Indian Cuisine Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Indian Cuisine - Research Paper Example Although India is famous for its spices, some of its most important spices, including a few that are fundamental not only to cuisine but also to local healing traditions, are exotic. They include turmeric, garlic, ginger, fenugreek, asafetida, and cinnamon. Certain cultural perspectives contribute to India’s diversity and uniqueness in the matter of food (Nandy, 11). Contemporary forces of international business integration have picked up the themes of food as a social rite and food as health. This is to reorganize and formalize the cuisines of all nations in relation to the global needs (9). These advances have stimulated subtle transformations in the cultural features and significance of Indian cuisines. These changes take place regularly outside the array of vision of ethnographers, journalists and nutritionists writing on food or restaurants. Moreover, the conventional ethnographic concerns of food have fused now with a modern, more fluid politics of food in India. These ethnographic concerns of food include the uncontaminated and the impure, commensality and its absence, the cooked and the raw as well as the sanctified and the sacrilegious (Nandy, 10). Unique aspects of the Indian cuisine There are strict rules governing good eating habits in India. One is only allowed to use the right hand during eating. In addition, the palm of the hand should remain dry and clean as only the fingers are used. It considered a poor form of eating to let curry to dribble down the arm. It is right to use the right hand to tear off the pieces of chapatti and wrap them around vegetables and pickles, or use them to scoop curry into one's mouth. Mostly, when one mixes rice with other food, he uses the fingers to eat. Although some people will use a spoon for the accompanying curry, it is not the norm since service of most meals does not include any cutlery. The main use of the left hand is to drink water, to wave away the flies or to help oneself to more food. There is no more use of the right hand after one has started eating because that would be polluting the food everyone will serve from the common pot (Dandekar, 41). India is popular for spices an d herbs, and this greatly contributes to the choice of spices to use during cooking. Most of these spices are chosen mainly because of their medicinal values rather than for flavor. Many of them aid in digestion while others are antiseptic. In addition, most of these spices used in Indian food do not make the food too bland (3). On the other hand, these spices give trace amounts of antioxidants or other chemicals that help in digestion. Others act as effective mouth fresheners that prevent heartburn, curb nausea and help in digestion (Dubey, 4). The most common spice in India especially the southern region is Cumin. In addition, there is use of fruits, which are fried or dry-roasted before usage. Cumin fried in ghee usually flavor the seeds form a crucial part of curry powder and legumes particularly lentils by. The mixture of cumin is set up to savor its sweet and aromatic flavor (Kumar, 49). In recent decades, the South Indian food creations like vada, uthappam, dosai and idli hav e partially outdone the colonial fast food preparations in popularity. In fact, when one talks about Indian fast food, these are the food items that first come to one’

Explain and evaluate Walter Benjamin's statement (made in 1936) about Essay

Explain and evaluate Walter Benjamin's statement (made in 1936) about the aestheticization of politics under German fascism - Essay Example In Benjamin’s opinion, the First World War led to the fascist ideology in Germany in the 1920s, which was a catalyst for the break-out of World War II (Leslie 164). As such, Benjamin used the term â€Å"aesthetics† to explain how the Nazis used the innately artistic traits of everyday life to influence people towards fascist political orientations in Germany (Leslie 164). Considering that aesthetic values focus on the physical representation of beauty, the Nazis under Hitler wanted the Germans to experience the true beauty of Germany that had been corrupted by foreigners, especially the Jews (Leslie 164). According to Spielvogel, the Nazi leadership led the Germans to reject modern art which they labeled as â€Å"Jewish art† particularly that of the Weimar era (158). This rejection of Weimar art was symbolic in that it signified the overthrowal of the Weimar politics, hated by the Germans (Spielvogel 158). â€Å"Modern art† was replaced with the â€Å"new German art† which reflected upon German traditions, thus further uniting the people politically. Other forms of art, such as painting, music, theater, and literature were also used to instill the fascist political ideology in people. Under Hitler architecture was revived, gigantic buildings were built to signify the power of the Germans to the outside world and to also instill confidence in the German people (Spielvogel 161). According to Spielvogel, Hitler was a major propagandist who believed that the myths he held about the superiority of the Germans, and particularly the Aryan race, could be translated to reality (143-144). As such, Hitler used mass rallies to spread propaganda and convince the Germans to follow him. â€Å"Triumph of the will†, a film by Leni Riefenstahl tells the story of the events that unfolded at the Sixth Nuremburg Party Congress in 1934. Central to the film is the rise of Hitler to Chancellor and how he used propaganda to draw crowds to his s ide. As an orator, and a performer, Hitler was able to convince the Germans to follow him all the way to World War II (Spielvogel 127). At the congress, hundreds of thousands of Nazi party members march and salute Hitler, whose cult of personality, by for example calling himself the messiah, had influenced the masses to believe they had to follow him (Spielvogel 133). According to Spielvogel, after 1934, children in school were forced to write compositions in which they compared Hitler to Jesus (134). In the film, while addressing the crowd, Hitler proclaimed â€Å"Ein Volk, Ein Fuhrer, Ein Reich!† which translates to â€Å"one people, one leader, one empire†. As Spielvogel writes, during the 1936 party day at Nuremberg, the crowd was so influenced by Hitler that they started chanting â€Å"we want one leader! Nothing for us! Everything for Germany! Heil Hitler!† (150). Hitler had thus, achieved his mission for uniting the Germans for war. All that remained was for Germany to expand its borders through a war that was technologically-enabled. As a form of art, mechanical reproduction that emerged during the first world war in the form of technological warfare is what shaped fascist politics in Germany. Essentially, technology was the artistic vehicle that fuelled the war led by the Germans. For example, the Nazis assumed total monopoly over the press such that all the content reaching the masses was the Nazi version; any other news was