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History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c26: Technology of Food

History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c26

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English

Contents

Technology of Food

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The processing or technology of food in by-gone India can conveniently be considered under three broad heads. The first, post-harvest operations on agricultural crops, would include grinding, pounding and winnowing. The second, domestic operations and appliances, would embrace those of both kitchen and table. The third category would be large-scale processing carried out essentially outside the home by professionals, such as warehouse storage, professional cooking, sugarcane and oilseed processing, and salt or alcohol production, employing appropriate technologies for each purpose.

Post-Harvest Operations

Grinding and pounding

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Saddle querns for grinding grain or spices go back, all over the country, to neolithic and even mesolithic times, growing larger and more sophisticated with time (Sankalia 1977a, p.254). The upper stone, from being just a simple flat or round pebble, was dressed to become a muller, which could be plano-convex or biconvex for use with a flat stones, or biconcave when paired with querns curving inwards or outwards (Sankalia, 1964). The Indus Valley settlements revealed two types of querns. One was more or less flat, with a cylindrical muller that could be rolled over it with both hands, as is done today for grinding chutnies. The other had a small depression, a round grinder, and a mainly crushing action, so that grains had probably to be soaked overnight before they could be ground in these querns (Sankalia 1977a, p.254). The action is shown in the well-known clay figure from Harappa, and much later is depicted in sculpture on an eastern gateway panel in Sanchi. The latter is a 4-legged flat quern, which was first found at Harappa, but occurs more commonly in early historical and subsequent periods, like the Maurya-Gupta, all over north India and the Western Deccan (Ray, 1986, p.137).

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In these sites also occurred a heavy rotary quern in two parts, the upper portion of which had two circular holes opposite each other through which a wooden pole could be introduced; two persons sitting opposite each other could then work this portion against the flat lower cylindrical base stone. Later, on the rim of the upper stone was provided a single socket in which a stout upright wooden peg could be affixed for circular movement by a single person. It has been argued that the earlier type is indigenous (Sankalia, 1987, pp.39-54) while the latter with a single peg was introduced during Roman contacts in the early Christian era (Dikshit, 1939). A very large heavy circular stone with a central hole has been found at Lothal (Dikshit, 1939) and Mohenjodaro (Mackay, 1938, Pl. 54, Item 20). One view is that this object represents a stratigraphical displacement (Dikshit, 1939); another is that the stone could be a large pulley for drawing water from wells (Bag, 1985, p.43) and not the upper half of a cākki.

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For dehusking grain a pounding and shearing action is needed. A mortar firmly fixed in a large hole built into the brick floor was unearthed at Harappa (Sankalia, 1977, p. 254), and a row of brick-lined pounding platforms with a central hole at Mohenjodaro (Sankalia, 1987, pp. 39-54). Stone mortars have been found at chalcolithic sites and at Mohenjodaro (Sankalia, 1977, p.254). A panel at Sanchi showing village activity depicts a woman, using a long (probably wooden) pole, pounding something in an hourglass- shaped mortar almost certainly made of stone (Dhavalikar, 1965). The Lakṣmaṇa temple at Khajuraho, of the 10th century A.D. shows what appears to be a wooden mortar and pestle (Prakash, Vidya, 1967, p.127). In the Daśakumāracarita of the 6th or 7th century A.D., a detailed description occurs of a cooking episode (Kale, 1925, pp.111-115), in which a girl polishes dehusked rice by gentle pounding in "a mortar of arjuna wood having an upright pole, not very deep or spacious, stirring it up again and again with her fingers, and striking it with the heavy pestle of khadira, with its end covered with iron plate and even-shaped, and with the slenderness of its middle part noticeable, her arms fatigued with the up and down motions". The southern origin of the author Bāṇa is inferred from the characteristic iron-covered tip of the pestle; this also finds mention (Rasanayagam, 1926, pp.130-160) in one of the songs of the Tamil anthology, Paṭṭupāṭṭu, placed about the 3rd century A.D., which describes "white rice well cleaned in pounders set in iron rings"

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Vedic Sanskrit has the word dṛṣad for a grinding quern probably of the flat stone type. The words for a mortar and pestle ulūkhala and musala, are believed to have been borrowed from even older usage (Shendge, 1977, p.241).

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In south India, grain crushers, mealing stones, and mortars and pestles have all been found in neolithic sites (2nd millenium B.C.) like Brahmagiri, Tekkalakotta and Jorwe (Dhavalikar, 1970, p. 32).

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The dhenki or foot-pounder is popular for dehusking paddy to yield brown rice, especially in eastern India and along the Indo- Gangetic plain. Being made of wood, old specimens cannot be expected to survive, but surprisingly it does not appear to be depicted even in sculpture anywhere. The device must be of atleast some antiquity, since it is the vehicle of Nārada (Wilkins, 1890, p. 479), who is himself one of seven great *rsis* of the *Rgveda* (Dowson, 1928, p.218), and is worshipped at domestic ceremonies like marriage, *upanayanam* and *annaprasanam* (Wilkins, 1890, p. 478).

Winnowing

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The Sanskrit *surpa* or winnowing tray to remove chaff, for example after rice pounding, is also believed to be a borrowed wood (Shendge, 1977, p, 241), indicating even prior usage of this device. For winnowing large amounts, pouring the material from a height in the open in a natural mild breeze is commonly employed.

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There is an interesting indoor variation in use to create a draft, whose antiquity is not known. This employs a large sheet of cloth, two adjacent corners of which are loosely pegged to the ground. The other end is flapped up and down by a standing woman, and seeds to be cleaned are slowly dropped, from above the pegged ends of the cloth, into the air currents so created.

Domestic Operations and Appliances

Devices and methods

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*Cūlās* : Several houses in the Indus Valley settlement of Kalibangan had both underground and above-ground mud hearths, the latter with a comfortable bridged side-opening for feeding fuel (Ghurye, 1979, pp. 372-380). *Cūlās* with knobs, both of round and square shapes, and with one to three mouths, have been unearthed in sites at Ahar, Navdatoli and Jorwe dated 1500-1000 BC (Sankalia, 1977, pp. 100-124) and in Atranjikhera dated 600 BC (Ghurye, 1979, p.400). One of the Ajanta frescoes depicts a kitchen with knobbed *cūlās* (Yazdani 1952, pp, 58, 104), and they persist in India to this day.

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*Ovens* : Baking ovens of various sizes have been excavated in Mohenjodaro, but some at least are really very large kilns for firing pottery objects of large size (Sankalia, 1970, p.13). Baking (*puṭapāka*), though known, is not a common style of Indian cooking.

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*Spits* : The Vedic sacrifices (as we shall see ) involve roasting a whole animal, or pieces of meat, on skewers or spits. In cooking language, *tanduram* means grilling and *bharjanam* dry roasting (Krishnamurthy, 1984, p. 227). At a picnic described in the *Mahābhārata* (Sengupta, P. 1950, p. 547), “cleanly cooks under the supervision of diligent stewards, served large pieces of meat roasted on spits...... young buffalo calves (were) roasted (whole?) on spits with ghee dropping on them”. A *Paṭṭupāṭṭu* poet (*Rasanayagam*, 1926, pp. 130-160) of the third Tamil Sangam period (about the 3rd century AD) describes “fine large pieces of fat meat roasted on iron spikes” and elsewhere roasted pork is noted with relish (Nilakantha Sastri 1958, p.130). The modern *kābab* has an old history.

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*Grilling* : Though a *tāva* for grilling does not seem to have been specifically identified in the Indus Valley, a typical dough-kneading plate with sides sloping outwards was recovered at Mohenjodaro (Mackay, 1938, Pl. 64, Item 13). The *Sūtra* literature rocords the baking of flat cakes on a broken earthen jar (*kapāla*), and a grilling vessel (*vapāsrapaṇi*) (Prakash, Om, 1961, pp. 34-57). Among the items of the sacrificial *puroḍuśa* offering described in the Gṛhya sūtras is the *apupa*; this "implies a great advance in the art of baking," in that it is a cake baked on a flat vessel and a pan with a varying number of hollows resembling dishes, yielding a variety of shapes to the cake itself (Apte, 1939, pp.95-102). A stone with depressions is still in use in parts of south India to bake a type of rice *appam* called *kuzhi*. Several baking techniques recorded in the 17th century AD in Karnataka (*Sūpa Śāstra*, (a), p.268), but probably in traditional use much earlier, were: baking on a hot flat or concave griddle (*battala*); on a hot tile (*kencu*): between two plates with live coals placed both above and below; and directly on coals, after which the outer charred crust was discarded before consuming the cooked core.

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Steaming : The Chinese pilgrim Xuan Zang in the 7th century AD stated that "India does not know the use of the steamer". While specific devices may not have been in widespread use, steaming as a way of cooking was known. The *Bṛhatsaṃhitā* of Varāhamihira, dated about 505 AD, describes a barley dish, *yavaka*, as *svinnabhaksya* or a steamed food (Shastri, 1969, pp.209- 216). Among traditional cooking operations were *svedanam* or steaming, the others being *bharjanam* (dry roasting), *talanam* (drying), *apakva* (frying), *pacanam* (cooking in water ), *kvatanam* (parboiling), *tanduram* (grilling), *puṭapāka* (baking), and *bhāvita* (seasoning). A Kannada work written in 920 AD mentions the *idalige* (idli) (*Sūpa Śāstra*, (b), p.255), and steaming was probably achieved, as it was slightly later, by the simple expedient of tying a cloth (on which the material was placed in lumps or small wicker baskets) over the wide mouth of a vessel in which water was boiled. A related product, the *kaḍubu*, was not through-steamed like the porous *idli*, but spread out on leaves or trays and surface-steamed to a denser product. In making the *puṭṭu* of Kerala, alternate layers of broken rice and coconut are introduced into a wide bamboo tube in which a pierced metal disc is placed on the lower node. A funnel is loosely inserted on top for steam to escape, and the tube is then tightly fixed on the spout of a vessel in which water is boiled to effect steaming. The antiquity of this simple domestic technology remains to be established. A vessel that occurs commonly even in many neolithic sites, and later in the Indus Valley, is a tall earthen cylinder with perforations all over it (Wheeler, 1959, p.103); one use suggested for this, among many others, is that it is a vessel for steam cooking (Ghurye, 1979, p. 383).

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Cooking under pressure : The virtues of cooking over a slow fire is noted in the *Bhela Saṃhitā* (c. 150 AD) (Prakash Om, 1961, pp.87-101) and again a century later in the *Viṣṇudharmottara Purāṇa* (Prakash Om, 1961, pp.203-239). Now generally called *dumpukht* or simply dum cooking, this involves slow simmering of the materials in a vessel, on which a well-fitting lid is sealed all round using a thick dough of wheat. The practice is called *kaṇikā* in Kannada, and is mentioned in a work of 1606 AD (*Supa Śāstra*, (b), p. 255), but is probably older. It is in common use even today for making pullao all over the country, live coals being placed both below the vessel and on the lid for slow, gentle baking with aroma retention.

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*Founding and cleaning rice*: Rice pounders have already been described under post-harvest operations, and domestic devices were no different. In the charming cooking vignette which occurs in the *Daśakumāracarita* (6th-7th century AD (Kale, 1925, pp.111- 115),the maiden, after pounding the grain, dries the mass briefly in the sun, turns it over and over, and then separates the chaff without breaking the grains by striking them gently with the edge of a stalk. Use of the *surpa* or winnowing tray for removing extraneous matter like sticks and stones from grain at any stage must go back at least to its first mention in Vedic times. The *Amarakośa* (c.450 AD) lists two names for sieves, *cālāni* and *titau* (Deshmukh, 1981, pp.99-110).

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*Churning butter*: The Indus Valley seals depict bulls, among them those of the Kankrej breed (Randhawa, 1980, p.184, Fig.96), pointing to the distinct likelihood of dairy operations which could well have included the churning of soured milk into butter. The *Ṛgveda* has several references to the churning of curds with a corrugated stick, the mixture after the operation being termed *prasadiya* (Prakash, Om, 1961, pp. 34-57). Freshly-prepared butter later acquired the name *navanitha*, while butter prepared from fresh milk was variously termed *phanta* (Pāṇini),*kṣirotanavanitha* (Suśruta) and *payasarpis* (Varāhamihira) (Shastri, 1969, pp. 209- 216). The Lakṣmaṇa Temple (c. 925 AD) at Khajuraho shows in *Kṛṣṇa-Līlā* scenes a stick, standing in an earthen pot, which was churned with the help of a rope (Prakash Vidya, 1982, p, 127) exactly as is done at present. Another charming butter-making device of unknown antiquity common in parts of south India is a convex piece of coconut shell with three pierced holes, fixed on a long bamboo stem; this is worked up and down in a tall cylindrical bamboo or tinned copper vessel to achieve concussion and release of butter in the diluted curd that is being churned. A beautiful Tamil poem, *Perumpanūrrupadai* in the *Paṭṭupāṭṭu* anthology of about the 4th century AD (*Rasanayagam*, 1926, pp. 130-160; Srinivasa Iyengar, 1930, pp. 57-70) describes how the cowherdess sells buttermilk that has been made by “pulling the strings of the *mattu* (churning rod) which creates a sound resembling the growl of a tiger”. The curds themselves are noted as having earlier been seeded using a pat of the previous day’s curd which looked like a “white mushroom”.

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She then sets off on her selling errand “placing the pot, with its speckled mouth, on her head supported by a circlet of flowers”. The Sangam literature of the period is replete with references to cream (*eḍu* or *perugu*), curds, buttermilk, butter and ghee (Srinivasa Iyengar, 1930, pp. 57-70). The finding of vast mounds of ash burnt from cattle dung, dated around 2200 BC, in many sites along the valley of the River Krishna in south India (Allchin, 1963) would argue for the existence of cattle keeping and dairy products from times long before the Aryan advent.

Kitchen and table utensils

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*Indus Valley*: Among drawings of the metal objects found at Mohenjodaro (Mackay, 1938 b) are to be seen the following: a *thāli*-like pan (Mackay, 1938 b, Pl 68, Item 20); a flat deep dish with sides sloping outwards resembling a modern dough-kneading pan (Mackay, 1938 b, Pl. 64, Item 13); a round, concave *tāvā*-like plate (Mackay, 1938 b, Pl. 82, Item 3); and a copper frying pan with the edges turned inwards to create a comfortable handle, either long or short (Mackay, 1938 b, Pl. 71, Item 42, Pl. 82, Item 11). The *thālī* (there are actually two of them of slightly different sizes) is again seen in a photograph of a hoard of copper and bronze objects, all corroded together (Mackay, 1976, Pl. 19), found beneath the floor of a small house; this also shows a largish tray with a wide, flat rim. Another heavy copper pot of exquisite design with a square open top was found at Mohenjodaro (Dikshit, 1939), and resembles the *kumbha* of current times used for fetching water from well or river.

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Numerous copper and bronze objects were found at Chanhudaro, which was apparently a great centre of metal working; one was a lota-shaped vessel with a long spout pointing up from near the base (Allchin, 1963). Kitchen knives made of ribbon flakes of chert were plentiful, and even the cores from which they had been struck were found in abundance (Allchin, 1963).

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Nearly a thousand copper objects that preceded the Harappan civilisation were found at Ganeswar; it appeared to be a manufacturing centre that employed copper ore from Khetri, and perhaps supplied the needs of nearby towns like Kalibangan, Mohenjodaro and Harappa (Agrawala, R.C., 1984, p. 157). Copper ore from the Aravalli range was certainly the source of the metal over a good part of the area (Agrawal amd Ghosh, 1973 (a), p.401). Scarcity of tin, which forms 10-20 percent of bronze, accounts for paucity of objects made of the latter, even though they are harder, keener and more cutting than those of pure copper (Agrawal and Ghosh, 1973,(a), p. 401). Iron is first noticed about 800 BC in a few megalithic sites; the Vedic word *ayas* is now believed to have first meant copper, which was later termed red *ayas*, after the use of iron, called either. white *ayas* or *loha*, became common (Chaudhuri, 1988, p. 321). Initial use of iron was for weapons or agricultural implements like ploughshares. Its real impact occurred after about 200 BC, when its carburation to steel incorporating about one percent of carbon was discovered (Agrawal and Ghosh, 1973,(b), p. 391) and the use of the bellows enabled greater heat intensity. Both bellows and iron ploughshares are frequently referred to by Pāṇini (Thakur, 1932, pp. 111-112).

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Vedic Period : Even the *Ṛgveda* mentions a large number of utensils (Prakash, Om, 1961, pp. 34-57, Iyengar, 1932, pp. 28, 47 ff.). Special *soma* storage vessels were the *amatra, ahara, kośa, dru, kalasa, camu* and *droṇa*, and for other liquids there were vessels like the *kumbha, acecana*, a gold *kalasam*, a bag for milk (*dṛti*), a water bucket (*udañcana*) and nested vessels (*dhiṣaṇa*). *Patra, camasa* and *graha* were drinking cups, while *ukha, garma* and *pacana* were cooking pots, and *caru* a covered cauldron. Spoons and ladles included the *juhu, upasecani, śruk, śruva, darvi* and *neksanam*, while *pavitra* and *karotara* were strainers, and *suna* and *svādhiti* were knives. *Grāvan* and *adri* were grinding stones for *soma*, *ulukhala* and *vanaspati* (later called *musala*) were a mortar and pestle, and *dṛsad* a flat grinding stone. *Śūla* was a roasting spit, *dhamatr* a blower or bellows, *titau* was a sieve, and *surpa* a winnowing basket of wicker. A general term for a leather cask used to store water, liquor and curds was *dhrti*, and for a leather bag *krvi*. A minority opinion was that the *ulukhala* was a shallow, wide-mouthed mortar for grinding, while the *musala* was the long heavy, waisted pounder (Sircar, 1967, p. 194).

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Table 1 — Utensils of The Vedic Sacrifice

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| **Containers** | | |
| *pātra* | : | sacrificial wooden vessels, placed in pairs on the sacrificial grass, and of five kinds (*upaṃsu*-, *urdhva*-, *ṛtu*-, *śukra*- and *manthi*-) for different uses |
| *sambharani* | : | wooden vessel in which is placed the wet, pounded soma stalks |
| *droṇakalāsa* | : | bucket-type vessel covered with a filter to receive strained soma juice |
| *pūtabhṛt* | : | clay trough to hold prepared soma juice |
| *camasa* | : | oblong tub with handle, of ten types, for use by different priests for various purposes, such as: holding soma, drinking soma (by the priest); holding sacred water; and holding food in the vow rite |
| *agrāyaṇasthālī* | : | vessel to receive strained soma juice in the agricultural rite when new fruits are eaten |
| *śarāva* | : | earthen dish holding water with which a new mother is sprinkled |
| *pinvana* | : | two milk vessels |
| *sarpirdhāna* | : | bowl for butter |
| *idapātra* | : | deep oblong container with a flat rim to hold ghee |
| *pranitapraṇāyana* | : | -do- |
| *nināhya* | : | earthen waterpot buried in the ground to keep its contents cool |
| **Large earthen cooking pots** | | |
| *ukha* | : | square pot used to boil flesh |
| *mahāvīrā* | : | wide-mouthed pot in which milk and ghee are heated |
| *gharma* | : | large earthen pot in which milk is boiled |
| *kumbha* | : | cooking vessel in which rice is boiled |
| *śrāpana* | : | cooking vessel |
| **Ovens, Baking, Roasting** | | |
| *culli* | : | clay oven |
| *kuplu* | : | -do- |

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| *bhrāstra* | : | -do- |
| *śūla* | : | skewer of wood on which certain animal organs were roasted |
| *gārhyapatya* | : | potsherd for taking purodasa |
| *kapālas* | : | -do- |

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Fire Utensils

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| *araṇi* | : | a spindle (worked with a length of string) and a wooden board with a friction hole |
| *sata* | : | two large vessels for carrying embers |
| *parisása* | : | tongs to lift the gharma from the fire |
| *upavesana* | : | wooden poker for stirring the fire, and for removing embers |
| *dhrṣti* | : | a pair of pokers used to stir the fire and to remove embers |

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Strainers

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| *pāvitra* | : | strainer made of sheep’s wool for filtering soma juice |
| *karotara* | : | a strainer |

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Ladles, Spoons

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| *śruk* | : | collective term for large wooden ladles used for libations, with a yoni-shaped bowl ending in a lip |
| *juhu* | : | a sruk |
| *dhruva* | : | -do- |
| *upabhṛt* | : | -do- |
| *pracarani* | : | -do- |
| *darvi* | : | a small ladle with a long, slim handle and a tiny, lipless bowl for sprinkling libations |
| *śruvi* or *śruva* | : | -do- |
| *tragbila* | : | -do- |
| *vitasti* | : | -do- |
| *pariplava* | : | spoon without a handle for drawing out soma |
| *havani* | : | spoon, used e.g. by the agnihotr |
| *grahani* | : | spoon, used e.g. to hold the prasadaiya of butter and buttermilk |
| *pariplupātra* | : | a ladle |
| *antardhāna* | : | -do- |
| *prasaka* | : | a decanting vessel with a long handle and a large, cup-like bowl |

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Offering Vessels

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| *vāyavya* | : | waisted, spouted cylinder used to make offerings to twelve deities |

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| *urdhvapātra* | : | waisted, spouted cylinder |
| *anvaharyasthālī* | : | -do- |
| *agrayanasthālī* | : | -do- |
| *akaraphalika* | : | snake-shaped board, one-arm long, on which sesame seeds are offered in the sacrifice |

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Stirrers, Scrapers

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| *parsva* | : | stirrer-spoon for the *vasa* (marrow) |
| *makṣana* | : | wooden scraper with a square, flat head for stirring flour and boiling water in preparing purodasa; it is discarded after use |

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Cutters

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| *svadhiti* | : | knife to dissect sacrificed animal |
| *sāsa* | : | kitchen knife |
| *sphya* | : | wide, dagger-shapped wooden implement used for several purposes in the sacrifice |

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Pounders, Grinders

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| *ulukhala* | : | wooden mortar |
| *musāla* | : | wooden pestle for the *ulukhala* |
| *dṛśad* | : | lower, flat grinding stone |
| *dṛśadputra* | : | upper milling stone |
| *upala* | : | -do- |
| *pesani* | : | the two milling stones taken together |

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Baskets

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| *palva* | : | winnowing basket holding sacrificial grain |
| *śūrpa* | : | winnowing tray of bamboo or reed |

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Leaf Utensils

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| *pātravali* | : | plate or cup made of leaves stapled together with splinters |
| *pārṇapuṭa* | : | a funnel of folded *palāśa* leaf, in which a lump of boiled rice is hung on a tree. |

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The Gṛhya and Śautra vedic sacrifices enshrined in the *Sūtras* employed an enormous number of utensils of rigidly specified design and structure. These are shown in Table 1 (Vesci, 1985; Sen, 1978). The soma rites were performed three times a day, and employed twelve main vessels for various types of cooking, like *sthālīpāka*, cooking in a pot, and *śutagrāva*, roasting on a spit. The *pravargya* rite, which is part of the soma sacrifice, required the making each time of a special, round, fired clay vessel with a wide mouth called a *mahāvīra*, which is heated intensely in the course of the rite (Vesci, 1985, p. 215). For the *ajamedha*, or goat sacrifice, a special clay cauldron called the *gharma* had to be made for cooking the meat (Vesci, 1985, p. 69). The *aśvamedha* or horse sacrifice also called for a huge square clay cauldron termed the *ukha* for cooking the flesh, and hollow metal skewers for roasting certain organs after their dissection (Vesci, 1985, p. 32). In contrast to the potter’s wheel that was in use much earlier to turn clay in the Indus Valley, these large clay vessels had all to be kneaded by hand to exacting schedules using certain special clays (e.g. from an ant-hill, or from a place snouted open by pigs). Similarly the *aṣṭaka* cake had to be made with exactly four full *śaravas* of rice. The sacrificial *puroḍāśa* cake of rice or barley flour had to be baked in a flat clay vessel with a specific number of hollows of various shapes for different purposes (Apte, 1939, pp. 95-102).

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Not surprisingly, some of these vessels, like the *drona*, *kumbha*, *kalasa*, *ghaṭa*, *śarava* and *sthālī* later became volume measures (Srinivasan, 1979, pp. 71-79).

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Many objects from these Vedic times are instantly recognisable as being in use even today. The *culli* is the *cūlā* of the present, the spit is in use by Rajputs for roasting a whole pig to give a dish called *śūlā*, the scraping utensil *dhṛṣṭi* is now the *kunti*, the flat grinding stone *dṛṣad* with its cylindrical roller is found in every Indian kitchen, and a deep form of the stone mortar with its stout upright grinding stone is an essential item in a south Indian home. *Kalāśas*, *kumbhas* and *pātras* are all with us, often in metallic form, as are the *bharjanapātra* as *kaḍāhi* (from *kaṭāha*, a word of Prakrit origin (Sagar, 1933, p. 184) that occurs in the *Rāmāyaṇa*, *Suśruta Saṃhitā* and *Sūryasiddānta* (Monier Williams, 1851, p.549), the *ajyasthālī* as *tāvā*, and the small waisted cylindrical kitchen mortars for pounding spices. Leaf plates and cups, then *pātrāvali*, now *patroli* or *paṭṭal*, are still in use. Some old utensils have altered. The small soma pounder is now a tall cylindrical vessel to be worked by a person while standing, and the *sthālī* has changed its name to *thālī*, and its function from a cooking to an eating utensil.

v1.c26.s2.t2.30

*Utensils of later times*: Panels dated 50-20 BC in the great stupa at Sanci depict a ladle for ceremonial libations, a small goblet with crossed straps, and a beautiful spouted ewer with a fitted lid and a curved handle on top like a modern kettle (Dhavalikar, 1965).

v1.c26.s2.t2.31

A Buddhist monk was permitted to carry eight items : *bhṛṅgāra*, water jar; *saraka*, drinking cup; *īhavika*, water bag; *piṭaka*, basket; *kumbhi*, cooking pot; *tattaka*, plate; *pariyoga*, dish; and *kadapiyan*, pan (Prakash, Om, 1961, pp.58-86). Utensils mentioned by Patañjali (mid-2nd century BC) include a tiny water-jug, *kuṇḍikā*, for the use of students, and a cauldron, *ukha* (Puri, 1957, pp. 89-115). The *Rāmāyaṇa* mentions three drinking goblets, *śarava*, *karaka* and *golvarka* (Sharma, 1971, pp. 232-242), an iron pan *lauhi*, a deep frying pan *kaṭāha* (modern *kaḍahi*) and a boiler *pithara* (Prakash, Om, 1961, pp. 102-131). The *Amarakośa* (5th century AD) includes the deep frying pan *kaṇḍu*, the roasting plate *bhrasta* (*tāvā*?), ladles *kambhi*, *kajaka* and *tardu* (with a wooden handle), strainers *karkari* and *galantika*, a goblet *kausa*, a pot *pithara* and leather bottles *kutuh* and *kuṭup* for storing oil (Deshmukh, 1981, pp. 99-110). The portable *śigrī* of today was called *culli*, *aṅgāradhanika* or *hasauṭi*. Kālidāsa has *kumbha* for a big pitcher, and *ghaṭa* for a small one (Upadhyaya, 1947, p, 216). At three places in the *Harṣacarita* occur various utensils, though mentioned in rather a tangle (Cowell and Thomas, 1961). These have been sorted out (Agrawala, 1940) as various very large water pots alinjara, mahakumbha, gola and kantakita (also called panasa, since it has the shape of a jackfruit), small pots kusumbha, karkari and votakuta, jars kalasa and kumbha, a cup kosa, and an earthen vessel for molasses (phanita-sthālī). Frying pans (kaṭāha) are here again, besides baking trays talaka and sakatika, simmering pans tapika (Hindi tai), the saucepan as caru, the tāvā as tapaka, spits as hastaka and śūla, and baskets as pitaha.

v1.c26.s2.t2.32

The Ajanta paintings of about the 8th century AD show kitchens with a cula, and globular cooking pots, placed one over the other, slung from the roof (Yazdani, 1952, pp. 58, 104; Schlingloff, 1987, p. 104).

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Utensils in south India : Some of these have already been described in the preceding section under the subhead ‘Devices and Methods’. The literary record may now be considered.

v1.c26.s2.t2.34

The oldest Tamil writings of the Sangam period (Srinivasa Iyengar, 1930, pp.57-70 and 1932, pp. 253-300; Sreedhara Menon, 1979, pp.121-126); date from about 100 BC to the 6th century AD, when kingdoms and trade were flourishing and kitchen technology must have already come a long way. The ural and ullūkal (words that obviously resemble the Sanskrit ulūkhala) were mortars made of both wood and stone used to pound paddy and rice. Grinding stones frequently took animal shapes, such as that of a tortoise; they were called ammi, tiruvai, āttukal and kulavi, while the stone mullers that paired with them were termed puttil and vatigai. Pots were fashioned out of either clay or stone, and had many names; pānai, śatti, śal, talam, midā, pāṇā, mittava, and mallāy, with its lid madukku. Liquor was served in a bowl called mandai (Subrahmaniam, 1966, pp. 306-309). The kundam was a versatile container, used for example to hold toddy (kallu kuṇḍam), and so was the kalam. Pots could be suspended from the roof in a rope sling (simili), or kept in stands called paṭṭādai, śumudu or śummadu. There were many spoons: the agappai was itself of three kinds (tatta-, sanda- and sirra-), and there were others called sattuvam, karaṇḍi, muttai, taduppu, maravai, toṭṭi, kinnam, marakkal (or abanam) and vaṭṭi. The vattil was a flat spoon of stone, wood or metal. There were wood friction devices to raise fire, censers to hold embers (tadavu, indalam) and pokers (nelikol) for raking the fire. The winnowing pan (śurpa in Sanskrit) was murram, the sieve was salladai, and there were plates called sinnam, sulagu, tattu and mirrul for various purposes. The bamboo coop for protecting food from flies was called kudu. Kitchens had mats (pāy) to sit on, and lofts for storage (paran, idanam, kaludu, padagam and panavai). Leaf plates fashioned out of the ambal (lotus), banyan and teak are mentioned in the earlier literature; by the 8th century AD, use of banana leaves had become common (Pillay, 1975, p. 284). Practically all these utensils and words persist to this day. As in the north, some vessels later evolved into measures of volume, like the kalam, padi, nāli and ūri (Srinivasan, 1979, pp. 71-79). Fire was raised by friction between pieces of wood, and a perpetual fire was kept going in pots called kumpatti. Into this was poked a stick called sulundu, sometimes tipped with sulphur (Srimvasa Iyengar, 1930, pp. 57-70).

v1.c26.s2.t2.35

A vessel that today is considered distinctively south Indian is the kūja, a clay drinking water-storage vessel with a globular base and a stout neck, of about the same height as the base, flaring slightly outwards. It has first been noted in Cemetery H of Harappa, which is a repository of utensils of unknown origin that differ from those in the main settlement (Sankalia, 1971, p. 259), and later in Jorwe about 1600 BC (Dhavalikar, 1985, p. 3). Thereafter the utensil disappears, to reappear about 1300 AD after the Muslim advent. Its antiquity in south India is not known.

v1.c26.s2.t2.36

Lacking copper ore, south India largely skipped the chalcolithic stage, and copper utensils have been found only in a few sites like Hallur, Tekkalatotta, Utnur and Payampalli between 2500 and 900 BC (Sankalia, 1970, p. 45). Iron came into use even by 1000 BC to make hunting weapons and agricultural tools. Later came domestic utensils, but those made of stone and earthenware are preferred for cooking even to this day.

v1.c26.s2.t2.37

Except for some items of specific regional utility, it is clear that all over India domestic utensils are very much the same. Writing in the early 18th century AD in Sanskrit, King Basavarāja of Keladi (Krishnamurthy, 1984, p. 227) in present-day Karnataka uses Sanskrit terms without awkwardness to denote many utensils then in use in a southern kitchen, like *gharatta* for grinding stone, *pravani* for frying pan and *kharpava* for *tāvā*. Regionally, Punjab has the distinctive *tandoori* baking oven. Kashmir has items with a Central Asian association like the *traemsarposh* used to serve Wazwan food, the *khaṇḍakari* or *samovar* used in brewing the aromatic *kahwah* tea, and certain distinctive ladles used in cooking and serving.

Large-scale Operations

Food storage

v1.c26.s3.t1.1

Granaries for grain storage of surprising sophistication and size have been found at Mohenjodaro, Harappa and Lothal. On a high brick-built base at Mohenjodaro were set some 27 storage blocks of wood arranged crosswise, with vents on the sides to ensure air circulation by convection (Wheeler, 1976, p. 86).

v1.c26.s3.t1.2

Half-way up the structure was an unloading platform; this could be approached by carts carrying grain, which probably arrived along the river. Adjoining the granary were a row of brick-lined pounding platforms with a central hole, still carrying fragments of burnt wheat and husked barley. At Harappa, the mud platform, situated again by the river, was 52 by 42 metres, and 1.2 metres high, and on it stood two identical granary blocks about 7 metres apart (Vats, 1940, I, p. 15 & II, Pl. 6). Each block had six chambers, with corridors between them opening outside and approached by a short flight of steps. The floor was raised off the ground to permit air to circulate, and small triangular vents sucked in this air to pass through the chambers. Some form of state authority was clearly involved in the procurement and distribution of grain on a large scale. At Lothal, the granary, or perhaps warehouse, overlooked the dock (Rao, 1962, pp. 14-30). It was 51 by 45 metres and stood on a platform 3.5 metres high. The vanished wooden granary, probably destroyed by fire, appears to have rested on palettes or blocks 3.7 metres square and a little over a metre high. Never in Indian history till recent times was grain to be stored on this scale.

v1.c26.s3.t1.3

*Professional cooking and dining*

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*Royal cooking* : The royal kitchen was called *rasavati* or *mahānasa* (Auboyer, 1965, p.265). That of king Sandāsa is depicted as merely an open thatched hut in Cave 17 at Ajanta (Schlingloff 1987, p.109). The cook is seated on the floor, pointing to a cooking pot with one hand, while looking at the back of the hut, where a dog is seen that has made off with the meat destined for the royal table. Among a king’s morning tasks was a consultation with the cook. The cook’s duties were not only to keep away marauding crows and dogs, but to ensure food variety and freedom from poison for which an official food-taster was always around (Auboyer, 1965, p.259). The cook was called the *ālāraka* or *sūpakāra* (Law, 1934, p. 68), and there were specialists like the *avalika* (for use of condiments and spices), *apupika* (for baking) and *kandavika* (for frying) (Deshmukh, 1981, pp.99-110). Buddhist literature has *odanika* for a cook, the *Arthaśāstra* *bhojanadātṛ*, and the *Viṣṇu Purāṇa* *sudas* for a king’s cook (Dayal, 1983, p. 157). In pre-Aryan south India, lavish hospitality was expected of royalty; one poet was fed with the “soft boiled legs of sheep fed on sweet grass, and large chops of hot meat roasted on the points of spits... (besides) sweets of excellent taste in varied shapes”, and of course strong liquor, sometimes scented and flavoured.

v1.c26.s3.t1.5

*Public dining* : The austere Vedic and Brahmin injunctions on food purity and ritual precluded their eating in public, but the rest of the population had no such inhibitions. In the commercial districts of the city were shops (Auboyer, 1965, p.121) piled with “cooked rice and prepared food ready for eating, whose pungent odours assailed the nostrils”. Early European visitors to north India describe Lahore’s “brilliantly lighted bazaars which had a great number of occupied tents or cookshops exhaling the aroma of spicy dishes” and displaying “large spits bearing the flesh of winged creatures... nor did these bazaars lack the simple foods of the native, (to meet whose taste) many tents hold different dishes made of rice, herbs and vegetables (besides) the ubiquitous flat bread”.

v1.c26.s3.t1.6

In Agra (Sebastian, 1982, p. 263) “entire streets are wholly occupied by skilled sweetmeat makers (with) dainties of all sorts in the innumerable bazaars”.

v1.c26.s3.t1.7

Early south India had few dining taboos, and eating in hotels must have been a common practice. One work of about the 3rd century AD, *Mathuraikkañcī*, describes (*Kanakasabhai*, 1904, pp. 125-135) thus the market place of Madurai; “the hotels and restaurants are now, in the cool of the evening, crowded with visitors who feast upon luscious fruits such as the jackfruit, mango and plantain, and on sugar candies, tender greens, edible yams, sweetened rice and savoury preparations of meat”. In the heyday of Vijayanagar in the 16th century AD, visitors like Varthema, Barbosa and Paes describe the markets overflowing with meat and vegetables (Randhawa, 1982, II, pp. 113-114).

v1.c26.s3.t1.8

These large establishments catering to cooking and feeding large numbers would not have required special preparation technologies, as at present, domestic practices on a larger or more intensive scale would have sufficed.

Alcoholic Drinks

v1.c26.s3.t2.1

Usage of liquor : This may be reviewed as a preamble to reviewing the technology of production. The Harappans may even have drunk distilled liquor (as shown below). The *Ṛgveda*, while exalting *soma*, condemns the use of *surā*, a distilled liquor. In subsequent Vedic literature, Brahmins (and students in particular) are always rigorously prohibited from using liquor, while Kṣatriyas and Vaiśyas are permitted liquor made from honey, *mahuā* flowers and jaggery, but not spirits distilled from fermented flour (Prakash, Om, 1961, pp. 34-57). The Jataka tales suggest that drinking at feasts with friends was by no means uncommon, and that women and even hermits imbibed. Buddhist monks were not permitted wine except when ill. For Jain monks, the prohibition was strict; they could not even stay in a place where jars of wine were stored.

v1.c26.s3.t2.2

Drinking was common among Kṣatriyas. Sītā promises the Ganga a thousand jars of wine if members of the party return safe from exile (Sharma, 1971, pp. 232-242). After they do so, Rāma feeds her with his own hands with *maireya*, a spiced wine. Outside the public indulge in a drunken orgy, and even the atmosphere of Ayodhya was said to reek of wine (Sharma, 1971, pp 232-242). In the *Mahābhārata*, Kṛṣṇa enjoys drinking freely with Arjuna, and the Yadavas are killed in a drinking brawl. Even a virtuous lady, Sudeṣṇā, is shown as drunk on wine. Drinking scenes are depicted in sculpture in the Sanchi stupa (Sharma, 1971, pp. 232-242), in Kuṣāṇa temples at Mathura (Dayal, 1983, pp. 96-104) and in Calukyan temples at Pattadakal (Kamat, 1978, p. 170). The *nagaraka* (man of town) of the *Kāmasūtra* sips drinks from a *casaka* while nibbling at sweet bitter and acidic snacks (chalakdar, 1976, p.17). In Kālidasa’s plays (Pathak, 1978, p. 58) citizen and constable both indulge in drinks (*Śakuntalā*), and in *Raghuvamśa*, the whole of Raghu’s army drinks coconut wine, and an intoxicated *Irāvathī* is not able to move about properly.

v1.c26.s3.t2.3

Public taverns or drinking areas are frequently depicted, and are called *saundikas* and *panabhūmis*. In Mauryan times (Auboyer, 1965, p, 259) “every village had at least one tavern, identifiable by the flag that it flew. The towns contained many taverns, grouped in the same district but sufficiently spaced out to prevent their being side by side. They were often decorated and furnished in style, and contained several courtyards, rooms filled with seats and couches, and also counters where perfumes, flowers and garlands could be brought. It was a lucrative business, for the sale of fermented and alcoholic drinks continued throughout the day and well into the night. The customers ate salt with their drinks to encourage their thirst”. Moderation in use of liquor is urged, for example in the *Bṛhatsamhitā* (early 6th cent. AD) (Shastri, 1969, pp. 209- 216) and in the *Caraka Saṃhitā* (Chakraborty, 1923 p. 573), which opines: “A stimulant taken in proper dose increases the strength and weight of the body, but taken in excess it reduces the body weight”. Elsewhere Caraka recommends a little wine only when the digestion is at its best, such as in winter and spring, and diluted wine in the rainy season and summer (Sengupta, 1919, p. 12).

v1.c26.s3.t2.4

Before the Aryan advent into south India, drinking was free of taint and indulged in at all levels. Even woman drank, especially in the company of their lovers. Toddy was made by fermenting palmyra sap, and was drunk, as in *Manimekhalai* (6th cent. AD) by the poorer classes (*Kanakasabhai*, 1904, pp, 125-135). Poets wrote of sturdy sailors living a dangerous life, who were fond of strong liquor (Srinivasa Iyengar 1932, pp, 253- 300). Wine brewed from germinated grains in pots is mentioned more than once, and is drunk by soldiers, for example (*Rasanayagam*, 1926, pp, 130-160). Liquor shops in Madurai floated gay streamers (*Kanakasabhai*, 1904, pp. 125-135), and a piece of raw ginger chewed while drinking was recommended to the heavy imbiber as an antidote (Nilakantha Sastri, 1964, pp.77-80). Kings had access (*Rasanayagam*, 1926, pp. 130-180), at least during the 1st and 2nd centuries AD when trading with Rome was at its peak, to “cool and fragrant wine in golden cups, held by bright-bangled women”. Even after the spread of the Aryans, Brahmins are sometimes shown as drinking toddy without reproach (Krishna Ayyar, 1966, p. 31). Kapilar, the famous Brahmin poet of the Sangam epoch, speaks with relish about both drink and meat (Pillay, 1975, pp. 224).

v1.c26.s3.t2.5

*Production and types of liquor*: Though it is made clear, by contrasting it with *sura*, that *soma*, was not an alcoholic liquor but an exhilarant (Prakash, Om, 1961, pp. 7-33, Sell, 1933, *Notes* pp. 152-170), its elaborately ritualistic production technology can conveniently be noted here (Vesci, 1985, pp.215, 69, 32, Sen, 1978, Three plates). The material, brought from a mountainous area, was first washed, and then either crushed between grinding stones (*grāvan*), or pounded in a mortar and pestle (*ulukhala and musala*) using both hands, while sprinking water and sometimes squeezing the material to assist extraction. The *grāvan* stones were placed above four holes connected underground; the resounding echo of the grinding was poetically compared to the lowing of bulls. The liquid was filtered through a strainer of sheep’s wool (*pavitra*) held above specified jars or wooden tubs. The amber, shining liquid was mixed with curds, ghee, milk, water, honey or grains before being drunk by the priests and the person making the sacrifice.

v1.c26.s3.t2.6

Was liquor made in the Indus valley? Perhaps not just brewed, but even distilled. Using clay objects found at all Harappan sites, a distillation unit has been assembled (Mahdi Hassan, 1979, p. 264). On the mouth of a water pot was placed a well-fitting circular basin with a wide circular hole at the bottom. In this was cradled a smaller basin with holes in its base. Alcohol boiled in the lower pot rose through the holes; was condensed on the underside of a handled receptacle holding cold water that was placed above the assembly, and then fell into the annular space of the fitted basin. The only special vessel required was the small perforated basin; this has repeatedly been found in excavations without a satisfactory use having been ascribed to it.

v1.c26.s3.t2.7

The *Rgveda* describes *surā* as an intoxicating liquor distilled after fermenting barley or wild paddy, and it may have had a connection with the hated asuras. Later Vedic literature (Prakash, Om, 1961, pp. 7-33) has *kilala* (a sweetened drink made from fermented cereals), *masana* (a filtered rice gruel liquor) and *pariśruta* (a product of fermentation of flowers and certain grasses). Subsequently numerous products find mention. The *Rāmāyaṇa* has four (Sharma, 1971, pp, 232-242), Kautilya names 12, and Caraka makes mention of no less than 84 kinds of alcoholic liquor. In Table 2, these alcoholic beverages are listed roughly in the order in which they are mentioned in Sanskrit literature.

v1.c26.s3.t2.8

Table 2 — Liquors Listed in Approximately Historical Order

v1.c26.s3.t2.9

| *Surā* | The earliest-mentioned liquor made from barley or rice flour by fermentation, and perhaps used by the detested asuras. Later a generic word for a strong drink |
| *Māsara* | A fermented mixture of barley gruel, or rice gruel (*kanjika*), and spices, which was then filtered. Also perhaps Pre-Aryan |
| *Pariśutra* | Fermented flowers with added aromatic grasses |
| *Kilala* | Fermented, sweetened cereal-derived drink |
| *Kalika* | A kind of wine |
| *Avadatika* | A kind of wine, different from *kalikā* |
| *Maireya* | A liquor, probably distilled, flavoured with the tree bark of mesasringi (*Gymnema sylvestre*), with added guda (or sugar), pepper, triphala and spices |
| *Kaśāya* | A fermented extract of rice meal and flowers |
| *Madya* | A general term for a strong liquor |
| *Vāruni* | Distillate of fermented *mahuā* (*Madhuca indica*) flowers. Later also applied to the distilled ferment from dates and palm fruits, and perhaps for any strong drink |
| *Madīra :* | A general term for wine of high quality |
| *Prasanna* | Fermented rice flour, flavoured with spices, bark and . fruit, the name may be suggestive of the clarity of the drink |
| *Śidhu ;* | Fermented and distilled sugarcane juice with *dhātakī* flowers (*Woodfordia fruticosa*). The red flowers contributed colour, astringent tannins and an alcoholic ferment. Amlasidhu may have had added amla fruit (*Embilca officianalis*) |
| *Kādambari* | A distilled liquor based on ripe kadamba fruit (*Anthocephalus cadamba*) |
| *Tallaka* | Wine from palm fruit juice |
| *Jati* | Wine flavoured with jasmine flowers |
| *Khajurāsava* | Wine from dates |
| *Jambu-āsava* | Wine from the jambu fruit (*Syzygium cumini*) |
| *Medaka* | Wine made from rice and spices. The name may suggest the fattening property of the drink. |
| *Sahakarasurā* | Wine brewed form mango juice |
| *Mahāsurā* | Mango juice wine with a high proportion of fruit extract |
| *Rasottara* | Wine from molasses |
| *Kaula* | Wine from ber fruit (*Zizyphus species*) |
| *Śvetasura* | A clear palm drink achieved by adding *Kataśarkara* and licorice decoction |
| *Bijottara* | Palm fruit liquor of some special kind |

v1.c26.s3.t2.10

| *Sambhariki* | : | -do- |
| *Divya* | : | A liquor flavoured with kadamba tree bark |
| *Asava* | : | A generic class of distilled liquors, named after the source; pushpa-, phala-, madhvika-, sarkara-, sura- and narikela-, perhaps later sweetened and flavoured |
| *Arista* | : | Wines of medical connotation, as the name (meaning absence of injury ) suggests |
| *Kohala* | : | Distilled liquor based on parched barley flour |
| *Kasya* | : | A strong intoxicant |

v1.c26.s3.t2.11

Apart from these, the nobility right from *Sūtra* times were able to import two wines which are repeatedly mentioned. One was *kapisayani* from Kapisi (now Kafiristan, north of Kabul), and the other was *harahuraka*, from a town Harahura in the Arghanbad valley. Both were famed for their wine, made from white grapes in the former city and black grapes in the latter (Goswami, 1979, p. 27). Excavations at Begram in the area have brought to light a complete and artistic distillation assembly in the shape of a jar from whose mouth emerged a pressing shaft topped by a conical filter (Goswami, 1979, p. 37).

v1.c26.s3.t2.12

The raw materials employed for brewing were quite varied. The *Rāmāyaṇa* mentions four *āsavas* derived from flowers, fruits, honey and sugarcane. Caraka’s 84 varieties are derived from nine sources. Sugar-rich materials used for fermentation were sugarcane juice, guda, molasses, honey, coconut water, sweet palmyra sap and *mahua* flowers, while fruits included the grape, mango, wood-apple (kapittha), date palm, ber, banana, apricot, jack-fruit, pomegranate, kadamba, bilva, rajadana (chironji) and madanaphala (*Mimusops elengi*). Flavouring materials included fragrant flowers like the *kadamba*, *patala*, *jati* and *dhātākī*, and spices such as *haridrā* (haldi), black pepper and elaichi. Astringent materials like the betelnut (*pugaphila*), and barks of trees like *mesaśṛngī*, *kapittha* and *kadamba* were also employed in making liquor.

v1.c26.s3.t2.13

The production system is only briefly described. Patanjali has *asuti* for distillery, *asavya* for the fermented mix, and *viniya* for the sediment left after distillation, while the vintner (and apparently also the seller) was a *saundika* (Puri, 1957, pp. 89-115). The *Viṣṇu Purāṇa* calls the manufacturer of wine *maireyaka* and the seller *somavikrayī* (Dayal, 1982, pp. 93-104), and the *Amarakośa* has *svedanī* for an alcoholic still (Deshmukh, 1981, pp. 99-110). The *Arthaśāstra* has recipes for preparing various liquors, but the very terse language that is used makes their interpretation very subjective (Konow, 1975, pp. 60-63; Kangle, 1986, II, pp. 154-156; Agrawala, 1940, p. 291). It would appear that five elements could be varied. First was the raw material, which could be sugarcane juice, jaggery, honey, treacle, various sweet fruits, and cereals like rice and barley. Next, the period of fermentation is stated, in one instance, as being one month, six months or a year. Thirdly, the absence or use of distillation is frequently left unspecifed, except sometimes by inference through use of the adjective “strong” for the liquor. Fourthly, the liquor was frequently doctored with a sweetening agent, or with substances with either a distinctive fragrance, like flowers, or a distinctive flavour, like spices and astringent barks; confusion arises because these same materials could be used even before fermentation, or added before distillation. Fifthly, there is the nature of the ferment itself. In one fairly clear statement in the *Arthaśāstra*, this is stated to consist of a *droṇa* or mashed *māsa* pulse, a third (or three parts, in another interpretation) of rice, and a *karṣa* portion of morata. But other ferments could be used, and one of these is a decoction made from a mixture of *meṣaśṛṅgī* bark and long and black pappers; since such an extract is also a typical flavouring agent, there is room for uncertainty. Incidentally, a spice mixture is even now used in Punjab to make the spongy fermented snack, *warri*.

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