Between Poornima as a silent young observer, to becoming a creative powerhouse in the kitchen, there have been moments of intrigue, joyous sharing and digging into her roots, that can be considered as the beginning of her love affair with food. 

As a young graduate who moved to Delhi for work and lived by herself for the first time, food equaled a bare necessity, without much thought into what she cooked or how she ate. It was a few years later when she moved in with her friend Parvathi Menon, that Poornima started to really enjoy cooking, fascinated by the ways in which Parvathi embraced her culture, coming from Kerala, her puttu maker and appam pan in tow. In her little notebook of handwritten recipes in Malayalam, were countless meals of kadla curry, coconut chutney, doshas (as she liked to call them) and appams. This inspired Poornima so much that she began to reach out to her own mother and aunt to learn and document Punjabi recipes she had grown up with. What followed were the most joyous confluence of cuisines and memories - breakfasts of chicken curry and dosas, and devouring dal makhni with appams. Those years also led her to exploring and enjoying food of all kinds, in places new and old, and learning more deeply about diverse cuisines. 

However, Poornima's relationship to food has dramatically changed in the last two years, post an experience where she realised that just eating differently, made her feel like another person, she felt lighter and was more energetic. Coupled with her partner’s growing belief in ethical, sustainable living, she found the roots of this transformation that led them to move to a completely plant-based diet. Her biggest challenge in the process has been moving away from the food that she’s grown up knowing and eating. 

“When you take out all the food that you’ve grown up eating, how do you get all the nutrition you need on your plate? You require a lot of creativity to think about food in a different way. I read a lot of cook books and I take a lot of inspiration from people around me. I also apply my own understanding about food that grows here. Because it’s nothing like what I grew up eating, I keep trying to find ways to get a similar taste, texture and happiness.”

Much like my mother, Poornima’s mum also believed in eating a rainbow, i.e. to have many colours in your meals- the diversity in some sense ensured a balanced nutritious meal. The onset of winter growing up also meant eating a carrot a day, fruit and beetroot while devouring seasonal produce, and making sure that a little bit of everything found a place on your plate. These anecdotal snippets of advice are one of many that have been embedded with traditional knowledge in India. Generations of learnings have been passed down in practice within the home, and not as documented literature. Women are considered to be primary keepers of these traditional practices, which for many Indians is reminiscent of not just good food but also fond memories of home, of being cared for and a feeling of belonging. 

Image: Poornima’s Veggie Zoodles (Left) inspired by her mum’s philosophy of colour on a plate, and baked Almond Pulp Herb Mathris (Right) that give as much joy as reminiscing her grandma making mathris and pinni. Head over to her insta handle @espressozine for both recipes.

Many of these traditional practices have in recent years found new audiences, although for diverse reasons - the influence of the superfood movement of the West, a growing confidence in sharing our diverse food cultures spearheaded by many Indian chefs, and a number of young Indians moving away from home states and cities but wanting to eat more of what they grew up with. There are also a substantial number of writers, researchers and food enthusiasts who see these practices facing possible erasure, owing to changes in lifestyles, greater number of women in the workforce and grandmothers not being around anymore to pass on their knowledge. I am one of those food enthusiasts myself!

Having been introduced to the rich and fascinating world of regional Indian food through friends and travels, Poornima and I share a strong belief in respecting and valuing the sources of food and recipes that have lived for generations. But as we delve deeper into origin stories and histories along with more formal research on the science of food and nutrition, the boundaries of ‘authenticity’ and of ‘absolute truths’ get pretty blurred.

I find that it’s easy to romanticise the past and wish for things to be like they were, but that would be like making an incomplete Janus sculpture. So I asked Poornima about what from her past she would want to leave behind, and what she would want to take with her into building the future she imagines. She shared insights from her training as a holistic nutrition and health coach, wherein many aspects of our grandmother’s knowledge have been confirmed - from mindful eating and zero waste cooking, to the positive impacts of consuming ghee. However, she also brought forth the struggles of busting nutrition myths. She shares, 

“I’ve been told that your bones will be weak and you won’t get enough calcium if you don't drink milk. घी अच्छा है सबके लिए, आप भी खाओ (Ghee is good for everyone, you should also have). 

It’s these myths that I want to leave behind. Even if you’ve grown up drinking milk or ghee on your paranthas, it’s possible वोह आपके लिए अब अच्छा नहीं है  (that might not be good for you now).

So much has changed in the last 10-15 years. The environment has changed, the kind of food we’re eating has changed, where it's coming from has changed. Our bodies have evolved. I believe that everyone is a bio individual, whatever works for someone is what is right for them, that's the truth. Food will always evolve, food studies will keep on evolving as well, we have to keep figuring out what works for us. There is not just one kind of food lifestyle that works for everyone.”

For me, the ways in which Poornima’s relationship with food has evolved is illustrative of the one constant we know to be true since the beginning of time - change. However, the fear of change is also a constant. Embracing this can inspire us to learn - through discovery, experimentation and reflection. Discovery gives us the power of knowledge, while pushing the confines of what is known or stated to be, making way for experimentation. But most importantly, reflecting on the failures and successes of our experiments gives us direction- to learn and to better understand where and how our learning can be applied or adapted. And there is no better way to learn, than to do it together.

As we begin another year, I’d like us to honour our ancestors and their indigenous knowledge by not just discovering and experimenting, but also reflecting on what we can learn to take with us in building a future we all want. If you've been experimenting with your heirloom recipes, have been thinking about these questions, or have a perspective to share, I would love to hear from you. As usual, you can simply hit reply to this email to share your thoughts, conundrums, or just to say no more khhats please. 

With love and curiosity,

The KHHAT is a medium to share our ideas, explorations and discoveries, while connecting you to mysterious experiences, obscure places, and gifted people, in the form of a letter that reaches your inbox once a month. You can just hit reply to tell me what you liked or not in The Khhat, ask a question you wouldn't ask google or bing, tell us you want to be in our next one, or just to say no more khhats please!

*Khhat or ख़त means a letter, in urdu. 

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*Remember to mask up, sanitize often and celebrate, but carefully. Eat well, stay healthy.