Exploring India's street food heritage | Sonal Ved | TEDxPVGCOET

my subject for today is uh looking back and the Revival of Indian Street food and charts so for me it is no coincidence that the word chart rhymes with the word heart right from the living rooms on alter Mount Road in Mumbai and the weddings of umed bavan Palace to the chaotic streets of old Delhi chart and street food are only presentes in India today through my talk we will delve into this category of foods within Indian Cuisine by presenting various historical evidences ancient texts and traditional accounts on what is chart and how it has revived when it comes to Indian Street Food the sheer accessibility of them binds people together no matter what their social or economic status is street food forms a part of the collective Indian C identity irrespective of our background of region of affordability the love for street food and chart is similar to a religion that suits everybody you don't like the spiciness of Tika panipuri then let the sweet potato Ticky chat Soo your palette you don't like the zero texture D then let the crunchy chakal cook kebab rescue you unable to get your kids to eat vegetables in comes the Frankie the road to our hearts is certainly p paved with chart Tas talking about the origin of chart and street food the most debated subject when it comes to chart isn't that what is better the chart in Bombay or the chart in Delhi it is the origin of it so according to one story when Emperor Shah Jahan whose picture I have found here um fell ill the Royal hakeim advised him to eat food that was loaded with spices and that would help him strengthen his immunity the palace kanama who was really wise at that time cooked a dish that was light on a stomach but tasty at the same time and thus was born chart there is another Legend from the same period that said about a canal probably the river yamuna that got tremendously polluted during the mul period that was the water that was supplied to local homes because of which the CT hakeim advised everybody in the city to eat uh panipuri he asked them to put a lot of healing herbs spices such as Tamarind coriander and milk mint into their panies and thus was born chart though I believe that these are just old wife Tales a version of theara can be traced all the way back to Manos salasa an early 12th century Sanskrit text that's comp compiled by Kalani chaluka in which King someswar 3 shares much Social cultural information that gives us a peak into chalukya Dynasty's culinary life this this is uh one of the English adaptations of that book the scripture mentions the existence of dishes that combine the varas puas similar to the puis of panipuri or the Papi kurd a variety of spices and imagine this to have been around in Indian cuisine around 12th century although charts may have become well defined During the mugal period I believe that they existed as early as the 12th century in India across India each street food has its own unique story of origin a dish called sundal which you all some of you may be familiar with finds a mention in literature dating all the way back to the Chola period one of the references mentions the Chola Royals snacking on roasted peanuts with a sprinkling of fresh coconut similar to what I think may be the current day sundal this is available even today in uh Tamil Nadu and it's the first thing I personally eat as soon as I land on Chennai Airport then we have the railway cutlet and the railway mutton Curry that originated during the British Raj the British did not want to eat kebabs with their hands so the locals in kataa innovated to roll the meat up in a parata and thus was born the kti Roll Chinese baale a snack made of Chutney and fried noodles is an illustration of indo-chinese exchange which traces back to the Haka Chinese traders who settled in Kolkata in the late 1700s when it was the capital of the British Empire of India while Bombay Sandwich is said to have originated to feed the immigrant workers who throng the city during the mill industry boom in 1960s in 1969 Indian hockey player amarjit Singh tib visited beut on his return he introduced Indian inspiration of the shaa now known as the franki it was named named after the West Indies cricket player Frank warell the first tip Frankie opened in Mumbai in 1969 and there has been no looking back for the last 53 years with over 160 Outlets another interesting fact among the poetic narrations of Vijay nagar is the work of kanak Dasa the poet's commentary on the lifestyle of vij nagar reminded me of the buzzing streets of Spain as you'd find tiny tapas bar selling small bites and wine here in in Vijay nagar sorry for comparing Spain to Vijay nagar but it is what it is uh you would find tiny uh Tor shops that served a large range of salted snacks to be eaten along with li lior says kanak Dasa describing the moods on the street he talked about how people dranked and babbled the colorful Marketplace sold coconut jack fruit orange mango sweet Citrus guava grapes pomogranate wood Apple ink nut berries and other wild berries and grasses today each Indian state has its own interpretation of these dishes but what binds charts and Street Foods across the country is the traditional cooking techniques like tandur cooking cigares earn wear pots and other equipments that are used to cook street food furthermore the traditional way of cooking and serving them promotes a sustainable way of living through the usage of local seasonal ingredients and biodegradable packaging such as the kuler or for the ingredients to be wrapped in leaves so what is the difference between street food and chart there is an ongoing debate that questions if all chart is the same as street food the answer is simple all chart is street food but not all street food is chart for example a Bombay Sandwich or a bihari kebab is street food but that is in chart but a Pani Puri is considered a street food and chart at the same time by the way that's uh me making uh Pani puuri with Chef ranir BR street food can most certainly be a replacement for a meal something that fills your stomach on a busy day but chart is made of moments when the Puri breaks apart in your mouth a medley of flavors explodes on your tongue and reminds you of when you climbed up trees on hot summer days to pluck IM on a tree and savor it chart is an emotion street food is just to fill your belly the well travel Gorman Chef Anthony Bodin once said I've long believed that good food good eating is all about risks a study into the migration patterns of those hailing from utar Pradesh is a true Testament of Bourdain's words the early immigrant who ventured into the northern and western states of the country in the 12th century in search of livelihood was ready to take risks as he put up the first Tor to sell a variety of chart and street food that he grew up eating North versus South one thing about chart and street food a fact that glared right at me when I was doing research for this U project was that uh we can find chart abundantly in north central East and West India while South India has little to no charts it was perhaps the extreme cold a hot climate of the north and west that made them want to reach out for a hot plate of ALU ticki or a cooling bowl of papy chart accompanied by a tall glass of lasses in the B lines of matura while in South you will find ample street food from deep fried V VES por splatter Dosa Pera and bondas additionally Dairy which comprises of yogurt is a big part of chart is not widely used in South India as much as it is used in North India in fact according to historians North Indians and western Indians consume far more milk and milk products than South Indians this has something to do with a certain gene mutation which allowed North Indians to digest milk better than those in South India besides this one look at India's lesser known street food such as burmes ATO from Chennai dings L ALU WWA sikim sell Roi indors egg banjo utarak Kumi badas and many more are must tries in India now this is my favorite subject the origin of the Great Indian Samosa in nimat Nama written in naksh a cursive Arabic scripture during Gat Sha's Reign and added to by his son Nasir sha rulers of the independent malwa sultanate the sultanate had turkic origin and settled in the central part of India which is present day madhia Pradesh during this time there were Central Asian influences pouring into Indian Cuisine those could be samosas one of the most interesting facts I found in my research around the history of Indian Street food is the mention of samosas back then the fried flour pasties resembling the curray samosas were stuffed with a variety of meats like beef and venison but Sha's version was even more elaborate with minced meat mashed finel cumin salt cloves coriander seeds musk rose water Ginger onion perhaps even a little bit of campur folded into a triang triangular parcel skewed and fried in ghee Samosa are therefore named after samsa the Central Asian pyramids and referred to as sambusak sambusak or even sambus over the centuries in various cookbooks the form shape today of Indian Street food and chart this is not the first time in Indian history that diners are at a brink of a colossal shift in our attitude towards Indian Street food and chart today from the Northeast Indian Momos being available in South India to the streets of surra thronging with avocado toast this is definitely that time for my generation when we are witnessing a revision in approach towards how we look at Indian Street foods and charts while Concepts like chart and Kebab rolls were considered low bro and fit for the streets fine dining restaurants have embraced every facet of Indian cuisine in a more wholesome manner so for me new Indian Street food is dropping old stories and stereotypes it is invested in finding a new meaning for itself it is looking to Rebel with a cause yet guard its history and is in a constant mood for exploration thank you [Applause]

Channel: TEDx Talks

Views: 401

Keywords: Culture, Diet, English, Food, Humanities, TEDxTalks, [TEDxEID:55277]

Id: bd8LQK8AHdA

Length: 12min 32sec (752 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 14 2024