For the Love of Food!

"If music be the food of love, play on" said Shakespeare in the Twelfth Night, I always thought there was something wrong with the quote, I'm convinced that he was talking about food being the love, the music, the joy of life but 'twas lost in translation.

I Love Food, that is a gross understatement, I live to eat, I dream about food, I cook up recipes to try. I'm the one reading the menu card, long after the order has been placed, because I want to lose myself in the scrumptious offerings an eatery has, so what if I try nary one or two dishes. I'm the one talking about food when I'm hungry, mentally salivating over flavours and favourite foods. OK, so you get the point I love food.

In a country blessed with diverse geography, a variety of ingredients, spices that tingle and tickle, a person like me would be spoilt for choice. 

And I am, in fact we all are (the foodies for sure); India from Kashmir to Kanyakumari is smorgasbord waiting to be sampled, to tempt and tantalise your senses.

From Kari Meen, to Rogan Josh, Undhiyu to Patodi Macch, I could wax poetic about the food this country has to offer.

Of course, every time I travel the only order of business is try sample as many local cuisines, dishes, visit as many iconic eateries as I can, and each time I come back with my soul as satiated as my belly.

And not only had I visited a new place, I had relished the delicacies it has in store for me, enjoyed its unconditional love albeit for a little while, why love because there is no greater act of love than to feed a belly – hungry or otherwise. And that’s what we do in India, show our love through food, whether its goodies exchanged at festivals, or friends dropping over, or just a mother trying recipes to feed her finicky kids.

Now Food Tourism, is the new kid on the block, places trying to use the soft power of their cuisine to attract tourists, using the power of the Chicken Tikka Masala to lure visitors to come have a bite, and it’s a great concept. I mean in the 60’s it was yoga and spirituality, which made everyone make a beeline for India.

And of course food is soft power today, all you need to do is take one look at Social Media sites and you will find an abundance of food pics, TV shows like Master Chef, are broadening our knowledge of food and making us more experimental with what we want to try.

If you’re a foodie like me, do yourself a favour and travel across India sampling tasty morsels, the delicate doodh puff, the hearty sund, the chunky pethas, the list is endless.

In fact companies like Tikka Safari, organise food trails & food tours, where the journey is spent visiting places, with the intention of eating great food, chasing unknown delicacies in a place you've never been, getting invited by a local family for a traditional meal, or cooking in a communal kitchen.

Book yourself on a trip and eat your way across India, after all there is no love sincerer, than the love of food.