What makes food delicious?

Picture Courtesy - TripAdvisor 

I have a Varanasi hangover and it refuses to leave me - I have recently returned from an amazing trip to Varanasi - an ancient, complex and unique city with so much of vibrant energy and positivity. while this city has a lot of temples which are on most travelers "to do" lists, the city is equally known  for its vast selection of street food. Every nook, corner and alleyway has food outlets tucked into a tiny niche, effortlessly dishing out their creations.

Varanasi has many flavors, in mornings there is kachori-sabzi-jalebi - the holy grail of all breakfasts, chai and butter toast, choti kachori and you could have a few more variations around the same. These are primarily sold in the mornings after which the shops shut for a snooze and preparations for the evening menus. Most of these shops reopen in the evenings where they sell samosas, tikkis, bread pakaoras, bhajias and of course there are more shops specializing in various kinds of chaats, thandai (with or without bhang - yes Cannabis  is legal here!) and endless varieties of lassi and sweets.

I had a list of things which I put together while researching my trip and looked forward to sampling them with delicious anticipation. The heat however was a spoilsport and my appetite is not what it used to be, so if you are a frugal eater, space it out over a few days or share your food if you have travel companions. In the summer months it is probably best to skip lunch to make the most of the available treats.

There are pages and pages of descriptions available on the street food of Varanasi, so I will try to answer the question in this post - what makes food delicious - irrespective of the city, refer to one of my earlier post on Britannia Cafe which may answer this question. In my research, I saw many YouTube videos and read a few articles which describe the shops and their food and here are my thoughts.

In Varanasi (and in other cities) I found this concept of food as an offering to all the deities of Kashi and it's people - specially the popular places like Ram Bhandar, where the owner, Mr. Rajendra Gupta sits in the shop and keeps a close eye on the on-goings and interacts with the hungry hordes coming in for a taste of jalebis and kachori-sabzi. He considers this to be his god given duty, despite his frail health, he ensures his presence as much as he can. I am sure the popularity of this eatery will continue even after the senior generation is gone, but I am not sure if the  taste will remain the same if it turns into a  commercial venture without its special touch of love and care. It is also understandable that the younger generation has different hopes and dreams and may feel burdened by the legacy.

There are countless such examples like Ram Bhandar, where the shops do not even have sign boards but people flock to them for that special taste. 

The emotion in the food in Varanasi is quite like that of our Grand Mothers and Mothers where they cook for their loved ones and while the family eats, they look on lovingly and keep loading our plates with more or relinquish their share if we liked something. The taste of the food cooked with love and passion is something else altogether.

As per our ancient texts and knowledge of wise men, it is said that when the food is cooked in a certain way with a happy frame of mind, it tastes divine. I came across this philosophy in another article I read about the Georgian Khachapuri , which is a freshly baked bread with a cheese and egg topping - its a breakfast dish and mainly baked by women and the head baker reviews the mood of the women before they are allowed to touch the dough, it is said that a sad soul will make a stiff and stodgy dough which will not rise!

The next time you eat delicious food, do acknowledge the secret sauce - which is love.