Food Histories: Rice, Ragi, and Ancient Gastronomy in India

Historical accounts highlight shifts in agricultural practices and elaborate culinary traditions in India, particularly in the southern regions. These changes offer insights into the relationship between food, history, and administration.

Key Facts

• Benjamin Lewis Rice, born in Bengaluru in 1837, served in the Kingdom of Mysore and documented its agricultural and historical aspects.
• Rice's 1897 'Mysore Gazetteer' noted Mysore's diverse physical characteristics and its cultivation of sandalwood, teak, elephants, cattle, ragi, and coffee.
• Between 1871 and 1873, a significant agricultural change occurred in Southern Karnataka's ragi-growing areas, with a move away from wet rice cultivation towards ragi and oilseeds.
• This shift was partly an administrative consequence of transferring irrigation channel control to the Public Works Department for repairs and water conservation.
• A new Revenue Survey made all occupied lands taxable, leading to a sharp decrease in wet rice cultivation from 1.32 million acres to 0.5 million acres.
• Fields previously used for wet rice were converted to dry-land farming for ragi, a crop noted for its precise cultivation and lower water dependency.
• Historical chronicler Mark Wilks described the cultivation of ragi in Mysore as a 'cleaner system of husbandry'.
• The 12th-century Sanskrit and Kannada text 'Manasollasa' by King Someshvara III documented culinary practices, featuring payasam as a notable sweet and detailing cooking methods using ghee and tamarind, predating the widespread use of chilies.
• The 1025 A.D. Kannada text 'Lokopakara' by King Chavundaraya outlined 'Soopashastra' (culinary science), including recipes for breads, sweets, snacks, soft drinks, rice dishes, vegetable preparations, and preservation methods.