44 Krish Ashok On The Indianization of Food: Borrowing and Adapting from Around the World
10:08 Krish Ashok On The Complexities of Cooking
17:28 The Cultural Evolution of Indian Food
19:58 Krish Ashok Explains The Origins of Biryani
27:40 Varun Duggi and Krish Ashok Discuss Fad Diets
32:21 Krish Ashok Explains The Science Behind The Effects Of Sugar
37:08 Varun and Krish On The Unique Art Of Indian Pickle Making
39:36 The Multi-Dimensional Experience of Flavor and Nostalgia
42:00 Familiarity and Novelty in Food Preferences
49:32 Krish On Food and Nostalgia in Cultural Identity
57:00 Krish Explains The Role Of Memories In Experiencing Food
01:01:58 - Conditioning and Creating Cultural Identity through Food
01:04:30 - The Cultural Variations of Food Preferences
01:07:02 - Texture Preferences in Food Cultures
01:11:57 - The Distorted View of Carcinogens in Media and Social Influencers
#varunduggi #takeapause #foodscience #krishashok
ABOUT VARUN
A creative entrepreneur turned content creator, Varun is one of India’s leading conversationalists in the modern business, personal development, and creator landscapes with over 1 million podcast listens.
The author of the bestseller Everything Is Out of Syllabus, he’s the host of Advertising Is Dead, one of India's most popular business podcasts with over 300,000 listens in 2021 alone, as well as co-host of Think Fast, an irreverent business podcast that has ranked #3 on Apple’s Podcast Marketing Charts.
In 2009, he co-founded The Glitch, India’s largest ‘digital-first’ creative agency.
🌍 WEBSITE varunduggi.com/
🎙PODCASTS:
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[@santraaofficial9563]

@varun a CHAI TEA is called Chai Tea outside of India and there is a reason for that. For most Indians, chai is the only form of tea. But for the world, tea can be a green tea, a matcha tea, an iced tea, or an hibiscus tea and so on and so it can be CHAI tea which is another variant of tea for them. So when they say Chai tea, they are not repeating it in Hindi and English, they are saying it is Chai variant of tea which is basically a tea with milk done Indian way.

[@binnikumarsingh6018]

We can call Chai to green tea or lemon tea too... Tea means chai.. Doesn't matter what u r pouring in it..

[@Kathakathan11]

@@binnikumarsingh6018 no but say I want to ask my mom for tea, I will tell her GREEN TEA, if I say chai I get chai

[@dipsikhasaha6223]

You have given such a nice pov to this thing. I had never thought about it this way. Its true that they don't need to say it like that but I am guessing they say it so because of this exact logic.

[@sureshbabusekharan7093]

Chai for us is Indian milk tea. For other teas we specify black tea, lemon tea, green tea and etc

[@deus_ex_machina_]

Apparently places that received tea from China by sea routes called it some variation of tea, and places along the silk road called it some derivative of _cha._ Of course, this isn't always the case, a prominent exception is Japan, which calls it _ocha,_ despite being an archipelago.

[@Yash-ek5gq]

This podcast is literally 2 guys talking stuff with so genuinity and nostalgia. Also the observational skill of both of them is phenominal. Absolutely wonderful

[@sarathtech91]

I never thought a conversation about food could be so enlightening, traversing such a diverse set of topics: history, people, culture, geography, science, and most importantly, encompassing all that which makes us human. The part at 39:40, about the memories associated with your mother cooking, made me emotional. ❤ Food is powerful. Thank you for such a wonderful conversation. We definitely need a Part 2. 🙂

[@MSahyadri]

It is so refreshing to hear someone who has actually studied food, with a deep passion. After so-called food books by people who assumed, rather than researched, this is a breath of fresh air! Buying the book today!

[@T-or4vb]

How did he study food? Which university? What is his credibility?

[@jissythomas431]

I remember an episode of David Rocco, an Italian chef, who competed with an Indian chef. Both made risotto. When the Indians were made to taste, they rejected his risotto stating that the rice isn't cooked well. Rocco said that rice is always cooked al dente in Italy. If he cooks it in the Indian way, his mom would kill him.. 😂

[@aviralkitchenhut7971]

😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊 kk😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊0

[@darylldavis2846]

Yea I remember that😂😂also there’s one more moment where the Indian chef used tomato ketchup and David’s face goes 🙁 😂😂

[@jissythomas431]

@@darylldavis2846, we Indians cook everything our way. 😆

[@mrgyani]

I remember it, it was so dumb - audience were teaching an Italian chef how to make risotto 😅 I cringed.

[@jissythomas431]

@@mrgyani I guess that episode was just to show the difference between Indian cooking and Italian. But I enjoyed David's expression when his risotto was rejected by the Indian tasters. 😂

[@kavinanil7406]

There are 6 types of taste of often referred Tamil. ( Aru suvai - 6 types of tastes) Enipu - sweet - sugary dishes, laddu, jangiri (made with fermented urud dal), ragi puttu, kambu puttu (pearl Millet) eaten with jaggery Uvarpu or uppu - salty - pickles Pulipu - tangy or citrus or sour taste - puli kulambu (Tamarind gravy), tamarind rice and dishes, fish kulambu is basically pulipu Thuvarpu - astringent - beetel leaves, pomegranates, naval palam (Java plum or violet fruit), asofetidia Kasapu - bitter - bitter gourd ( pavakka) Karpu or kaaram - hot or spicy - dishes that are burning you taste buds Dishes or foods or fruits or vegetables or edibles made with 6 types of these tastes aid human body in asimilating various types of nutrients. Even diseases or ailments can be treated with the combination of medicines or foods made from these taste (ayurveda).

[@direct.skc.2]

Heat (spicyness) is not a taste, it's a sensation, you can still feel the burning sensation if you rub a chilli on your skin, and since our tongue is way more sensitive the heat feels more warmer and sharper, mixed with other flavours it gets rounded up. The other taste you missed out is the 'Umami' flavour, that's the taste of meat, mushrooms, spinach etc.

[@kavinanil7406]

@@direct.skc.2 The heat is produced by so many different foods. Not just chilles. There are many species which are spicy or give the taste of hotness. Pepper, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves, garlic, ginger, betel leaves, and many more. There is no direct tamil name for the meat taste. But all types of meat are called 'pulal'. This name only refers to the meat.

[@kavinanil7406]

@@direct.skc.2 The hotness is a type of sensation that our tongues or skins perceive. How can it not be a taste..? Hotness or spiciness is perceived by all sensory organs in our body. But it's not just preceived just by our tongue. Yea it's produced by many compounds.

[@kavinanil7406]

@@direct.skc.2 These 6 tastes specially classified means, is that the foods or medicines made in these tastes cures or treats humans' ailments or sickness. There are certain types of foods with tastes that should be avoided if one has a certain condition. There are certain types of foods or medicines or natural sources of food that should be eaten for certain other conditions. Like carbonated drinks should be avoided, coz air or any form of gas shouldn't be mixed with foods. It will cause our inflammation to increase or digestive system and gut to lose its effectiveness in nutrition absorption. In Tamil we have a saying, 'unave maarunthu' meaning, Food as medicine. Food should be had as medicine.

[@shubhojeetbose8407]

Very refreshing conversation. Polau is actually derived from original ancient Indian dish 'Palanno' (it was been making from very ancient time through out this allover subcontinent) where pal or paul means meat and anna means boiled rice or food as a whole.

[@manjitrupbikram]

Thanks for sharing. I am from the north east and our experience is totally different. India is so diverse!

[@chickentender4037]

That's ibe I'd the reasons why I (Chinese) don't get bored with it. Too much to explore!

[@mrgyani]

You learn so much every time you listen to Krish Ashok. This was like a mini version of Sapiens for me, discussed from the prism of food.

[@SarvagunSomePun]

A delhite living in Vijaywada for a decade, it feels good to hear about vijaywada. Also love Krish Ashok..and this whole conversation.❤

[@itpradeep]

12 mins in listening the video, the wealth of knowledge exhibited is much appreciated. Well structured, should have been a podcast 👍👌

[@mawisimte7947]

Here from NE, I have an aunty who doesn't like rice cooked in pressure cooker and many of the elders in our community prefer food prepared using woods. They say the smell of the food is more delicious. Really enjoyed listening to this podcast😊

[@gnprashi]

Awesome episode. We need definitely more of Krish Ashok sir.

[@iracture]

Decades of being fed on mum prepared food, live-in maid , defence mess chefs across India , I started preparing meals after we were posted internationally. Incidentally I feel since last many years I have actually lived thru all your observations as I experimented in the kitchen... varied flavor profile in different fat, multi-dimensional aspect of enjoying food/memories. As we get heavy exposure to international cuisines, I can't help but appreciate the ingenuity of Indian cusine wrt gut health. Venison meat available during Herbst in Europe is the best tasting meat after Indian goat meat as per my taste buds. I hope in future you will write about health thru food. Healthiest people I came across are in Germany - even after just eating beer, hard bread and meat thru out their life these guys are upright as a stick even into their 80s.

[@SahithiBon_e_e]

Thank you for this beautiful video, Varun Duggi. Krish explained concepts with so much empathy. Loved it 😍

[@pranavmarla]

Love the new studio set-up Varun. Your curious line of questioning is the essence of podcasting, more power to you. Krish is gem, probably his best conversation I've seen.

[@krishashok]

Thank you!

[@pranavmarla]

@@krishashok Krish thank you for what you do! I absolutely love that you dive down to the science of why something happens, you are an icon of Indian food.

[@urmilajithoo6511]

Just came upon this conversation today. I was on the same page with everything you said. Loved the conversation......you would make the best dinner party guests at my table.

[@mithra2396]

Found "Masala Lab" on Audible...I am eager to Listen to that book now! Thanks

[@amrithanarayanan462]

I really enjoyed this video. Thanks youtube for recommending this ❤

[@shivaanihu]

Wow!! This was so engaging and has got me curious to know more about what Krish Ashok has to say. Some of the things that have stayed from the conversation: "...cooking food to kick in their nostalgia is a very intimate and generous act." " ...novelty is acceptable when you are unfamiliar " Indianised the food >>> Indian food. Thanks for putting this out to be received 🤗

[@ramyakrishy]

Listening to this magical podcast is making my mouth water.... that's the beauty of the podcast....❤

[@therandomreacher]

One of my most favourite episodes of any podcast that exists on KZbin 💙

[@Oceansta]

Absolutely outstanding podcast. Loved the insights!

[@lademoiselleketoret6958]

This is really wonderful. I am enjoying the very measured way you both are exploring and sharing information! Love it. Thank you! 😍🙏🏽

[@skaranjai]

Lovely episode. ❤️❤️

[@shubhamlal7010]

It really started well with discussing about how food evolve in India. Then it slowly turned out north Indian vs South Indian with all those usual chit chat we hear in everyday.

[@asharma103]

Awesome discussion. Agree 100% because I've been saying something similar for a long time about our foods, culture and traditions. Being a 10th generation Kannadiga of ethnic Tamilian descent, my family gels with this thought this way for a long time.

[@aprilblossoms4]

Did not expect to see someone say a 10th generation kannadiga of Tamil descent because my family has a history of being Tamil migrants in Karnataka for over 400 years. Quite curious to know where you family is from in Karnataka if you are willing to share.

[@dnapolren]

I am first gen Kannadiga of Tamil decent

[@vicky700cat]

Wow !!! I am 50th generation kannadiga of Kannada descent

[@santhoshrider7348]

​​@@vicky700catI'm a 1,00,000th generation Homo-Sepian of African descent 😁😂

[@randomcoolstuff2807]

Absolutely loved this!!! ❤

[@sajilsingh6819]

An interesting conversation and a good learning for listeners like myself…Kudos👏🏽

[@wordsbydivya]

Timestamps made me go hungry. Thank you so much for covering all aspects of Indian Foods Varun Sir 🍱

[@elisinger4172]

So much respect for Krish. His ability to understand cuisines of the world without placing judgement is something we all could strive for.

[@lasi_eisbaer]

Thank you guys for sharing all this with the rest of us

[@MS-db2in]

" patriarchal celebration of free labor "...... spot on!!!

[@JKate5]

I m from Poland and yes European food is,, simpler,, if it comes to the spices, even tho i like Indian food but after a while im, tired, of that taste, loaded of spices and im getting back to the tasty simplicty.. So im glad we have diversity around the world... we all can be proud from our own.

[@neelamverma282]

Staple Indian food is very simple. It’s just that people have started eating festive food daily.

[@dhunpatel5319]

​@@neelamverma282 🤣 Zomato ka chakkar babu bhiya zomato ka chakkar 😅.

[@gowriprakash5145]

Indian home made everyday food is simple and not so spicy except the food on special occasions...as you people have to eat outside food.. you feel it too much spicy and you're right after some time it would be boring..even we don't prefer eating outside more than 2 or 3 days...also as outside eating culture increased since the last 20 years the quality of taste is not so great also..some times the food looks so delicious but tastes very bland still people eat enthusiastically...I really wonder

[@Shiva-nx1tn]

Its Because You eat from restaurants

[@kaafideep]

Love the way you drive these conversations Varun! ❤🤌🏼

[@harshdadhania6495]

With due respect to the guest Mr. Krish Ashok Yes, the food doesn't loses its nutrients, but there is a difference in how old food and new food is processed in our body. Certainly there is nothing wrong in usage of refrigerator and microwave but everything got its limits. For example any item after a certain period goes bad or stale even after refrigeration. Refrigeration just slows the decaying process. Therefore it is not suddenly going bad, it's gradual process, so the earlier you eat the better. You can see how your body responds to the food, need not believe anybody or theories.

[@Kathakathan11]

Evolution is not at the same speed as technological developments, that’s the reason today we see fat people everywhere. Even the one with normal BMI has weird shape. But people in 70s, I have hoppy of watching black and white old photos , and I don’t spot ONE FAT man walking on street, except few vendors in ghee shops.

[@direct.skc.2]

The veggies that you get from the market everyday also come from refrigerated cold storages.

[@libraaa6547]

Loved the whole chat.. Quite engaging and insightful.. And that trivia about Sita was news to me:)

[@sandhyayellapantula7035]

I remember my first taste of food prepared by my mom dal and soft rice with ghee. Dal was always Maharashtrian style. I still love and miss my Maharashtrian food.

[@rutujahardas5454]

Excellent! Need one more on this

[@adeshn9977]

Another amazing guest Sir Krish Ashok. I follow him on instagram and youtube for his valuable insights about food. Great to hear this podcast also.

[@koorka]

This was fantastic. Extremely interesting and eye opening, even for someone who has been following krish Ashok for years and been reading books on food and nutrition and food history and so on.

[@shrutijadhav9688]

Wonderful conversation loved it ❤❤❤

[@aniketpawar6180]

Love the episode. Thank you krish I am not a good cook but your stories and easy to understand science always fascinates me to cook more.

[@krishashok]

Thank you!

[@Aloevera97]

Amazing and interesting informations..thank you so much sir

[@sanjayhulagur6009]

Brillant Podcast.....

[@Adiiitisii]

Need more of this...

[@namiagulati5148]

Very interesting and informative.

[@30tariqumar]

The most informative as well as interesting eye opener after a long time.

[@tanvigudhekar4308]

Very knowledgeable episode.

[@sujathanagaraja7692]

Really appreciate the practical no nonsense approach to food! Please elaborate on the types of cooking oils and their merits especially the cold pressed vs packaged oils. Thanks

[@vishalumaria]

Very fresh podcast nice thank you

[@Shri_Hegde]

8:58 It might be other way right ? Idli might have gone to indonasia as kidli.... As Southern kings have conquered indonesia and rules that land for several years.. We say this is the origional food based on in which story westerners agreed and popularise it...

[@satyenbose1]

Very informative and logical

[@geeteshiyer]

The journey from Doing Jalsa Showing Jilpa to being a wellness influencer . KA is ❤️❤️

[@yeskay9685]

Excellent talk by Varun - about 'Culinary Psychology' You should classify the topics are bring out episodes 2 & 3 as well.

[@direct.skc.2]

Just my ype of content. Food culture and history is what I trive on. Thanks for the podcast Varun, much appreciated. 👍😎

[@soosyjacob2827]

I am listening to this episode for the first time and I really enjoyed. It was very informative and interesting.

[@piyushagarwal1350]

Great conversation!!

[@prajb4856]

Very interesting and informative

[@anjanagopakumar]

Insightful!

[@ashwinrajpurohit617]

Insightful

[@pratyasha10]

Very interesting video

[@kalpavrukshg8853]

In North India, Dal chaval & Khicdi are very common, which is similar in texture to South Indian dishes. And even east has similar rice eating culture either it is Bengal or odissa etc in terms of texture. ( kheer phirni or paysum are similar) so I don't think so texture argument stands for rasam

[@Kathakathan11]

This man is ignorant, and slightly ethnic hater. He actually thinks rice and coconut are only in south.

[@direct.skc.2]

I have never seen a North Indian dal as runny as a rasam, also NIs are not great at eating runny rice with hand, they are roti eaters and never developed the motor skills to scoop up runny rasam rice. In Bengal however, they have runny masoor dal that goes together with rice, but they add alu bhaja or some other bhaja to the scoop mix that holds it together.

[@Neerja1905]

In Odisha (and in other eastern states) eat Pakhala- which is rice in curd water or just water - in the summer… and we are also close to South India, so similar landscape, similar produce, hence some more commanality

[@kalpavrukshg8853]

@direct.skc.2 in gujarat, they have Osaman dal, which is watery. In many parts in relative north, we have rice + buttermilk (it is watery ) based dishes as Neerja mentioned that also has similar texture.

[@kalpavrukshg8853]

@Neerja1905 yes, but odisha culturally is also close to Bengal. So I think states like Maharashtra, karnataka , Odisha , and Adhra Pradesh are kind of transitional. They have mixed dishes border areas where there is culture, language, and food blend in with one another.

[@mikeibra9301]

One of the best talks/discussions on Indian food. By the way, both of you should hit a bengali restaurant to have fried EGGPLANT (cut in cross-section), yellow dahl, with steamed rice and a ghondho-raj lemon. You can add yogurt or curd if you like. This might become your favorite food after biriyani. I am sort of embarrassed to make this joke, but I was expecting Krish Ashok to tell us how hard it was to wicket keep for Murali.

[@Kathakathan11]

Baingan bhaja, well visit Maharashtra, we have Konkani rice delicacies, our deserts are of rice, our main course is rice, modak is rice

[@Krishnazflute]

@@Kathakathan11 modak is out of this world yummy. And puranpoli.

[@nickgharibian6935]

excellent conversation, this is prime example of east meets "American" West food discussions. This is much wiser, and realistic picture of food and humans. This is what Americans keep missing about food! They uncover something and try to explain for many things. Science is the tool that explains the how, not the why. I think Eastern cultures are more wiser in taking the how and try to provide the why in a different way.

[@sapnarazora]

Loved it❤❤ Looking forward for more 👏👏👏

[@curiosity_cache07]

Very interesting podcast ❤

[@jjayasheela1]

It has been fantastic

[@khushbooracca6662]

The episode was very interesting and very informative. Kindly bring krish ashok back for more of this talk

[@krishashok]

Thank you!

[@braunarsch]

there's so much more about food that can be talked about, i hope there's a part 2! :)

[@VarunDuggi]

For Sure…

[@mohitmadhavani108]

Love the way you take the conversation so nicely😍

[@VarunDuggi]

🙏🏽

[@kavinanil7406]

'Unavae marunthu' (Tamil) meaning Food as medicine. Food was never eaten for fun. There is an eating culture in South especially in Tamil Nadu, where there is a fasting before a feast or a fast after a feast.

[@2001divyapaul]

He had me at 'Bangalore'!💛

[@Thesureleague]

Guys superb chat. Really enjoyed! Love from Karachi

[@manjuprabhuv]

One of the best chat saw I have seen in recent times.

[@gopuprakash160]

The Chinese wok is called 'cheena chatti' in Kerala, something that came from china. The Chinese konji is essentially the same kanji in Kerala/Tamil Nadu

[@latamuse7969]

Speaking of veg soups - please mention varieties of Koozh and kanji/ragi mudde - ancient calorie dense grain-based liquid and pappy foods consumed all over India and even in north eastern africa..

[@indiannajames8428]

Loving this as a second generation Indian woman chef in the UK. I would refuse to cook chicken tikka masala, every time I was asked to cook a curry I would say fine, but it's not like the typical British Indian curry, it will be what I cook at home. As a second generation, I do like to explore combining other ingredients from around the world and other cuisines with Indian food. Some people knock fusion food, but to that I would say, much like Krish Ashok says, Pav Bhaji is the ultimate fusion food and does it matter so long as the food tastes really good. Food is always evolving but equally it's good to keep classic and traditional recipes alive. Great interview : )

[@spui]

I am South Indian, most of the dishes I had and loved were vegan. Then I remembered - every time I had rice, I had to mix it with yoghurt. So I was rarely vegan.

[@vinaytalluri]

You mix it with Curd nit Yougurt bro. Yougurt and curd are not one. Dont bother to be Vegan by all force. Just relax. If being vegan is good for the world, our ancestors would have told it way back.

[@angiethebookaholic]

@@vinaytalluri whats the difference?

[@deus_ex_machina_]

@@angiethebookaholic What we called curd is actually yoghurt. What westerners call curd is the liquid byproducts (what remains) of cheese-making.

[@direct.skc.2]

​@@vinaytalluriI live in the west and just had my lunch with yogurt to end with, it's the same as desi curd. The term 'curd' is non-existent on this side of the world, and it doesn't mean anything else. To 'curdle up' is to mean when the milk solids separate out from the rest of the liquid. That's the only place where 'curd-le' is used.

[@rekhathomas1722]

All South Indians mix rice eith yougurt/ curd everyday as the last course of the meal

[@mutyalarao]

Interesting topic to talk about!! Just about halfway through the episode. I would like to know the speaker's take on some of our sweets, savouries and staples made out of millets like jowar and bajra? Weren't they conceived as territorially suitable culinary ideas in India?. To discount them and claim that everything Indian is Indianized will be short sighted. I believe there even were references to Idli in the 9th century Kannada literature. The very similarity of the steaming process need not suggest a deduction from other cuisine.

[@ranjanajitkr]

That North Eastern fermented thing must be "Axone", pronounced as Akhuni, which is fermented Soya.

[@PhalgunnMaharishi]

Rex theatre... English movie... Once a month!! You got me there 😀That's my childhood! Thanks!

[@viduramdeworrastogi6857]

One funny olfactory experience with food..I grew up in an onion garlic household and my in laws were quite strictly no onion no garlic...so the smell of hibf tadka was difficult to accept..but with time now..its difficult for me to cook let alone eat garlicky stuff! Though my kids love it!

[@jaysh3008]

Am a south Indian from Mumbai. So used to these disco dosas and love them. Have also seen my southie friends from south India cringe on seeing it. Its more suited to the gujju palate but I totally love it. Guess its d familiarity aspect for Mumbai kids :)

[@direct.skc.2]

Mumbai is home for all good food getting ruined.

[@AemyWelsch]

Argh I hated aubergine as a child. That slimy mush would make me heave. Thank you for this episode. I am doing a PhD on food practices and I love the fact that someone in India is having these conversations. Please bring him back soon. Cheers

[@nottsoserious]

First time I've seen an Indian person say aubergine and not brinjal

[@pdpr91]

When Kerala was struggling with famine and starvation, the King of Travancore traveled to Brazil and brought back tapioca, Jack fruit and yam. Before British came, there were Dutch and Portuguese because of whom we have cashewnut which is still called parangandi or parangiandi (parangi=firangi for french/dutch/portuguese, andi=nut). This inspired keralites to use steaming technique to make appams, kozhukatta, ada and so on.appam also has a variety where you use fermented coconut wine. Kerala also had a jew population which influenced cooking. Muslim traders came to Muziris port (kodungalloor) and established Persian cooking there. The kozhikodan and kannoor cuisine has a lot of Arabic influences. And then came tye Syrian Christian

[@nitishpavithran3191]

Yam and jackfruit were independantly domesticated by indigenous people of south ,SE asia and S. America. Not brought by parangis from S. America. But Tapioca is native to South america

[@vigneshkn1157]

Jackfruit is native to tropical India..

[@akankshatiwari2572]

The guest is such a good speaker

[@vijayavadivelu6652]

Great conversation (except the earliest food memory story 😃)

[@kyakaruvlogs2784]

Very interesting. 1 hr felt like 5 mins.

[@agnividhyut]

The mānasollāsa (a 12th century Chalukyan text) mentions an 'iddārikā' which essentially is an idli. Lovely podcast though!

[@direct.skc.2]

So?

[@mkadam010]

That north east dish that has strong smell of fermentation must be Axone/Akhuni

[@direct.skc.2]

Did he say North or Northeast?

[@prachisingh2616]

Shocking knowing about microwave n freeze food. Pls do more pod on the same😇. Need to learn more.

[@direct.skc.2]

Freezer drops the temp of the environment so that microbes don't get the right warmth to grow. Microwave excites the water molecules that are there inside every food to run around with high energy, thus generating heat. That's why the vessel never gets heated up in a microwave, just the organic matter.

[@SgtScourge]

Thank you for the long form interview! I have a question about chicken Tikka. You mention it's leftover chicken? I was wondering if at some point before refrigeration people would just toss chicken pieces into a fermenting yogurt jar to coat them and preserve them for a while or the morning until cooked. I'm always very interested to hear about the practical life situations and circumstances that generate these cooking methods. Do you have other videos about how daily life 8n the past has formed certain dishes to be the way they are?

[@ud1976]

Similarly, I suspect that cheese was probably first discovered in the belly of calves.

[@suchetamehra6778]

Half cooked rice combined with flavorings and then sealed and finished is a hallmark of Persian cooking. So how does one separate the name and the technique and decipher that the cooking technique is S Asian?

[@iArpanMishra]

Krish Ashok is absolutely brilliant! I was not able to find any reference to Sita's favourite food being "Vension and Rice". I love to know the source Varun...

[@Kathakathan11]

Tahat weird to think 😂😂 Sita eating non veg. She was from Mithila, agriculturally thriving land. So I can argue that meat eating is lesser possibility. But still I would love to know the source, dare he share it

[@abhijit6332]

You must be vegeterian and have extreme prejudice towards nonveg food, otherwise out of 75 minutes of podcast you would not have picked this point. At the time of ramayana, the khatriyas mostly all ate meat, mostly cooked with just spices no onion and garlic. Anyway here is a quote from the Valmiki Ramayana, "suraaghaTasahasreNa maamsabhuutodanena cha | yakshye tvaam prayataa devi puriim punarupaagataa || 2-52-89" Basically, Sita maa is offering cooked meat and rice along with thousand pits of liquour to Ganga mata after safe return. Mind you you will not find any evidence in Modern Ramayana, our values have changed so much over the course of thousand of years.

[@maniish2165]

@Abhijit Yeah, someone please tell these people. They keep forgetting that Rama and Sita were kshatriya. They eat meat. Why else would they hunt for deer and such?

[@krishashok]

Lots of references. Here is one example तौ तत्र हत्वा चतुरो महामृगान् वराहमृश्यं पृषतं महारुरुम्। आदाय मेध्यं त्वरितं बुभुक्षितौ वासाय काले ययतुर्वनस्पतिम्।।2.52.102।। Refers to hunting one boar and 3 kinds of deer to eat.

[@Vistaspsam]

@@Kathakathan11 You will find enough meat eating references, by even Brahmins (forget Kshatriyas, which is what Ram and Sita were) in the Rigveda.

[@a.j.vasudev7700]

Good information about our food . It is right to that every 40km ,our recipes change 😅.. and we have ancient recipes as given by our best master chefs Bheema ( pandal prince) and king Nala from our ancient times. Recently in Rajastan in one Harappan Archeological site ,found 4K + year old Multi grain laddus - using wheat+ barley + chickpeas + jaggery + sesameseeds etc., !! And certainly some recipes using peppercorn ,as we don't have chilies 🌶 , but we telugu ppl can't imagine how we will live without Avakai ( ఆవకాయ)😅

[@thiruvetti]

8:16 - Funny u say Pav Bhaji is not Indian dish because it has ingredients from all over. Then when that logic is applied to say Biryani is not an Arabic or Mughal dish because Biryani is nothing without Ancient India's spices or rice, u ppl start yelling 🤣

[@Kathakathan11]

Yes, Also what is Italian food without tomatoes😂😂😂 pizza is not Italian. Coffee is what again? 😂 filter coffee? It’s definitely not Indian Chai is not Indian Most central Asian cuisine cannot be flavoured without cumin, which they import.

[@direct.skc.2]

He didn't say it's not Indian, he said all of the things that go into it are not of Indian origin.

[@thiruvetti]

@@direct.skc.2 lol u dont know him then. Krish ashok is a person who keeps ranting when Indians claim food history. He is this pseduo liberal who feels everything in India is due to foreigners etc etc. Thats why I said then that should apply to Biryani too.. Cos these people again credit that to Arabs.

[@prasannakrg]

Fabulous interview

[@shruthihebberalu9969]

Very great conversation can anybody give me original Indian cuisine, cause we are clever but we borrowed everything what is unique to us?

[@usnasi4439]

FYI, kadai is called cheena chatti in malayalam which literally means vessel from China