When the lockdown eased up and early winter knocked on Delhi’s door, inaugurating picnic season, assistant professor of history, Aali Kumar, spent an afternoon at Sunder Nursery and Lodhi Gardens. In both places, trees lined with Mughal tombs glowing in the sun, she noticed that a lot of people were picnicking on the grass. She was teaching a course on Colonialism in India at the time and saw in her mind the grand picnics of the British era.
She says, “I felt inspired to recreate a historically accurate themed picnic of the Raj. On a whim, I decided to hold one at Sunder Nursery soon after.” She announced the event weaving together some food and some history—Vignettes of History: Sahib’s Picnic—online. “It was fully booked in two hours. Though it was overwhelming to set it up at first, the event turned out to be a grand success and Zaikanama as a niche food history and heritage occasion was officially born. “We have been doing events every two weeks since then,” smiles Aali. Her sister Ayushi does most of the cooking, while her mother guides them through the event management aspect.
The professor’s culinary knowledge is quite abundant. India’s beloved snack, Samosa, finds its origin in the Middle East and Central Asia. Brinjal curry is one of the oldest dishes dating back 4,000 years. Archaeologists have found its remains through a method of starch analysis at Farmana, a Harappan site.
And, of course, butter chicken was an improvisation of sorts. It came into being due to a lack of ingredients, not because of an abundance of them.
This and much more is what Zaikanama—that discusses history and culture through food—brings to the fore. Aali would often use examples of food to explain certain aspects of her lessons. For example, why was tea a symbol of protest at the Boston tea party? Why was the salt tax chosen by Gandhi to challenge the British imperialism?
“I had done themed meals for family and friends over the years and the lockdown made me turn to blogging about my culinary exploits from a historical point of view. A lot of the food that we consume today has a very rich history. I started writing those stories along with recipes. I received a lot of appreciation and engagement on these posts and people expressed desire to not only sample the dishes but to know more about the cuisine and its history.
This made me think on the lines of taking these conversations beyond the classrooms and books and make it more fun and accessible,” Aali explains. Her mother Meena, a homemaker, has preserved heirloom recipes she had learned over the years. Helped by Ayushi, a lawyer and an exceptional cook, they set about creating a melting pot of culture, history and food.
Aali says, “Our favourite guilty pleasure is food. There are many cultural influences on our cuisine.” From succulent kebabs to delicious cutlets, from liberal use of red chillies in our food to industrial bread that has found its way into our plates. The Portuguese introduced chillies, peppers and tomatoes, and Goa’s Cafreal has its origins in Portugese and African culture. The Parsis, the French, the Syrian and Bagdadi Jews, and of course, the British, all left an indelible mark on Indian cuisine.”
The purpose of her events is to engage participants with culinary heritage and history as creatively as possible. “Sometimes we do themes that explore the lesser-known stories about popular cuisines. Occasionally we introduce glimpses of foods of a community or a geographical area that are not mainstream. One of the many perks of such functions is meeting like-minded people,” she adds.
Setting up such a cultural event of this sort is not plain fare. First, Aali zeroes in on the theme; it requires a minimum of two weeks of extensive research.
“I make it a point to take up themes I’m comfortable and familiar with. At times we recreate food and cultural memories of a bygone era through a customised menu, for example our events on cuisine of British Raj or our upcoming event on January 31 that traces food prints of Partition on Delhi, which is an attempt to look at the changes in the cultural fabric,” Aali says, adding that she likes to keep the number of participants to a tight 10. “Anything more and it would lose the personal touch. After all, our events are more a baithak or curated conversations than a lecture,” she smiles. It’s a gastronomic trip for both culinary aficionados and the historically curious, who could discover a common thread.
This and much more is what Zaikanama—that discusses history and culture through food—brings to the fore. Setting up such a cultural event requires at least two weeks of extensive research.