Hearty & heritage

On World Heritage Day today, Renuka Krishnaraja goes on a quest to trace the origins of some exemplary dishes that have made history

From time immemorial, the world of gastronomy has posed challenges upon chefs who are ever on a quest to appease the tickling taste buds of food connoisseurs and commoners. While exemplary dishes were crafted with persistent experimentation, at times feats have been achieved under sheer desperation or perfectly by chance.

In this regard, let’s begin our chat with chaats. Although its origin cannot be pinpointed to a single source, one of the tales bears upon an interesting narrative. It’s said that when the Mughals relocated their capital to Delhi, people began falling sick. The alkaline water of Yamuna River was deemed to be the cause. Consumption of spicy, fried foods, which could negate the effect of water and boost immunity, was the proposed remedy. And thus was born the classic chaat, the fame of which needs no elucidation whatsoever.

It’s the assortment of boiled fried potatoes, crispy puris, spicy-tangy-sweet chutneys, pungent onions and salty flavoursome masalas that makes for a drool-worthy platter.

Indeed, many quintessential recipes have cropped up from royal kitchens, the iconic Mysore pak being one of them. While casually blending the flour, ghee and sugar in his pursuit of serving something novel to the king, little had the chef of Amba Vilas Palace known that he was about to create history. The fudge he made was adored by the Maharaja of Mysore that day and relished by the masses eventually. It’s rightfully said that necessity is the mother of all inventions.

The dearth of rice during the testing times of World War II urged the chefs of Mavalli Tiffin Room (MTR) in Bangalore to substitute it with semolina. Likewise, the Rava idli entered into the culinary field and gradually flourished into staple cuisine.

Pav bhaji is a popular street food and a kosher delight. During the American Civil War, the factory workers in Bombay had to work overtime to supply cotton to America. They opted for lighter meals that could be easily devoured in their short breaks. Hence, rotis were replaced with pav and curries were spiced to form bhaji. Needless to say, the new lighter version of the meal enhanced their efficiency. But it’s startling to note that initially it was considered sub-standard, probably because it was made with leftover curries and also it was the meal of labourers. But the taste of soft pav along with well-seasoned bhaji couldn’t be resisted for long.

After a while, it crept up on the palates of foodies and the rest is history.

At this juncture, the birth of Maddur vada too deserves a mention. It was on one particular day when a train arrived earlier than its schedule in Maddur railway station, the regular caterer panicked.

Not wanting to lose his customers, instead of shaping the pakoras the usual way, he flattened the dough with his palms so that they would fry faster. The resulting light and crispy fritters were savoured with delight then and the legacy continues even today.

Well, the above list is anything but exhaustive as human possibilities are endless and exploring them is always exciting.