Nutrition in India: Infused with Tradition and Wisdom
In many regions of India, widows are expected to be particularly frugal, while the collective understanding of nutrition as medicine fosters a balanced diet.
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I always wondered as a kid why my maternal grandmother never ate with us and cooked her own meals. I also saw her do one pot cooking on many occasions, with simple ingredients. Her food choice and cooking practice, I later learned, were imbibed in the cultural history of West Bengal, where a widowed woman was abstained from eating a tasteful meal. My grandmother lost her husband at the young age of 27, and since then she had withdrawn herself from relishing food customised for festivals or any celebratory occasion. Like her, many other widowed women were denied protein-rich foods (meat, fish) and stimulants (garlic, onion, red masoor dal), often in the name of purity and suppressing desire.
When I asked my grandmother about the practice she followed, she said that she came from an affluent family of Zamindars (1), where dietary regulations for widows were particularly severe, as wealth and social visibility demanded they embody extreme restraint. Their strict diets became a public display of piety, reflecting the family’s adherence to dharma (2) and protection of honour.
Conversely, widows in poorer households faced fewer prohibitions due to economic necessity, which required them to engage in labour-intensive work. Their diets were less severe, prioritising physical sustenance over symbolic austerity, reflecting a pragmatic approach shaped by their circumstances.
While Bengal’s widow cuisine is unique in its complexity and creativity, the oppression it reflects is not confined to Bengal. Across India, widows in regions like Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu face similar dietary conditions.
Innovative cuisine
While tracing the roots of how religion, culture and social taboos impact food security, it was interesting to note that due to a social taboo around Hindu widows of Bengal, these women came up with innovative vegetable dishes to keep themselves nourished. For instance, the much-relished dish called Shukto, a traditional Bengali bitter-sweet mixed vegetable dish with deep ayurvedic roots, serving as a vital cooling appetizer to begin meals in hot, humid climates. Dating back centuries and mentioned in medieval Mangal Kavya literature, it has evolved from a simple, bitter stew into a creamy, refined dish often featuring milk, mustard paste, and fried lentil dumplings (bori). It is sometimes linked to the diet of widows in Bengal, who were forced to consume restricted diets.
The innovation in the kitchens of these widows also gave us recipes which used seasonal produce and were laden with nutrition. For example, the Lau pata bata uses bottle gourd leaves, often discarded, ground into a paste with mustard seeds, green chilies, and a touch of mustard oil. Kumro'r bichi bata uses pumpkin seeds, another item often thrown away, to make a paste. Peper dalna was a curry of papaya, a fruit considered sattvic (3) and easily digestible and which was often used in widow kitchens.
According to my grandmother, Chire'r pulao – flattened rice (chire) – was a pantry staple in widow households and to make it more filling, widows combined chire with seasonal vegetables, peanuts, and sugar. Sheem Paturi – paturi, traditionally made with fish, was adapted for vegetarian kitchens by substituting it with flat beans, which are coated in mustard paste and wrapped in banana leaves before being steamed. Jhinge Posto – ridge gourd – was considered a sattvic vegetable and cooked with poppy seed paste, green chilies, and mustard oil.
Another example she cites is Labra, a quintessential Bengali mixed vegetable dish, which relies on the natural sweetness and textures of seasonal vegetables like pumpkin, brinjal, radish, and spinach, flavored with mustard seeds, ginger, and a touch of jaggery. Chhanar dalna is prepared with homemade cottage cheese (chhena) to replace protein sources like meat or fish. Kochu’r shaak ghonto uses taro stems (4), a commonly available yet underutilized ingredient, which are mixed with lentils and minimal spices to create a hearty and nutrient-dense preparation.
Rural India struggles with social taboos
Food restrictions in India are deeply intertwined with religion, caste, and social taboos, with around 80% of adults limiting meat consumption. Key restrictions include Hindu avoidance of beef, Jain prohibition of root vegetables, and Islamic halal laws, often leading to social stigma, housing discrimination, and public debate over non-vegetarian food.
Such customary dietary restrictions are followed even today, but in parts of rural India. For example, women of Odisha's Kondh tribe rear poultry in their backyard. But for the tribal women in villages in Kandhamal and Kalahandi region, consumption of meat and eggs by post puberty girls and women of reproductive age, below 50, is restricted by cultural norms. There is no explanation for such a restriction.
These traditional beliefs vary according to societies and affect practices related to health care in general and what is regarded as harmful or beneficial during pregnancy. For instance, Uttarakhand, a mountain state in Northern India, has a practice of a restricted diet post-delivery or during pregnancy. It is generally believed throughout India that pregnancy generates ‘hotness’, and so to attain a balance, cold foods are recommended during early pregnancy to avoid miscarriage. Women are generally restricted from consuming buttermilk or curd because the formation of some membrane, called ‘lechi’ in the local language, is said to cause vaginal discomfort to a girl child in later years.
Though a healthy diet is given to the mother-to-be, women of lower socio-economic status have stricter dietary restrictions. The diet of women in rural Uttarakhand excluded meat, poultry, whole pulses, nuts, and fruits like mango, papaya, brinjal and green leafy vegetables, categorised as hot foods during pregnancy. In some places, the women were also not allowed consumption of wild edible berries known for rich anti-oxidant properties. Similarly, in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, women are restricted from consuming papaya, fish, green lentil, and pumpkin.
Food as medicine
Historically, food in India has been regarded as medicine. Based on this principle, Ayurveda – India's ancient system of medicine – accords great importance to ahar (diet), vihar (lifestyle), and aushadh (medicine). According to Ayurveda, maintaining good health requires one's diet – that is, one's food intake – to be regulated in accordance with the Ritucharya (seasonal regimen), as well as the specific geographical region and time period. Since this holistic wisdom was imparted by sages and seers through the Guru-Shishya (teacher-disciple) tradition, food in India became inextricably intertwined with religion, rituals, and festivals. This is precisely why the majority of Indians consume Sattvic (pure) and meat-free diets.
This collective cultural understanding fosters not only food security in India but also promotes a nutritionally balanced diet. Numerous examples serve to validate this point. The monthly Ekadashi (the eleventh day)—a fasting observance deeply rooted in Hindu customs—bears a striking resemblance to the modern practice of intermittent fasting. On this day, individuals observe a 12-hour regimen involving the consumption of water and fruits, while strictly abstaining from rice.
Many such fasting observances involve the consumption of specific, specialized meals. Navaratri – a nine-day fasting festival – is observed twice a year. These nine-day periods coincide with the onset of seasonal transitions: once as the weather shifts from winter to summer, and again as it transitions from summer to winter. During these times, it is customary to prepare and consume meals made from locally available seasonal vegetables, root crops, fruits, and non-grain ingredients. From the perspective of health and nutrition, the food consumed during Navaratri is considered ideal for cleansing and detoxifying the body in alignment with the changing seasons. If we were to analyse other such religious rituals and festivals, we would encounter a multitude of similar examples. Given that India experiences six distinct seasons throughout the year, dietary habits, festivals, and lifestyles undergo corresponding changes with the advent of each new season.
According to traditional beliefs, the consumption of green leafy vegetables, dairy products, fish, or any form of meat is strictly prohibited during the two months of Sawan (the monsoon season). The time of Sawan coincides with the breeding season for various species, including fish; furthermore, insects often lay their eggs on plant leaves during this period. It is, perhaps, for these very reasons that the custom of consuming light, easily digestible food prevails during this time.
The dietary habits of people residing in the Himalayan regions are deeply inspired by their culture and religious rituals. The culinary traditions of Uttarakhand – a Himalayan state in North India – are intrinsically linked to nature, religious festivals, and local folk celebrations. Most traditional dishes are based on greens, mushrooms, flowers, tubers, and fruits gathered from the forests, yet they are also enriched with coarse grains, lentils, and dairy products – such as milk, yogurt, and ghee – produced through traditional farming methods. The distinctive delicacies prepared for weddings and auspicious occasions – such as Urad Dal ke Swale, Pakoras, Jhangore ka Bhaat, Kode ka Halwa, or Mandue ki Badi – offer a blend of both exquisite taste and high nutritional value.
However, in the contemporary context – where traditional food serves as a symbol of nutrition and food security – climate change and unpredictable seasonal shifts now pose a grave threat to that very food security.
Due to the changing climate and its adverse effects, certain traditional dishes have also fallen victim to these circumstances. In the hilly state of Uttarakhand, a scarcity of water has led people to abandon the cultivation of traditional lentils – despite these legumes being highly nutritious and bursting with flavour. Historically, these lentils were grown as a mixed crop alongside other produce in fields irrigated solely by rainwater. Compounding this water crisis is the fact that the younger generation is increasingly shying away from consuming traditional foods. The reason lies in the fact that the preparation methods for traditional dishes are often time-consuming and labour-intensive.
It is evident that cultural beliefs do influence our dietary needs. However, in contemporary times, younger people are moving away from these norms with limited knowledge of such practices. Also, with modernization and a market-driven economy, the food market thrives. However, in future it may exert increasing pressure on food producers to meet the growing demand for fad foods as a superfood culture has been gaining momentum in the recent past in India.
Megha Prakash is a freelance journalist based in Dehradun, capital of Uttarakhand, India.
Footnotes:
(1) A Zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal landlord (Editor’s note)
(2) Dharma is a central concept in Hinduism and Buddhism that describes the cosmic order, proper conduct, duties, and ethical principles (Editor’s note)
(3) Sattvic describes an Ayurvedic lifestyle that focuses on harmony, clarity, and balance. The food is pure, fresh, vegetarian, and nutritious. (Editor’s note)
(4) Taro stems are edible, green to purple leaf stalks from the taro plant, which is rich in vitamins and minerals (Editor’s note)
