Les plantes et leurs combinaisons dans la cuisine des communautés rurales forestières des ghats occidentaux (Inde du Sud)

Abstract

Plants and their Combinations in the Cooking of Rural Forest Communities in the Western Ghats -The forest communities in the Western Ghats do not form a society of abundance in the mercantile sense of the word. Still, as far as cooking is concerned, the villagers are the possessors of a remarkable wealth. Their food, far from being bland, has an astonishing range of flavors, smells, colors and consistencies. The diversity of their diet is not only remarkable for the resources which they avail themselves (wild plants, those found locally as well as those grown in gardens) but is also impressive for their knowledge of these plants as well as the ability to use them. This diversity in their nutrition is therefore not a by-product of availability of a market place, but is rather closely linked to the forest environment, to subsistence farming, and to the cultural context of their society. This in turn provides the villagers with autonomy, quality, security -in a word, with abundance.