Flipping through channels, I stumbled upon 'Passage to India.' Nah, not the Foster masterpiece; an episode on Food Network. And who would have guessed it..... it's Guy Fieri talking curry!!
I have seen many Food Network stars take on Indian cooking, but Guy jumping the bandwagon took me by surprise. I guess, he is just so 'American' that it was weird seeing him talk about turmeric and garam masalas. Almost to the point that I didn't really trust the food he was cooking. Throughout the show it seemed like he was still new to the cuisine and hence not too comfy with it.
His cooking got me thinking about how India has permeated lives in this part of the continent and how our food and culture has nudged people to take a closer look at us. And by culture, I don't just mean bindis, namastes and caste-system.
Unlike earlier, I feel our country is understood a bit more; and not just as a land of wild beasts and "naked skinny people." Our work ethic, expertise and our eccentricities have over time won over the hesitations and colorful stereotypes. More often than not, I meet non-Indians who speak intelligently about our economics, politics and of course our much-beloved bollywood.
I have seen many Food Network stars take on Indian cooking, but Guy jumping the bandwagon took me by surprise. I guess, he is just so 'American' that it was weird seeing him talk about turmeric and garam masalas. Almost to the point that I didn't really trust the food he was cooking. Throughout the show it seemed like he was still new to the cuisine and hence not too comfy with it.
His cooking got me thinking about how India has permeated lives in this part of the continent and how our food and culture has nudged people to take a closer look at us. And by culture, I don't just mean bindis, namastes and caste-system.
Unlike earlier, I feel our country is understood a bit more; and not just as a land of wild beasts and "naked skinny people." Our work ethic, expertise and our eccentricities have over time won over the hesitations and colorful stereotypes. More often than not, I meet non-Indians who speak intelligently about our economics, politics and of course our much-beloved bollywood.
But I digress.
My take on changing face of India - reserved for another blog :)
As you can see, watching Fieri getting his curry on had thrown my neurons in an over drive. It led to this blog and a long discussion with G. But then isn't this what good shows are all about.
Indeed!!
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