Attend this online festival in July to learn about fermentation

Tree tomato-es (tamarillos) are preserved during their season to make pickles

Fermentation has two effects on food: To make it flavourful, and preservation. India is not new to its science. From the basic dahi to kanji, pakhala bhat, rice and millet wines, our kitchens have narrated stories of fermentation for centuries.

This month, Desi Cultures, an online fermentation festival-conference from India, will be held from July 18 to 24 to discuss all things fermentation, by stepping out of our pantries and kitchens to understand it as an archive of the labour that goes in, the importance of seasonal wisdom, and the way communities preserve our world and ecosystems," says founder and filmmaker Shubhra Chatterji, better known as @historywali on Instagram. The lockdown was the inspiration for the first edition in 2021. The second edition is co-curated by Payal Shah of Kobo Fermentary.

Pork Ghyari Platter. The pork used is fermented and preserved with simple basic herbs, salt, alcohol, and dried in the cool air of Sikkim's mountains to acquire a specific taste

"People were at home, making kombucha and sour dough. The word ‘fermentation' had become a global phenomenon, and we wanted to draw attention to its age-old Indian practice. India is not new to fermentation, in fact, we own this practice," says Chatterji.

Shubhra Chatterji and Payal Shah

The robust list of speakers list includes food historian Dr Kurush Dalal, chefs Prateek Sadhu and Kamlesh Negi of Naar, food researcher Gayatri Desai, coffee expert Marc Tormo and Namrata Sundaresan of Kasa Cheese. Speakers will dive into what fermentation knowledge, practices, and innovations from the Indian subcontinent contribute to the future of food and culture globally.

Dalle Chillies during their preservation process in Sikkim

ON July 18 to 24; 5 pm to 8 pm
LOG ON TO desicultures.in (to register)
COST Rs 1500 (for the festival pass)

Look out for

Churpi, hard dried cheese made of yak milk in Sikkim

>> Fermentation in the Diaspora
Vasunthara Ramasamy traces the journeys of meat, fish and plant-based ferments across South and Southeast Asia, exploring histories of trade, migration and cultural exchange - and how these practices continue to shape diasporic food identities today.
ON 21 July; 6.30 pm

Fermented soybeans

>> The Politics of Fermentation
Rahee Punyashloka and Bao look at how fermented foods interact with notions of smell, purity, space, gender and labour in India, through research, case studies and lived experiences.
ON July 22; 5 pm

Badi made from fermented pulses. Pic Courtesy/Shivani Unakar

>> Mumbai local
Check the offline events scheduled in the city between July 18 to 26. Events include beer tasting with owners of 2 Down Beer, art of Himalayan bread making and local pickle-making with chef Sherry Mehta and a fermented food walk in Matunga.
LOG ON TO desicultures.in (for further details and to register)

Listen to the experts

Hissay Doma Lepcha

Dr Hissay Doma Lepcha (North East Ferments: Practice & Place)
I will trace the unique fermentation traditions of Sikkim, and how microbial cultures travel across place and time. The session will reflect on the deep connections between fermentation, ecology and regional identity.

Pork with dried Bamboo shoot and Damluk Chem Kunchel Bee Porridge. Pics Courtesy/ Hissay Doma Lepcha

In Sikkim, preservation plays a very important role because most of the produce is seasonal and preservation along with fermentation lets us enjoy the produce throughout the year. It was a way of sustaining our kitchen. An important fermented ingredient in the region is churpi, the Himalayan cottage cheese.
ON July 23; 5 pm

Dr Dolly Kikon (Fermentation as Practice, Pedagogy and Food Justice)
Fermentation is about understanding our relationship with the land and forest. The secret of fermentation is in the air, in the wild, sun, rain, and the mood of the season.

Fermented Bamboo Shoot. Pics Courtesy/Dolly Kikon

The practice connects us to community, history, and ancestral wisdom. For communities who depend on the season, the idea of eating vegetables out of season is possible only through fermentation or different ways of preserving seasonal food. Bamboo shoots in the North East, for example.

Dolly Kikon

Food discrimination on the basis of caste and class is rampant in India. Especially for migrants from Northeast India whose staple diet includes fermented food. Many house owners in metropolitan cities refuse to rent out their places to them.
ON July 20; 5 pm