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Forgotten Foods of India: Why So Many Traditional Foods Are Disappearing
Discover why traditional and lesser-known Indian foods are disappearing, how food diversity is changing and why documenting these foods matters.
Written by Shivansh Sharad Shirule
Founder, Pure Platter
Last reviewed:
Walk through an ordinary supermarket today and you might think Indian food is relatively simple. Rice. Wheat. A few familiar pulses. Potatoes. Tomatoes. A handful of packaged snacks.
But India's food history tells a very different story. Across different landscapes and communities, people have traditionally eaten an enormous range of:
- Grains
- Millets
- Pulses
- Tubers
- Fruits
- Seeds
- Leafy foods
- Forest foods
- Fermented foods
- Wild foods
- Regional ingredients
Many of these foods still exist. Some are still eaten regularly. Others have become increasingly difficult to find outside the communities and regions where they originated or remain part of local food culture. These are often described as forgotten foods.
What does "forgotten food" actually mean?
The phrase sounds dramatic. But "forgotten" doesn't necessarily mean extinct.
A food can become forgotten when it:
- Stops appearing in mainstream markets
- Becomes limited to a particular region
- Is replaced by more widely available ingredients
- Stops being passed between generations
- Becomes associated with poverty or rural life
- Becomes difficult to cultivate
- Loses commercial demand
- Is poorly documented
- Remains known locally but unfamiliar nationally
So when we say forgotten food, we should be careful. A food that is unknown to an urban consumer may be completely familiar to another community. That distinction matters.
Food diversity is also cultural diversity
Food is more than nutrition. A grain can carry:
- A regional name
- A farming tradition
- A cooking method
- A seasonal practice
- A festival association
- A local recipe
- A story passed through generations
When an ingredient disappears from everyday use, something more than a food item can disappear with it. Knowledge can disappear too. How to grow it. How to store it. How to process it. How to cook it. When to eat it. What it is called. And sometimes, why a community valued it.
Why are traditional foods disappearing?
There isn't one reason. Food systems change.
1. Agricultural change
Farmers respond to markets, water availability, climate, labour requirements, yields and demand. If a crop becomes difficult to sell, farmers may shift to something else.
2. Changing diets
As food habits change, some traditional ingredients become less common. A food that once appeared regularly on a household table may become something prepared only occasionally. Eventually, the recipe itself may become less familiar.
3. Urbanisation
Urban consumers often have access to a much narrower range of ingredients than the total food diversity of the country. Modern retail favours foods that can be:
- Produced at scale
- Transported easily
- Stored efficiently
- Sold consistently
That can make some regional foods harder to find.
4. Social perceptions
Some traditional foods have historically been associated with poverty or subsistence. As people seek social mobility, they may move away from foods associated with earlier generations. A food can therefore disappear not because it isn't valuable, but because its social meaning changes.
5. Loss of knowledge
Perhaps the most overlooked reason is simple: people stop teaching the next generation. A recipe cannot survive indefinitely if nobody knows how to make it.
What about indigenous and tribal foods?
This is where responsible storytelling becomes especially important. Indigenous and tribal food traditions should not be treated as a catalogue of "exotic superfoods."
A food associated with a community is not automatically:
- A miracle food
- A secret food
- An ancient cure
- A "tribal superfood"
- A magical health ingredient
Those descriptions can turn living food cultures into marketing props. Instead, we should ask better questions:
- Who eats it?
- Where?
- What is it called locally?
- How is it prepared?
- Is the information documented?
- What role does it actually play in the community's food system?
- What do we know about its nutritional composition?
- What don't we know?
That is a more respectful way to discover food.
Traditional does not automatically mean healthier
This distinction is central to understanding food history. A traditional food can be nutritious. But tradition itself isn't scientific proof. Likewise, a modern food isn't automatically unhealthy because it is modern.
The right question is: what does the evidence tell us about the food?
Tradition gives us context. Nutrition data gives us nutritional information. Scientific research can help us understand specific properties. These are different kinds of knowledge. They should not be confused.
Why should we rediscover forgotten foods?
Because food diversity matters. A diverse food system can offer:
- More culinary choices
- Greater crop diversity
- Preservation of regional food knowledge
- New possibilities for food innovation
- Greater awareness of local ingredients
- Opportunities to support under-recognised foods
But rediscovery should not mean turning every traditional ingredient into a commercial product. Sometimes the right thing to do is simply document, understand and respect it.
How should we talk about forgotten foods?
At Pure Platter, we believe every food story should begin with information.
- What is it?
- Where is it found?
- What is it called?
- How is it used?
- Who uses it?
- What is documented?
- What remains uncertain?
Only after those questions are answered should we start talking about its possibilities. Because food deserves more than a marketing story. It deserves context.
The foods we forgot may teach us something
India's food diversity didn't disappear overnight. It changed gradually through agriculture, economics, culture, urbanisation, markets and changing preferences.
Some foods may return. Some may remain regional. Some may disappear entirely. But before we decide what deserves a place on tomorrow's plate, perhaps we should first understand what was already there.
Some foods didn't disappear. We just stopped looking.
Frequently asked questions
What are forgotten foods of India?
They are traditional, regional or lesser-known foods that have become less common in mainstream diets or markets, although many remain actively consumed in particular communities.
Why are traditional Indian foods disappearing?
Agricultural change, urbanisation, changing diets, market demand, social perceptions and loss of culinary knowledge can all contribute.
Are forgotten foods healthier?
Not automatically. Nutritional value varies by ingredient, preparation and serving size and should be evaluated using appropriate evidence.
What are indigenous foods in India?
The term can refer to foods and ingredients traditionally associated with particular regions or Indigenous communities. Specific cultural associations should be verified rather than assumed.
Why should we preserve traditional foods?
They can represent agricultural diversity, culinary knowledge, cultural heritage and regional food practices.