How Leftovers are Handled in Indian Homes?

 

We, as Indians, worship our food. 

And so, we also believe in not letting the food go to waste. 

Wow, one must wonder the planning and efficiency that goes behind approximating meal portions in a way that everyone in the house has had their share of food and none of the food gets wasted. 

BUT..............STOP!

Before you go on and on with admiring the above-stated fact, let me give you a sneak peek at how exactly leftovers are handled in The Great Indian Society.

We have a simple rule when it comes to handling the food and the leftovers. 

And that is - the male members and the kids of the home must eat hot and fresh food from the stove. 

Now, even if the rule looks simple, there are several categories in which food management is done. Let's take a look at the IF...ELSE in which the leftovers are handled. 

1. If the food is a day old in the fridge, it is totally safe for the women at home to consume it. 

Else, it goes to the next level. 

2. If the food is two to three days old in the fridge, it can be considered a little NOT safe to be consumed by the women of the home and so it gets passed to the next level, which is the maid of the home. 

Else, it goes further to the next level. 

3. If the food is still left after going through the above iterations, it goes to the street animals. 

Tada! I hope you learned a bit about how we worship our food and in turn our bodies. 

.

.

.

Are you still with me?

Are you also thinking, "How EXACTLY Leftovers Should Be Handled in Indian Homes?"

I think the answer lies not in the management of the food but in the mindset that everyone should be treated equally in the home. Everyone's health must be given priority. And hence, if there is any leftover, it should be just distributed equally among all family members the next day. 

This has a two-fold benefit. One, the leftover gets finished maximum by the next day of meal preparation. Moreover, it also gives equal opportunity to each member of the home to eat fresh food. 

If this makes sense to you, can we take a pledge at managing the food properly, irrespective of the roles we play in our respective homes?