Question

Use the following ingredients: One bowl of rice flakes (pohe). One teaspoon oil. One tomato and a small onion, diced. Chilli powder to taste. Mix all the ingredients well. Give the mixture to all your friends and ask them to taste it. Now add some salt to the mixture and taste it again.

• What difference do you notice in the dish you tasted earlier and later?
• What do you think made the dish really tasty?
• For what other purposes do you use the last ingredient at home?
• Discuss the source of this ingredient.

Answer 1

• Before adding salt, the poha mixture tasted bland and less appetising. The flavours of tomato, onion, chilli powder and oil were present, but the dish did not taste complete. After adding salt, the mixture became more flavourful, balanced and tasty.
• Salt made the dish really tasty. It enhances the natural taste of the other ingredients and makes the overall flavour of the dish more pleasant.
• Salt is used at home for many purposes. It is used in cooking and seasoning food, making pickles and preserves, and sometimes for cleaning utensils and removing stains. Warm salt water is also commonly used for gargling.
• Salt is obtained mainly from sea water. Sea water is collected in shallow salt pans and allowed to evaporate in the Sun. After the water evaporates, salt crystals are left behind and are collected. Salt is also obtained from rock salt deposits, salt mines and salt lakes.