Indian Food "Gujarati Thali": Cultural Component and Nutritional Value
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Objective: To think about food in a holistic and biocultural context while practicing your academic and creative writing skills. Assignment: Choose a food dish that you know well. This could be a dish you enjoy making yourself, a complex traditional meal for which your grandmother holds a secret recipe, or your favourite fast food, or anything else! You will choose three angles from which to explore the dish as a way of examining the economic, political, sociocultural, and/or nutritional dimensions of the food ingredients and the dish as a whole. If you are wondering if the dish you want to explore is appropriate, please check with Dr. Mant or your Teaching Assistants. You may write about the same dish from your Class Cookbook assignment, but you do not have to. Assignment Details: Choose THREE of the following options to explore the dish. You will examine one dish in three different ways. 1. Food preparation. Does your recipe include specific instructions as to how best to prepare a particular ingredient or the entire meal? Does this reflect evidence of trying to extract optimal nutritional value from said ingredient? Could preparation instructions be attributed to food preservation or infection control? 2. Incorporation of staple crops. Often particular regions of the world will be reliant on specific staple crops and this can have a large impact on the types of ingredients that are included in a recipe. This can be part of a famine protection strategy or a political and economic decision. Is a main ingredient in your recipe a staple crop? If so, you should establish the historical and/or cultural roots of this ingredient. 3. Food as a commodity. Does your recipe incorporate what could be considered a high status item? If so, identify the reason(s) why the item holds social or economic value and/or why this dish may be incorporated or comprise a meal. Is it native to a particular culture? If so, has it served to commodify that group or culture? 4. Overall nutritional value of the meal chosen. Using the Canada Food Guide as your foundation, assess the nutritional value of the dish chosen. Provide reasons and/or explanations as to the quality of your dish. How does this dish relate to concepts of “healthiness”? 5. Food availability. Does the availability of ingredients affect components of your recipe? For example, for individuals who reside in low socioeconomic areas, many attribute limited food choices to lack of financial resources; however, food availability can also be a contributing factor as well. Pull apart your recipe to explore this issue. 6. Food preference. From anchovies to insects, what we find appealing is often culturally constructed. Is your recipe influenced by cultural preference? If so, explain how. ASSIGNMENT GUIDELINES: COOKING IN CONTEXT ANT 214 Winter 2022 7. Food aversion/taboo. Is there a particular ingredient lacking from your recipe due to your religious or cultural beliefs? If so, what is the ingredient and what are some (or one) explanation(s) for the omission of this ingredient? 8. Cultural component. Is your dish particular to a given event or religious or cultural ceremony? If so, do the ingredients or preparation directions hold any significance? Explain how the dish fits into the ceremony as well as its social or symbolic significance. 9. Behavioural and social influences on food choice. This topic challenges you to think more about where you got your recipe from and how this decision influences your food choices and/or behaviours. 10. Political economy and its influence on food availability, preparation, and/or choice. Have you ever used a recipe that calls for a brand name product or gravitated toward one that relied on raw, organic, or fresh ingredients? Wider political and economic institutions can frame these food choices. This topic can be used to explore how ingredients are marketed, advertised, and discussed to further specific economic or political interests. 11. Food and memory. Did you choose your particular recipe because it holds some special significance to you? If so, you may want to explore the connection between food and memory. 12. Food blogger style. Following the examples provided on Quercus, describe your dish in the style of an enthusiastic food blogger. What kinds of stories might the dish tell (whether or not these are actually related to the food)? 13. Creative expression. Think outside the (cereal) box. Choose a creative means of explaining your dish. You could film yourself making it, paint a picture, sing a song, etc. Note: You do not need to introduce the dish in each section. Your reader will be reading all three sections, so feel free to title your paper with the name of your dish and use your space to get into the nitty gritty details! Assignment Specifications: Cover Page: Include course name, instructor name, name of the assignment, student name, student number, and date. Length: If you choose Options 1-12, you are expected to write TWO pages for each option. Option 13 has no specific word limit. Thus, your assignment will be a minimum of four pages, not including the reference page or the title page. If you choose three options from Options 1-12, your assignment will be a maximum of six pages, not including the reference page or the title page. ASSIGNMENT GUIDELINES: COOKING IN CONTEXT ANT 214 Winter 2022 Format: 12 pt. Time New Roman font, double spaced. Margins should be 1” on all sides. Number your pages. You may submit files as doc, docx, or pdf. References: Use a MINIMUM of three outside sources in addition to lecture material and/or course readings. Two must be scholarly (i.e., peer-reviewed journal articles, published academic books, and individually authored chapters in academic books). Late Penalties: You will lose 10% per day (including weekend days) for each day the assignment is late. No assignments will be accepted after April 12, 2022, since this date falls outside of the end of the Winter semester. Weighting: This assignment is worth 25% of your final grade.
Indian Food the Gujarati Thali
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Indian Food the Gujarati Thali
As we all know, India is known as the country of spices. Indian dishes use ingredients with distinct flavors; each component has its flavor profile. India's cuisine is recognized for its spiciness. Western India's desert cuisine is recognized for its unique taste and wide range of meals. Gujarat and Rajasthan are the states where Indian dessert cuisine is best showcased. Various dals and achars are used to compensate for the shortage of fresh vegetables in these areas.
Gujarati Thali is a tray of Gujarati cuisine served for lunch or dinner in restaurants and homes throughout Gujarat. "A full plate dinner" is what "thali" literally implies. Rotla, dal or kadhi, rice, dessert, shaak/sabzi, salad, pickles, Snacks, and curd/buttermilk are all traditional Gujarati Thali items. Every item is cooked separately, which means each has its distinct flavor. The Gujarati Thali is a critical meal for the Indian culture containing an important nutritional value. However, the dish's food lacks meat, which is among the most consumed meals worldwide.
Cultural Component
In Indian culture, eating Gujarati Thali serves to bring people together. Communal dining encouraged family members to gather and enjoy meals together. Families in India meet different family members at dinners, and this is the most fantastic time for them to spend time together and resolve any family issues that may arise. Meals were also used to bring together different families. Most Indian weddings are planned, and parents can choose a suitable suitor for their daughters by eating meals together. Because wealthier families used the costliest spices like saffron in their chicken, meals were also utilized to display status. After a long day at work, Indian families can get together for supper and talk about their problems. Indians believe in diversity as a source of unity, and they exchange meals between the north and the south. Because Hinduism is such a diverse faith, the cuisine reflects this diversity.
India's Gujarati Thali cuisine is distinct from that of any other country. However, all Indian Gujarati Thali cuisine tastes differ based on the region from which it originates. There is primarily southern and northern cuisine, but Indians borrow from the various areas. A southern chef will usually utilize a northern recipe when creating his dish; however, the south will also try other northern Indian recipes (Pilcher, 2017). Beef is considered the main meal in several nations and civilizations. However, beef products are not included in the diet because Indians hold cows in high respect.
The Indian people avoid eating beef because, traditionally, cows are sacred. Research indicates that around 81 percent of Indians observe certain restrictions on meat in their meals, including either not eating certain meat products, avoiding meat on specific days, or both. However, only 39 percent of the Indian population consider themselves vegetarians (Corichi, 2022). This explains why Gujarati Thali, a cultural and traditional Indian, lacks meat. According to Sharangi & Acharya (2018), Indians consider cows sacred. Hence, they would rather eat chicken or any other food than beef. Different meals eaten in India include a wide variety of vegetarian diets. All Indians are raised so that they do not consume any beef products and instead favor vegetables, so changing their culture will be difficult. Indians practice agriculture, growing the goods they consume in large quantities. They grow chickpeas, cashew nuts, and lentils, which are used to make various creamy sauces typical of Indian cuisine.
Seafood is readily available in India, according to Mangalassary (2016), but they are not as prevalent as other vegetarian foods, which are widely available and easy to obtain. The Gujarati Thali lacks seafood, which cannot be attributed to any cultural values of the Indians.
Nutritional Value
India's Gujarati Thali is not just a cultural meal but a meal that contains a balanced diet rich in minerals, proteins, vitamins, fiber, and carbohydrates. The ghee and curds used during the meal preparation have dairy products rich in proteins. According to a nutritional consultant, Sangeeta Khanna, Thali includes a mixture of grains, ghee, spices, vegetables, and tadka, thus making it a very nutritious food. In addition to...