Why does a Madrasi require bowls & bowls of Rice for dinner??

Whenever the highly cosmopolitan group that I belong to decides to ‘hang out’ which can be safely translated to ‘eat and drink’, invariably I turn out to be the odd one out. Not because I am poorly dressed, not even because my hair perennially remains ‘centre-shocked’ but because of my unique preferences when it comes to food.  Well, my highly Tamil influenced taste buds long for its share of rice, best accompanied by a scoop of sambar, rasam or even better ‘curd’ whatever be the position the clock hands take.

The puzzled or rather revolting look that I get when I mention rice for dinner surprises me.  However hard I try and explain the enjoyment & bliss I derive out of eating rice with the whole lot of accompaniments laid out on a plantain leaf specifically with hand, it falls flat and that too without a resonating ring.

Now if you ask my individual sense as to why I have an appetite only for rice, I would say, well it’s our staple food; I was grown up that way, the way you were grown up with rotis, butter & aloo. If in case the socio culturally conscious portion in me chooses to answer, the reply might be “Given that Tamil Nadu has a hot climate, the kind of food consumed here can be attributed to this. For example, sambar & rasam are made out of tamarind, which is a cooling agent thus counteracting the heat here. Also the temperature being always hovering over 25 degrees, there is the natural fermentation process that occurs which is used effortlessly for most of the dishes that are slightly sour to heavily sour starting from idlis to curd.” Wow, I should pat myself for that as it actually answers why sambar, rasam, curd and all the other accompaniments that is a part of the meal extravaganza; the mystery of rice, though still remains unsolved.

That's how rice grains look like ! Based on the variety they
belong to , they are either smaller, stouter, longer or uglier

The geographically challenged I, looking for support might comes up with a lame “Maybe the production of rice is the maximum in south India” but would ultimately end up correcting that because of the lack of statistical support. In fact the states that produce maximum rice are UP & Punjab which together produce about 4 times the total quantity produced in AP, which happens to be the next highest producer. That apart the other south Indian states have no significant contribution. The only other statistical measure that might help is tonnes of rice produced per person in the area, which again lacks convincing numbers to back up.

In fact what is interesting to note here is that the earliest remains of rice in India have been found in the indo-gangetic plain and dates to around 6000 BC though the widely accepted date for the earliest cultivation of rice is placed around 3000 BC around the Indus valley civilization. Rice appeared in southern india only at around 1400 BC after it was tamed in the northern plains, & from there it has had no looking back.

Out of curiosity, I did impose this question to my mother; Her response was “I am not too sure..”, but it did not stop there, she continued, “ but I know one thing, there has been a great reverence for rice from ancestral times; why else would rice grains, turned yellow in color by mixing it with turmeric and saffron be  used to bless people by showering it on them in weddings or otherwise; If you remember it forms an integral part of the wedding ceremonies too. In fact one of our biggest festivals after diwali, Pongal is to celebrate the harvest of rice! It has been a part of all our traditions.”

Well, that was an interesting perspective on the religious inclusion of rice but it doesn’t pacify me or crack the question I posed. Well, I guess south Indians love variety in food & rice gives them the flexibility as it takes the taste of anything that is added on to it, because it is literally taste less and is a mass of starch. Maybe this is the only reason, we in south India love rice! Well, actually maybe there is no reason at all !!

In case anyone is able to come up with a better explanation, feel free to share with proof!