Kitchen Humanities: Silk Road II - Indian Vegetable Curry

Created Feb. 7, 2024 by Kyle Cornforth

India and the Silk Roard: Kashgar, where East meets West. — **Silk Road II: Indian Vegetable Curry***India and the Silk Road: Kashgar, where East meets West.*

Summary

In this 6th grade humanities lesson, students prepare Vegetable Curry as they study the ideas, goods, and foods that India shared with other regions along the Silk Road. This is the second of four Silk Road lessons.

Objectives

After this lesson, students will be able to:

Cite examples of India’s contributions to the Silk Road
Describe the Silk Road
Identify ingredients and practice tasting the results of the recipe
Make connections between the diets of historic cultures and foods we eat today

Assessments

During this lesson, students will:

Name ideas, goods, and foods from India that were traded along the Silk Road
Identify the Silk Road as a network of trade routes, and describe the terrains and methods of transportation used by travelers
Measure, toast, grind, and combine spices for the Vegetable Curry and flavor the dish according to their preferences
Make connections between the diets of historic cultures and foods we eat today

Materials

For the Chef Meeting

Vegetable Curry recipe
Curry Spice Mix recipe
Ingredients and tools for demonstration
Traditional Indian Music recording
Music player
Visual aid

Ingredients

Basmati rice

For the Curry Spice Mix

Coriander seeds
Cardamom pods
Mustard seeds
Black peppercorns
Cumin seeds
Chili flakes
Ground turmeric

Vegetable Curry

Olive oil
Onion
Curry Spice Mix
Carrots
Potatoes
Garbanzo beans
Coconut milk
Vegetable stock
Assorted greens
Salt
Pepper

Tools

Cast Iron Skillet
Heavy bottomed pot
Vegetable peeler
Mortar and pestle
Wooden spoon
Chefs’ knives
Paring knives
Cutting boards
Measuring beaker
Measuring cups
Measuring spoons

Equipment

Stove

Before You Begin

Collect all the tools and ingredients, and then distribute them to the tables
Gather supplies for the Chef Meeting
Create the visual aid
Copy the Curry Spice Mix recipe to hand out
Copy the Vegetable Curry recipe to hand out
Select music and set up audio player
Prepare the vegetable stock (if possible, use stock made in an earlier class)
Boil or steam the potatoes
Cook the rice
Cook the garbanzo beans

Procedures

At the Chef Meeting

Play music as students silently enter the classroom.
Welcome students and review the Steamed Dumplings recipe from the previous lesson, and China’s role on the Silk Road. Tell students that today they will be traveling to the city of Kashgar, which was a central meeting place for the three main regions of the Silk Road: China, India and Rome.
Use a rainbow chard leaf to illustrate that the Silk Road was not a single road, but many. Show how the veins of the leaf connect to the main stem, in the same way that minor routes of the Silk Road connected to the main route.
Use the visual aid to review the goods, ideas and foods that China traded along the Silk Road. Ask students to think back to China’s silk and what made it so valuable to trade, and then remind them that because of the harsh physical terrain, light and packable items were ideal trading goods.
Ask students to use the visual aid to identify the languages, religion, technology, and music that India contributed to trade along the Silk Road. Also ask them which goods, ideas, and foods originated in India and traveled along the Silk Road. Explain that spices contributed not only to trade, but also to culture, as they influenced people’s diets.
Identify the city of Kashgar and explain its importance to the Silk Road. It was the central trading point where Eastern and Western trade routes met, by connecting three major empires of the Ancient world: India, China, and Rome.
Tell students that in Kashgar the terrain became mountainous and travelers could not continue on camels because the mountains were too treacherous, so their camels were exchanged for Yak. This part of the route was so deadly that many humans and animals lost their lives, and it became known as the “Trail of Bones”.
Explain one more reason Kashgar is important: the western Silk Road connected Kashgar to the Mediterranean through Persia, by going over the Pamir Mountains, through Mesopotamia, and across the Syrian Desert. Once goods reached the Mediterranean they were taken by ship to Rome.
Introduce curry, and point out that people all over the world make curry. Curry is a combination of spices, and the recipe is often changed depending on the region in which it is prepared. Today’s Curry Spice Mix is based on a traditional Indian mix of spices that were traded along the Silk Road.
Ask students to wash their hands and join their table group.

At the Table

Meet with the table groups to review the recipe and assign jobs. Demonstrate how each ingredient will be prepared.
Prepare the recipe.
Set the table; eat; clean up.