Bhendi Bazaar

Photograph showing a general street scene of Bhendi Bazar with horse-drawn trams in Bombay (Mumbai) taken by Bourne & Shepherd in the 1880s, part of the Earl of Jersey Collection, ‘India. Bombay to Madras’ album. The capital of Maharashtra on the west coast of India, Bombay was originally a group of fishing villages. By the…

Bazaar of Jaipur 1900’s

Photograph of the main street at Jaipur in Rajasthan, taken by Gobindram & Oodeyram in the 1900s. The photograph is part of an album containing views of various locations in India, formerly in the collection of Horatio Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener of Khartoum and Broome, (1850-1916) who was Commander in Chief of India between 1902…

Bazaar of Kolhapur 1894

The origin of the word Bazaar comes from Persian bazar and is thought to derive from the Pahlavi word baha-char  meaning “the place of prices’. The term, bazaar, spread from Persia into Arabia and ultimately throughout the Middle East. View looking down over the rooftops to one of the bazaars of Kolhapur. Taken by an unknown…

Tea Plantation 1895

Photograph of a Tea Plantation at Sath Tal from Album of views of “Naini Tal’ taken by Lawrie & Co in 1895. Sath Tal (Seven Lakes) is in the Kumaon hills in the Naini Tal district. During the Colonial period, the British found tea imported from China was too expensive to satisfy the large demand…

Women Fruit Hawkers from 1873

Studio portrait of a Women Fruit hawkers posed beside their tray of fruits, one of a series of portrait studies of ethnic types and occupations taken by Bourne and Shepherd in the early 1870s. These photographs represent a common theme of traveller’s memoirs and diaries during the period of Colonial expansion in the latter half…

The story of Langar wali Dal

Dal have a special place in Indian cooking. It is one of the staple foods that are cooked everyday in our daily meal. There are a variety of dals one can prepare with and an array of dal recipes that goes region wise. This original Dal which was made in Western part of Punjab which is now in Pakistan…

The story of Pav Bhaji

The story of Mumbai Pav bhaji is as same as the Mumbai’s famous Vadapav.The origin of the dish is traced back into the 1850’s, when textile mills were largely used.170 years back when these mill workers used to have lunch breaks light lunch was preferred to a heavy one, as the workers had to return…

Why Indian Food History?

To discuss about the rich and diverse food history of Ancient India. To cover the enormous varieties of cuisine, food materials, dishes and pictures which fall under the term Indian Food. The blogs will detail the history of Indian food, from beginning with prehistoric times to till last century. Drawing upon material from different sources…