Among all other aspects of Adivasi culture lost to modernity, the loss of traditional tribal cuisine, considered healthy by experts, is rapid and sadly going unnoticed.
At present, the elders in Gond, Kolam and Pardhan communities are the last ones who posses the knowledge of their cuisine as the younger ones mostly stay in school or college hostels.
In an effort to pass on the knowledge on food to younger generation, a group of Kolam women from Lendiguda in Jainoor mandal came together to cook traditional food on Wednesday. The event sparked much enthusiasm among the residents of the village and surrounding hamlets indicating the need for more such activities to protect the Adivasi culture.
Though jowar and different kinds of tubers and bulbs have been the staple food of tribal people, their cuisine cannot do without mahua flower (Madhuca indica or M. longifolia). “I am making ‘lipate’ or roti,” introduces Atram Anubai, an elderly woman kneading little quantities of finely ground mahua flowers and jowar flour. “This is eaten with ‘jole’ or regular dal,” she adds as she sautés it on a pan on a desi firewood oven.
The women made ‘latta’, a mix of ground mahua and cesamum, and ‘sidum’ which has mahua steamed and then finely powdered. The women, however, could not make the ‘panke’, another kind of roti where a thick flat lump of jowar flour will be stuffed in leaves of lac tree and baked on dung fire.
“Such food seems to be meagre, but it is quite healthy. Mahua is good for blood circulation and keeps heart diseases at bay,” opines Ram Babu of Aahar Kuteer restaurant in Hyderabad, who is also an Ayurvedic food expert.
“There is a dire need to preserve knowledge on our traditional food by making the younger generation take part in cooking. Authorities should also organise a tribal food festival to spread awareness on their cuisine and also to preserve the tribal culture,” suggests Atram Raju, a Kolam elder and former sarpanch of Dubbaguda gram panchayat.
