Aug 12, 2024
By: Prerna Tyagi
Credit: iStock
When George R.R. Martin said, “History is a wheel, for the nature of man is fundamentally unchanging. What has happened before will perforce happen again”, do you think he was talking about our eating habits? Maybe.
Credit: iStock
No matter how many culinary fads come and go, whether you like it or not, the humble brinjal (baingan) sabzi may always stay in our kitchens. As shocking as it may sound, if you existed 4000 years ago, you would have had the same dinner-time rendezvous with the brinjal curry, albeit with some changes.
Credit: iStock
A decade-old study by archaeologists Arunima Kashyap and Steve Webber of Vancouver's Washington State University used the method of starch analysis on a pot shard of a bulbous handi, they traced the world's first-known or "oldest" proto-curry of aubergine, ginger and turmeric.
Credit: iStock
The researchers also found imprints of mangoes, bananas, dates and gourds, but mostly they found us a trapdoor to the kitchens of the Harappan civilisation.
Credit: iStock
This research was conducted in Farmana, a small village in present-day Haryana. Due to its proximity to Gujarat, it can be hypothesized that salt may have found its way into this curry.
Credit: iStock
Yes, brinjal is one of the few indigenous vegetables on the subcontinent. Okra, drumsticks and Indian spinach are some of the native ingredients. Tomato, onion and potato-some of our staples are relatively new and arrived in India a few hundred years ago.
Credit: iStock
Hence, if you limit your cooking equipment and condiments to the minimum, and cook brinjal with some turmeric and ginger- you’d get a delicious Harappan supper. If you have a different opinion about this simple preparation, there might have been a Harappan kid who would relate to you!
Credit: iStock