The other day in Bangalore, after I’d eaten a gigantic meal of Chettinad sea food, I had an interesting conversation about food with a young alumnus of Shikstantar in Udaipur, Manoj Prajapat. Co-founder of a catering service that supplies healthy food and a food awareness programme since 2007, Jaso Ann Vaso Mann, he was of the belief that if we desire a healthy life in a clean, peaceful environment, then we need to pay more attention to what we eat. “We believe that we are what we eat, so that’s what our name means,” he said. Prajapat, along with fellow Shikhantar graduate Sunny Gandharwa, promotes not only healthy foods and cooking practices, but their catering service also gives people a chance to see how tasty such food can be. Although based in Udaipur, they operate what they call a “Travelling Café” – going from city to city to cook and spread the word about healthy food. I found the conversation thought provoking — more so as the chilly squid I’d eaten earlier seemed to be throwing a temper tantrum in my stomach.
There are many things in our daily diets against which the duo cautions . They said the food we eat today is often so processed and refined that instead of being nutritious, it’s often toxic. “Even animals, who don’t have the capacity to think about what they eat, instinctively eat foods that keep them alive and healthy. It is ironic that people like us think so much about our health and our weight — yet we eat things that are not suitable for us!” said Prajapat. One good example of a food many don’t know isn’t exactly great for us, is milk. “Many people believe milk is an elixir... But the fact is that only calves benefit from cow milk, certainly not adult human beings!” he said. In fact, with all the additives and hormones used to increase milk production — it’s one of the most avoidable components of many diets. Instead, Prajapat and company use milk derived from coconut and other dry fruit, which they said is healthier and tastier. Refined flours and sugars are another no no, for all the goodness of the husk is lost during the process of polishing. The duo swears by whole grains and organic jaggery instead. Another thing — they believe firmly that too much processing kills the nutritive value of food. “We minimise the cooking of food so that everything we make is light, tasty and easy to digest,” said Prajapat. Jaso Ann Vaso Mann is also committed to the revival of local grains that have fallen into disfavour in modern times. “Many of us have forgotten the goodness of grains like amaranth, millet, flaxseeds and barley,” he said, “our aim is to revive interest in them by creating tasty, modern dishes.”
When Gandharwa and Prajapat aren’t conducting workshops or busy with their cafe, they’re in the kitchen, developing recipes. “We’re constantly trying to create interesting dishes with whole grains, fruit and veggies,” said Gandharwa, wielding a large ladle over a pot of bubbling tomato sauce for multigrain tacos. In the oven were amaranth cookies, sending out a heavenly aroma as they baked. Also on offer were coconut laddus with jaggery, chocolate banana pudding, lemon rice, multigrain paranthas and more. “Our challenge is to make our food so tasty that people don’t just eat it because it is healthy,” said Gandharwa, “they should want to eat it every day!”
I sipped my lemon and honey tea and bit into a crumbly amaranth cookie redolent of cinnamon. If the proof of the pudding was in its eating, these two young men were certainly doing a great job.