Litti chokha

The world owes a great debt to peasants not just because of their sweat and toil down the ages, but also because of the food they have contributed to the culinary history of mankind. Take haggis for example, the national dish of Scotland. According to some accounts, its genesis lies in the notorious Highland Clearance of the early 18th century, when farmers evicted by their landlords in hordes were forced to travel south on horseback in search of work. The womenfolk would thus mince a sheep's offal with herbs and stock, and then pack it in a casing made of the animal's stomach to preserve the meat during the long and arduous journey. And from those humble origins, it has now come to represent the culinary tradition of an entire nation.