达利特约占印度14亿人口的五分之一到四分之一，但他们的“昏暗性”食物——牛肉、内脏以及由匮乏塑造的采集植物——尽管种姓歧视在1950年已被宣布非法，仍在主流菜单上几乎看不见。其烹饪把廉价或被丢弃的蛋白质（皮、肠、血）变成快速而高烈度风味的菜肴，这是被排斥带来的一个饮食“上行面”。

牛相关政治加剧了风险：自人民党在2014年赢得全国执政以来，与牛有关的暴力更常见，而在2016年7月，古吉拉特邦乌纳的4名达利特工人因剥牛皮而被鞭打。马哈拉施特拉邦2015年不仅禁止屠宰牛，也禁止把牛运往外州屠宰，导致牛市萎缩并让农民留下无生产力的牲畜；而2024年3月，Zomato的“纯素模式”因担忧骚扰而在同一天撤回。

消费数据削弱了“素食国家”的形象：尽管印度教徒约占人口的五分之四，调查显示约四分之三会吃某种肉类，在“落后”种姓中接近十分之九。社会经济指标显示有限流动——达利特处于贫困线以下的概率约为上一代的一半，识字率从1961年的约十分之一升至2011年的约三分之二——而计划于明年进行的种姓普查将是90多年里的第一次。

Dalits make up about one-fifth to one-quarter of India’s 1.4bn people, yet their “tamasic” foods—beef, offal, and foraged plants shaped by scarcity—remain largely absent from mainstream menus despite caste discrimination being outlawed in 1950. Their cuisine turns cheap or discarded proteins (skin, intestines, blood) into fast, high-flavour dishes, a culinary “upside” of exclusion.

Cow politics intensify the risk: after the BJP took national power in 2014, cow-related violence has become more common, and in July 2016 four Dalit workers in Una, Gujarat were flogged for skinning a cow. Maharashtra’s 2015 ban on cow slaughter and even transport for slaughter elsewhere shrank cattle markets and left farmers with unproductive animals, while March 2024 Zomato’s “Pure Veg Mode” was withdrawn the same day amid fears of harassment.

Consumption data undercuts the vegetarian image: although Hindus are about four-fifths of the population, surveys suggest roughly three-quarters eat some meat, rising to nearly nine in ten among “backward” castes. Socioeconomic indicators show partial mobility—Dalits are about half as likely to be below the poverty line as a generation ago, literacy rose from around one-tenth in 1961 to about two-thirds by 2011—and a caste census planned for next year will be the first in over 90 years.

Source: From honeycomb curry to blood fry: India’s “untouchable” cooking

Subtitle: The hidden joys of a cuisine shaped by cruelty

Dateline: 12月 18, 2025 05:44 上午