DALicious The Ultimate Indian Grain

Join under The Melbourne Star for a surprising education into this Indian staple and discover Indian flavors during this catered event.

This talk and presentation by Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal will showcase Dal from around India. It will talk about the evolution of Dal as a primary source of protein and its impact on Indian Culinary evolution, explore types of Dals eaten in India, and how Dal consumption varies as you travel around through the country based on local availability, season, cuisine, types of dal consumed, and cooking techniques applied. It will go beyond Dal- the dish, showcasing the various forms of other traditional dal-based foods such as; curries, deep-fried vadas and pakodas, dal flour and batter based bread, chutneys, dal based faux vegetable and meat substitutes.

Plant protein is hailed as the future of food security globally. In India dal, the ingredient, the dish, is rooted in the ethos of Indian culinary history. Over time, dal has come to be culturally important as well. It is one of the first foods we are fed, feasts and festivals. Today the sheer variety of dals – the umbrella term for dried legumes, pulses and lentils - consumed in India is incomparable.