Tatva: The Origins of Ingredients

Masala Chai & India

The story of Tatva begins with the British Empire, unfortunately, as is often the case in modern Indian history. In the 1600s, the British developed a deep fondness for Chinese tea in their relentless pursuit of global expansion. So much so that they soon found themselves in a trade deficit. Determined to balance the scales, they turned their attention to Assam, seizing its fertile lands to cultivate the tea they had come to revere. However, after a failed attempt to steal China’s secrets, the British discovered that their newly sourced tea tasted dreadful. And to make matters worse, the people of England weren’t interested in drinking it. True to their imperial nature, the British launched a 40-year campaign to force this tea onto the Indian population.

The tea, still lacking flavor, eventually found its way into the hands of India’s street vendors. Somewhere between World War I and the 1930s, these chaiwallahs added spices, transforming the once-bland brew into something extraordinary. And so, masala chai was born. Today, it remains one of India’s most cherished traditions: every morning, my parents begin their day with a cup of masala chai, just as nearly every household across India does. Chai is woven into the fabric of our daily lives and is an integral part of the history of free India, and it was brewed in resistance.

I never really considered the history behind chai in my culture. I simply assumed it had always been there. But it made me wonder how many other foods, flavors, and ingredients I take for granted? For example, truffles in Italian cuisine, Sichuan peppercorns in Chinese food, Aleppo peppers in Syrian dishes, and za’atar in Mediterranean cooking. These ingredients feel so tied to their cultures, as if they’ve always belonged. But each one has its own journey of how it originated, how it traveled, and how it came to find a home in new lands. And that’s the essence of Tatva.

Tatva

Tatva is a Sanskrit word loosely translated to “element” in English. Scientifically, Elements are defined as the building blocks of matter, as they cannot be broken down into simpler substances by ordinary chemical means. Similarly, the “elements” of food and culture, the Tatva, are the ingredients that transcend boundaries and travel distances to find homes in new cultures. Each ingredient has a story, a Tatva, that defines its significance to the culture in which it plays a part. And that’s what Tatva explores.

By blending history and data storytelling, my thesis creates a reflective, interactive, and data-native digital experience that allows people to engage with the interconnectedness of food ingredients and cultures worldwide through the lens of my dining experiences in New York. A little selfishly, I have made part of this project about me. It is centered around my dining experiences in New York. About the dishes I loved, and maybe did not love. All chosen ingredients are from dishes I ate at new restaurants I tried in New York, and Tatva serves as a reference for myself and others like me who are curious about their dish’s role in history.

Check it out here!