Food matters!

“Annam parabhrama swaroopam” that is my relationship with food.  The quote from Upanishads   is ingrained into me since childhood, yes “Food is god”  for me.

The strongest and earliest food memory I have is of my parents kitchen where the kitchen was treated more like a pooja room. As a little girl, I would watch amma wash the kitchen platform, wipe it clean and then put kolam on the platform and a small pattern on the gas stove also. This was followed at  grandparents place  and in my in-laws’ place too.   Cooking is more like a sacred  ritual in our household.

My elders would step into kitchen  only after a bath, cook the food with prayers on their lips. Such prayers and vibrations would render the food healing it is believed. The food is then offered to God (neivedyam) following which the food is offered to ancestors who are supposed to be in the form of crows.  

This is another memory I remember. During my vacation time at Mylapore,  I and my cousins would be called to offer the first morsel to crows. Patti would scoop out rice in a ladle, add a little dal and ghee over and hand it over to us, we would run  over two flights of stairs and reach the terrace and place it over the concrete chimney. We would  sniff at the aroma emanating from the chimney and hmmm….the aroma still lingers  Wow! Just writing about this makes me feel good.  We would also fill a bowl of water for crows.Only then were we supposed to eat.

Eating was not just holding a plate on our hand or our lap. We ate properly squatting on floor or on the dining table. It was mindful eating of what went into the plate. It was considered unhealthy to eat with a plate on our hand and also disregard , afterall so much of hardwork has gone into growing, sourcing and making  that meal. Appa was very particular about not spilling grain from the plate that I ate.

There was no question of trashing food also. Each and every grain was used and even the leftovers went into making of a new dish or into “Pazhedu” . Wasting food was considered a disregard to “God of food” Annapoorani.

Thanks to my elders who have inculcated such healthy food habits, maybe that is why I am not very fussy when it comes to food, i eat anything healthy and vegetarian. Even today, I follow all those and as far as possible inherently be kind to food and nature. 

Written for "Explore your relationship with Food" on Indispire #foodfads