Bring on the carbs!

The traditional Indian meal was nutritious in its balance. But now, Middle India is opting for meat-and-carb overloads

- VIR SANGHVI

One of the distinctive characteristics of Indian food has always been its balance. When we eat dinner, we usually eat at least three different items: one or two sabzis, rotis or pooris of some kind, dal, dahi (or raita), salad or kachumber, rice (perhaps) and if we are non-vegetarian, then some kind of meat, fish or chicken.

In this respect, we are very different from the West. Though the typical Western meal is supposed to consist of a starter, main course and dessert; the main course itself is always a single dish and these days, the starter is being abandoned. The focus will usually be on the non-vegetarian main dish with perhaps one or two vegetables on the side. There are exceptions like Italy, where there should be a parade of dishes at each meal: antipasto, pasta, main course etc. But these days, even Italians are often content with a single course when they are at home.

This distinction in how we eat has always played to our advantage. Many nutritionists will tell you that Westerners eat too much meat. In India, even non-vegetarians will not necessarily eat meat at every meal and many Indian non-vegetarians will have, at most, one meat dish at a meal. The dal, vegetables etc. will be accorded as much respect as the meat.

In the West, there is now a campaign to get people to eat more vegetables. This is proving difficult because, once you take away pasta and pizza, there aren't that many vegetarian options in most Western cuisines. In India, on the other hand, our vegetarian cuisine is even more sophisticated than our non-vegetarian cooking. And truth be told, most Indian non-vegetarians will not feel that they are being deprived if there is no meat in a meal. In the West, however, most people have to make a conscious attempt to go vegetarian and to cope with meat deprivation.