This past Tuesday, students taking Dr. Kusum Knapczyk’s Hindi 102 course got to cook an Indian breakfast staple, upma. Upma is a thick porridge or patty traditionally made from semolina flour, diced vegetables, and a variety of other ingredients. While it has origins in South India, hundreds of variations are popular across the subcontinent — and students got to create their own version in class.
Using roasted vermicelli noodles, chopped vegetables, and an assortment of herbs and spices, students worked from a one-pot, microwave recipe in Hindi put together by Dr. Knapczyk. The recipe was designed to be more accessible for college students, who wouldn’t necessarily have access to a full kitchen; the vermicelli noodles served as a substitute for the semolina flour. Once they had cooked their respective dishes, students shared the final product over Zoom, displaying their plated dish and remarking on the taste and texture. Afterwards, they completed oral and written reflections about the cooking class in Hindi.
The cooking class came on the heels of other seminars, in which invited guest speakers focused on aspects like Indian dance, poetry, art, and language exchange. Many of the students in Hindi 102 may have also recalled another cooking class in Hindi 101 the previous semester, which highlighted two more dishes, raita, and vegetable pulao. Having these kinds of interactive activities at all levels of the curriculum allows students to experience Indian culture more broadly beyond just the Hindi language.
Here is the webpage with the recipe: https://hindicentral.com/?p=1356
This workshop was supported by Asian and Middle Eastern Studies and Duke Service-learning.
Department of Asian & Middle Eastern Studies