Why Dalits were exempt from any dietary restrictions
With the arrival of television, followed by the internet, a plethora of cookery shows have exploded in our drawing rooms. Discerning viewers, however, can notice one facet of these shows: they are not just anchored by those with elite, upper caste backgrounds, but the recipes, too, are most often from groups belonging to the upper echelons of society.
This is something that struck Shahu Patole hard. The academic from Maharashtra’s Marathwada region was keen to highlight the cuisines of India’s subaltern sections—its Dalits and Adivasis—which led him to write Dalit Kitchens of Marathwada. The book details the foods of Maharashtra’s Mahar and Mang Dalit communities and is a labour of love for Patole, who comes from a similar background. Excerpts from an interview with Down To Earth:
What ignited the idea to write about Dalit kitchens?
A lot has been written about sattvic (pure) and rajasic (royal) diets, but our kitchens, our food, have been neglected. We also eat, we also live in the same society, the same country; but our food culture is never recognised. This is what compelled me to write about the topic. If our future generations ever wonder what their forefathers ate, this documentation will be invaluable to them.
The book says that while meat was forbidden for those within the Hindu caste pyramid (Chaturvarna system), those outside the pale of caste (Dalits) were exempt from it. Why this dichotomy, in your view?
The system needed bonded labourers under the guise of religion and societal structure, particularly for sanitation work. Dalits were made dependent on villages and were considered untouchable. The primary motive of the village inhabitants was to get their dirty work done at the lowest possible cost. This is likely why Dalits were exempt from any dietary restrictions.
Why did you restrict the scope of the book to the two Dalit communities, namely the Mahars and the Mangs?
The food habits of the so-called upper castes are always discussed and documented, but these two castes are often overlooked. I am familiar with their food practices, which is why I chose to write about them. If I had written about other castes, there was a risk of making errors.
The book notes that the Mahar and Mang communities were in charge of disposing dead animals, among other things. At the same time, you also observe that it was not always that the two communities ate meat. What, then, were the main sources of non-vegetarian food for them?
Muslim butchers would bring meat to sell in the weekly markets, and these castes would purchase it from them.
You also note in the end of the book that these two communities, which mostly ate jowar (sorghum) and bajra (pearl millet) have increasingly turned to wheat and rice, especially after the 1972 Maharashtra famine. Why this change?
The 1972 drought was not just about water scarcity; it also led to a massive food shortage. The Central government distributed various food grains, including wheat, rice, hybrid jowar, milo, corn and sattu (Bengal gram flour), to help people survive. People had to eat whatever was available. It took time to cultivate jowar and bajra again after the drought, so people continued eating wheat and rice but abandoned the other grains, which they never really liked. During the drought, the government introduced the Rojgar Hami Yojana (employment guarantee scheme), which provided disposable income to people. This also influenced their decision to buy wheat and rice.
What about Dalit women? They were a minority within a minority. How did they manage the family kitchens on a daily basis when there was so much poverty and so little to eat? Also considering that they had to work in the fields and look after the children as well.
In villages, almost all women had to work, with a few exceptions in wealthy households. The conditions for women were largely the same, regardless of caste or class. However, women from Dalit and other lower castes did enjoy some advantages, such as greater freedom, easier access to divorce, the ability to remarry, widows’ remarriages and the absence of a dowry system. They faced the same food shortages as men, but they also had decision-making power within the household.
The description about the dish Ambura has this line: “Mangs and bullocks would serve their masters throughout the year without uttering a single word of resentment.” I found this strikingly similar to the antebellum American South, where black slaves and livestock of plantation owners were considered to be similar. Would you say the condition of the Mahars and the Mangs was a type of chattel slavery?
Mangs are honoured on certain days, including during the festival of Pola, which is primarily a festival for bullocks. However, this respect is limited to just one day. I do not believe we can directly equate the caste-based servitude in India with the chattel slavery of the American South. Lower castes were compelled to work under the pretence of religion, culture, caste and social systems. They were told, “You are born into these castes as a result of your sins in a past life. You must redeem yourself by working hard now.”
You have noted in the beginning that your siblings were not comfortable with your writing this book.
It was not just my siblings; many of my relatives and others from our community did not like what I wrote—and some still do not. However, my siblings have now become supportive of my work as they understand the perspective I am coming from.
Do you think your book will encourage more Dalit writers to tell the story of their cuisines themselves, something which has not been seen so far?
I believe that only those Dalit writers who feel no guilt or shame about their own community, caste, food and culture can openly and freely write about their food heritage.
Recipe - Fashi (Epiglottis)
The Fashi begins where the tongue ends. It is also called tilli or tilvan. Epiglottis is the anatomical term for it. It is a thin, dark and elongated piece of flesh, with a purple or bluish tinge and is a few centimetres thick. It has a coating that looks like a plastic glazing and looks like a thin chocolate cake. The surface flesh looks like jelly. Underneath is dark, chocolatey flesh. Although the method of making fashi is similar to that of mutton, fashi has to be cooked separately. It is delicate and cooks faster than normal meat because it releases its own juices while cooking.
Ingredients (FOR MARINATING)
Fashi
Salt
Turmeric
Ginger-garlic paste (optional, but greatly improves taste)
Ingredients (FOR COOKING)
Oil or animal fat (used when there is no oil to be had)
Onions, chopped (finely or roughly)
Red or green chillies, roughly chopped (optional, but an improvement)
Green coriander leaves, chopped
Method
Cut and wash fashi. Mix with marinade and let it rest for 10–30 minutes. Heat fat in a pan. Add onions and fry till a nice brown. Add marinated fashi and cook a bit. Fry chillies in a little oil and add. Or add chillies directly without frying. Cook till done. Fashi is a delicate meat and cooks quickly, releasing a lot of liquid. Taste for salt and chilli flavour. Add more if needed. Add very little water to make a thick gravy or none to make a dry version. Expert cooks say excess water spoils the dish. Throw in a small fistful of chopped coriander leaves, if available. Fashi tastes delicious with bhakri.
Fashi is delicate and has no bones and no fat, so children relish it very much. In some regions, fashi cooked without chillies was given to lactating mothers to help produce more milk.
(Excerpted with permission from Dalit Kitchens of Marathwada by Shahu Patole, trans. Bhushan Korgaonkar, HarperCollins)
This was first published in the 1-15 October, 2024 print edition of Down To Earth