Of vegetarianism, food today and mindful questions

In this aspirational world where "there is better than here "especially when it comes to lifestyle, I stand witness to a lot of back and forth between traditions and technology. The way the worlds capital and technology is out there today to solve our food problems is indeed very noticeable and very commendable. Yet there is always the question, both capital and technology believe in investing in consistency and templation, the cornerstones of success in today's world , where is the prize and reward for individual brilliance and creativity, hallmarks of great chefs and great food establishments are process oriented eateries really the future? (and is that really where the big "funding" is ? ). Do great food and chef brilliance driven single restaurants have to find gratification in applause and verbal praise , while the big bucks get driven towards "scaleable consistent good food" ? These questions are best left for time to answer and tradition to trust. yes There's always some "authenticity loss" with time and technology but there is also a "convenience gain" and I strongly believe we will find an equilibrium in due course of time .

Coming back to "there is better than here" today's world in general and the west in particular is influenced by vegetarianism and rightly so as veggies and fruits have great benefits for the body . Yet I strongly believe that with time we will reach a "meat and vegetable" equilibrium here as well and that equilibrium will come from tradition itself . whether it's the pork and fiddle head fern curry of Assam or the Mangsho diye Bandhakopi (Cabbage with meat) from Bengal or unique pairings like karela gosht and shalgam gosht from the mughlai repertoire. We have always been vegetable eaters converted into meat eaters and this reflects in our traditional veggie meat pairings across the country and this will be the balanced food of times to come. A lot of effort is being done on saving these traditional recipes across the country especially on the electronic media and social media platforms.

Here's a humble request to all... please join this effort of reconstructing lost traditions and recipes. Ask your moms and grandmoms for recipes they cook and recipes they saw being cooked and record them. They will be the food of tomorrow... trust me on this one…

Karela Gosht
250 gms mutton bone
250 gms karela(scraped,de seeded,diced into large chunks)?
2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
2 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp red chilli powder
4 large diced onions
3tbsp tamarind paste
2 tbsp lemon juice
3/4 cup oil
1/2 tsp onion seeds
3/4 cup oil
2 tsp jaggery
Salt to taste

Method
Apply salt to the karela and keep for an hour, then squeeze the water released, wash and drain well in an earthen pot or any vessel of your choice, put all the ingredients together, heat and bring to a boil. Add two small glasses of water and let it cook sealed well on low flame till the meat is done (probably an hour). Let it stand for at least six hours before consuming.