The Green Kitchen: How did ‘Dal Bhaat’, India’s staple food, come to be?

In Season 2 of The Green Kitchen, we delve into the timeless dal-bhaat, a staple food combination across India, featuring Professor Pushpesh Pant, an academic and food historian renowned for his extensive writings on Indian cuisine.

This season brings viewers stories of regional rice varieties that, while not always long-grained or aromatic, are still bursting with flavour, as well as the legumes enjoyed alongside them.

In the first episode, we explore the fundamentals of rice and legumes in Indian cuisine, discussing varieties, regional differences, environmental connections, and their nutritional importance. We also highlight the socio-economic and cultural significance of dal-bhaat. Many of these rice and legume varieties have even earned the Geographical Indication (GI) tag, and we will explore the impact of this recognition.

The conversation will cover the diversity of rice and legume types used across the country, their cultivation regions, historical links to civilisations, and local language references. We will also touch on how the environment shapes their taste and nutrition. This episode serves as a curtain-raiser for the rest of the season.

Future episodes will delve into the biodiversity and the role of microclimatic regions in shaping rice and dal varieties. We will also discuss agricultural cycles—sowing, transplanting, harvesting, and milling—within the context of regional harvest festivals, rituals, and folk songs. Finally, each episode will include cooking demonstrations, showcasing how to prepare these unique rice and legume varieties.