Food is knowledge, science, art… we know all that, but food is absolute fun said the recent Food Fest at MOP Vaishnav College. Food celebrates, just look back at our food history, it said, we bring the past to you with an engaging twist of present participation.
The fest began with an impressive line-up of events in the preceding weeks. As contestants wrote on food memories of mom and grandma for an online contest, a series of Chef In You cookery contests invited alumni, college students, homemakers and corporate enthusiasts to present their favourite dishes. In unexpectedly high turn-outs, the participants tossed recipes with an original spin to take the exercise into the exotic — Food Utsav crackled into food revelry.
At Kitchen Science, you learnt to distinguish a good egg from a rotten one, prevent brinjal, apple and potato from turning brown, use a magnifying glass to catch bread-mould, use mustard sauce to mix vinegar with water, cook greens with colour and nutrients intact, understand leavening, caramelisation, functional ingredients, and the difference between regular (heavier with sugar, sinks in water) and diet cola (floats).
Food Prints celebrated festival food. Why do we make mothakam for Vinayaka Chaturthi, asked sari-and-jewellery-clad students. “The white covering is the body and the filling, the soul. We surrender ourselves fully to the obstacle-removing deity.” New Year’s maanga pachadi is sweet, sour, sharp and bitter, denoting different emotions. Janmashtami’s butter, product of the earliest processing activity, signifies mukti, attained through life’s churning. Karthikai lights lit for brothers ward off early darkness, puffed/beaten rice is chosen because of low rice stocks. Deepavali marundhu has ingredients with properties to aid digestion — licence to eat! Ramzan dates are nutritious when you break fast, the vegetarian haleem and kheer are soft on the stomach. Christmas cakes are saturated with nuts, Kolu has sundal — protein, puttu is rich in protein and iron, pongal is an experiment with fresh rice and jaggery, the ginger and turmeric stalks signifying good health. Onam sadhya tells us of coconut / coconut milk’s possibilities.
PACKED WITH INFORMATION
Included in the celebrations was information for pregnant and lactating mothers — through a food pyramid, actual dishes displayed for pre- / post-natal sustenance (vendhaya keerai koottu, manathakkali fry, varu payaru (soaked, dried, roasted pulses), cooked dishes, and a menu. Chasing Lost Treasures, you found brass/copper cooking vessels, mud pots, hand grinders that were safe and cheap to use. You could work a grinding stone to see how exercises were built into the cooking system. The native grain section told of millets and their use — foxtail (lower glycemic index), ragi (calcium-rich, gluten-free), jowar, maize (reduces hypertension), bajra and thinai (nutritious). “They grow on arid land and are cheap; add them to your menu,” said the students handing in recipes. Neivedyam explained why temples have particular prasadams.
The Fest was an opportunity to document Indian food traditions. Did you know panchamritam is the first processed food offered to god? That Kanchipuram idli can last for three days, with pepper and ginger acting as preservatives?
“Revival of paaramparya suvaigal (traditional flavours) was our aim to mark the 20th year of our college,” said Usha Ravi, dean-Academics, professor and head, School of Food Science. “Our ancients knew of food processing without an MSc in Food Technology!”
