Day 1- What’s on your plate?
We have been eating organic, mostly, except for the bananas and papaya and onion. We are buying our food from the local market. A very friendly fat-bellied Nepali fellow procures vegetables from the villages nearby. All the fresh green leafy veggies- spinach, rye, amaranth, leaves of radish, dhaniya, methi, and cabbage are all procured from this friend of ours. The grains and pulses are bought from a local shop that gets its supplies from the neighbouring villages.
Today was the grocery day. Amidst the heavy lockdown, the market in Gopeshwar runs only till noon. Out on a shopping spree, we got our supplies of local rice, dal, organic tomatoes(seldom available), ginger, home-made Ghee, the beautiful Halloween pumpkin, local spice called Faran, locally grown rosemary for salad dressing, fruity delicacy called Aadu(Peach) and a big can of rhododendron juice. We don’t shop so much everyday, in fact, just once a month!
I have never ever been food conscious in my Urban life. Back at home with family, my mother would serve me the plate of my food. In college, I would eat the routine mess food, sometimes eggs, omlette or half-fried, and many times Maggi. In my job life, I complained more than eating the food my maid cooked and of course, there was Zomato, food that never gained my appreciation because the choices made it all the more confusing.
Karan, on the other hand, has always been the mindful foodie, who cheats when hungry!
Thus, our food exploration is solely Karan’s initiative where I have gotten along having no opinions to offer.
Moving to the Himalayas, in Uttarakhand, the availability of fresh indigenous organic local grains, pulses and vegetables have been an ease. However, at its deteriorating state, because most people have forgotten or are unaware of its value. We began with occasionally relishing the taste of these local supplies. Today, our kitchen has more locally available biodiversity of edibles than most families here. It has been a long journey, learning and relearning about the nutrients we need to consume, and the chemicals we need to avoid.
