As someone stated, “you are what you eat,” but in India, food is beyond that. It is an expression of hospitality, seasons, senses, regions, and spirituality. We pray, we celebrate, and we express our love through food! The first episode of Warner Bros. Discovery’s landmark docuseries ‘The Journey of India’ takes viewers on an epic voyage across the grand Indian kitchen beyond the threshold of time.
From historic empires to a contemporary global canvas – India’s food legacy is far from ordinary. Like India, the nation’s food is made of many worlds. Its spice blend contains the seasons, the humble ingredients signify spirituality, recipes contain stories that have been passed down through generations. India’s culture celebrates the essence of abundance, the fraternity to be found in food.
Hosting the first episode of the series is the Michelin-star chef, India’s beloved culinary icon Vikas Khanna, who will take one across this beautiful country and the extraordinary ingredients, flavours, recipes and cuisines that define India. Chef Vikas Khanna mentions how the Golden Temple was his glimmer of hope and inspiration, where any celebration began with the langar seva, the selfless service feeding thousands of hungry souls among many other experiences. Alongside him, the episode features other maestros from the culinary industry who share their experiences and vast knowledge on the subject, decoding India’s wholesome food ventures that have put India and its food on the global map.
From quintessential Indian fast food that leaves you satisfied to India’s vast repository of aromatic spices that paved the way for black pepper, the world’s most traded spice, to be termed “black gold,” From hot, fresh midday delights at spiritual places in India that not only nourish but also show kindness, to sustainable and mindful eating. From the invention of butter chicken in 1950s Delhi and its warmth that spread its wings across the globe, to an evening of unique flavours in Varanasi’s famous chaat corners and a heart-warming Wazwaan dinner in Kashmir, the episode is a scrumptious joyride of the many, many flavours that India embodies.
World-renowned MasterChef Vikas Khanna shares his views on India and its rich legacy of food, “I have travelled to innumerable countries in my time as a chef. However, the diversity of Indian cuisine is simply unparalleled. The complexity of flavours and the multiple notes it can hit at once simultaneously makes it unlike any other. Indian food has a soul of its own. I can’t wait to take my fellow viewers through the journey of India’s unreally diverse palette and how it emerged as one of the top global delicacies.”
Stay tuned and stream this episode on discovery+ and Discovery’s network of channels in India on 10th October to find out the history and origins behind some of India’s heritage food dishes and the culinary culture.