A Taste of India:
A unit plan for an exploration of the staple spices and ingredients of Indian Cuisine.
By Reid Anderson (andersonr at easternct dot edu)
| Topic | Rices, Grains, and Breads |
Objectives |
- Students will learn about the most common rices, grains, and breads of Indian Cuisine. - Students will compare the Indian breads, grains, and rices, with typical western breads, grains, and rices to identify the similarities and differences. |
| Materials | - Examples of basmati rice (and plain white rice for comparison), and various (already baked) breads. |
| Procedure | This lesson brings back the discussion based format from the spices lesson. The teacher can mix periods of informational lecture with periods of discussion in order to compare the basmati rice with the white rice. For a more thorough comparison, both rices can be examined before and after cooking. For older students with a more scientific twist, the uncooked and cooked rices can be measured to see how water is absorbed differently in the two rices. The breads discussion should focus on the use of wheat flour in flatbread form. The discussion should also include the importance of baking breads fresh rather than purchasing pre-baked breads. Samples of a few breads can be passed around and broken up for eating. Students should identify the traits of each bread (fried, layered, etc). |
| Assessment | Similar to the meats and vegetables lesson, a less formal verbal quiz can be performed so that the teacher can get an idea of the level of understanding among the students. Simple records (check, check-plus, check-minus) can be kept in order to identify trends from the previous lesson. |