Summary

To achieve the SDG2 goal of Zero Hunger and a transition to sustainable food systems, India needs a transformation of its current agri-food systems, which are overdependent on 20th-century innovations like the Green and White Revolutions. While they made tremendous contributions to food and nutrition security, it was not without other consequences. A few simple steps, if taken by each one of us, will contribute towards the goal. First, we need to understand food as a culture and process, not just a set of products to be consumed. This will help us know what goes on our plate and where our food comes from. Buying locally produced seasonal food ensures freshness and quality. Second, bringing diversity to our plate will indirectly protect the biodiversity (of not only flora but also fauna) around us. Biodiversity improvement is key to sustainable food production and consumption. Third, reducing food waste will help simultaneously improve efficiency of both food production and consumption. These simple steps can help in reducing the attitude-behaviour gap in food choice helping us move forward to transforming the agri-food system. This cookbook of selected simple food preparations drawing from traditional sustainable diets from South India is based on locally grown ingredients. We hope this cookbook will make a small contribution to readers making thoughtful food choices.