Do you eat food? Of course! We all do right? But are you a foodie or a food enthusiast? Well, some of you reading this would be! Well then, have you heard about red okra, purple and elephant yam, air potato, sponge gourd, peppercorn (it is a fruit), turkey berry or sunberry?
What happened? Are you confused as to what are these? Please don’t be! These are all edible vegetables which are referred to as forgotten now! But Akash Muralidharan doesn’t only possess knowledge about these ingredients but also cooks them in his kitchen!
He spent his lockdown days quite differently. He organized 10 days of cooking project, Cook and See on his Instagram profile. But it wasn’t an ordinary cooking streak if you think so!
He didn’t just adorn the master chef hat just like many of us. Instead to make a difference in the food arena and to bring back the traditional recipes and ingredients back into our kitchens which had been long forgotten! This food designer used the forgotten vegetables and created unique dishes the traditional way.
You would be wondering why they are referred to as forgotten. They are known so as they are unusual and kinda extinct and aren’t found easily. But we can identify them! They could be just around the corner or on a tree but we could have easily ignored him. Akash’s cooking challenge was an attempt to bring back the extinct legacy of the food culture of India, particularly the South area.
He has had a distinct and quirky journey. He opted to pursue Food Design and Innovation from Milan, Italy. He not only successfully completed 100 days of cooking but is also planning to convert it into a book.
In conversation with the food designer, Akash sharing about his journey of life, cooking and the 100 days project:-
1. You clearly made an effort to spend your lockdown the fun way by coming up with the 100-day challenge. But what made you come up with this idea?
It all started off with me finding the books of “Samaithu Par” written by Meenakshi ammal in the attic. The books belonged to my grandmother. They were written almost 70 years ago. As I started reading it I realised I didn’t recognize a number of vegetables mentioned in it. It made me very curious and that’s how the idea for the challenge came up.
2. Please take us through the 100 days in a few lines. How did it feel before starting, while doing and after it was over? Basically about the entire process.
I was very excited before the challenge to learn more about these lesser known vegetables and to share my knowledge with the world.
The hundred days were very intensive. Quite exhausting as we did it without breaks in between. The pressure to keep posting everyday was intense.
After the challenge was over I felt the satisfaction of achieving a great feat. But I was sure that it wasn’t the end. It was just the beginning to a bigger search.
3. Did you have any specific aim in mind to organize this? If yes, were you able to achieve it?
I wanted to find out what happened to these vegetables. And I believe I am getting there one step at a time.
4. How did you plan and execute everything? Who all supported you during this process?
My mom was a big help in executing the recipes. We planned the veggies and respective recipes at the beginning of each week, shopped them on the same day and kept ourselves prepared for the following week. She cooked them and I took videos of it. After the lockdown when we started doing it digitally, my friends Priyadarshini Narayanan and Srishti Prabhakar helped me with the illustrations. Magesh and Ramya helped me with the Animations.
5. How did you get to know about these unknown vegetables?
Some of them were from the book. Some of them through word of mouth of friends and relatives and some through the Instagram acquaintances I made once the project gained attention.
6. How did you get access to them?
A majority of the veggies are available in the markets. Some of them are only in specific regions. Some of them are definitely present in our friends and relatives gardens and if you look properly they could be in your street. We just have to start looking for them.
7. According to you which was your most challenging discovery?
The most challenging discovery was the Country cucumber. We could find only the sun dried versions of them in the city. I still haven’t seen the raw versions yet.
8. One memorable day and one challenging out of the 100-day challenge and please explain the reason why is it so.
One memorable day is the day we made palmyra sprout fritters. This is because I had never tasted them before and I was very excited about it. The most challenging day was when we worked with the veldt grape. It was very challenging to work with because it causes itching in your hands and throat if you don’t cook it properly.
9. You have received a great response to the challenge? How does it feel that your work got recognized?
I am very happy that my work gained so much recognition. After all, my efforts were to highlight the existence of these vegetables and I am glad that they are receiving so much attention.
10. Your grandmother is your inspiration. Unfortunately, she is not with you now. But which is your favorite dish which she makes for you?
Mysore Pak. She makes the best I have ever had!
11. At what age did you develop an interest in cooking?
I have had interest in cooking from the time I have been conscious. I started cooking by myself when I was 12 years old.
12. How do you think has the food industry changed in the past few years?
The food industry has changed drastically over the last few years. In my perspective food has also fallen prey to the term trendy. There are so many foods that gain so much attention due to their trend factor and die down after a very short while. There are so many short lived food trends that have happened in the recent past.
13. And how do you think is it expected to change in the future?
I believe that the answers to our future lie in the past. In understanding the transformation that food has gone through in the past. If we don’t find answers to questions about what happened to our food in the past we cannot predict our future.
14. Do you wish to come up with your cookbooks or start your own food channel or YouTube videos?
I think there are enough cookbooks, YouTube channels (I mean enough very good ones) and enough recipes. I do not wish to create more. I only wish to reflect on the attitude with which we approach these recipes and foods.
15. Would you be interested to collaborate with the other major food channels?
I would definitely if there’s an interesting concept or motto to it.
16. What are your future plans?
As of now I am working on converting this 100 days project into a book.
17. What is food for you?
Food for me is a very powerful tool that can change the whole world in seconds.
18. Describe food in one word.
Food = Emotion
19. One myth about food?
One myth about food that I do not believe in is that Vegan food is good for all and the environment. I believe that it’s very subjective, depending on each person’s body conditions and the region in which they live. Being a vegan could be very harmful for a person’s health or an environment. One rule does not apply to all when it comes to food.
20. What can you cook? Like how many cuisines, varieties of dishes, etc.
I am very good with cooking Indian food be it South Indian or from other regions. When I was in Europe I learnt to cook Italian and Spanish food. A little bit of Dutch cooking as well.
21. One cooking rule that you always abide by.
Clean as you cook. Haha I am not sure if that’s a universal rule. But that’s mine.
22. One tip to the fellow chefs/cooking enthusiasts out there.
I don’t know if I have the experience to offer advice to fellow food enthusiasts. But I would definitely like to tell the world that food is much bigger than what’s present on their plate. Therefore it’s very important to understand the food and its journey to reach your plate.
23. Would you consider it a profession someday or limit to passion?
I do consider it as a profession. Right now I work with The Center for Genomic Gastronomy as a researcher and designer. THE CENTER FOR GENOMIC GASTRONOMY is an artist-led think tank that examines the biotechnologies and biodiversity of human food systems.
24. Please tell us more about your course in food designing.
The Masters in Food design and Innovation course in SPD Milan is a very unique course that opens your mind to possibilities in the fields of food and design to innovate and create beautiful products and better solutions to existing food scenarios around the world.
It gave me the opportunity to meet, discuss and work with a number of food designers from around the world and widen my perspective about food as a tool to send out powerful messages to the world.
Akash is humble and so down to earth that when I asked him if he would be able to give inputs for my blog, he agreed in an instant! He has over 6k followers on Instagram and his profile is a treat for the eyes! And if you can gather the ingredients, then you can prepare a unique celebration for your taste buds too.
The aesthetic posts, the quirky veggies and the content around them, everything is just way beyond the league in his profile. But his idea and the aim to bring back the forgotten was a distinct and he presented it in a commendable fashion. His content will literally blow your minds away with the truck loads of information you will carry with you while leaving his profile (which by the way you wouldn’t want to. You would want to keep on scrolling).
Akash’s social media Handles-
https://instagram.com/akash_muralidaran?igshid=qww8vkgzzmb7
https://www.behance.net/akashlovesfood
My Instagram Handle
The Scribbler's Dais 