Re: Multiple dishes and Hadees e Nabavi
Read somewhere a Hadees which says that a Muslim, whose dastarkhwan always have not more than one dish will be sent to paradise.
I don't think this is followed in any of the Muslim country now.
We heard from elders that in their childhood, people used to have lunch by having subh ki roti with lassi or piyaz.
So who promoted multiple culture within a century?
Is it increase in wealth / prosperity that lead to change in eating habits or people improved metabolism across the globe?
In my family, we mostly make one dish per day. So roti with saalan or rice with saalan or raita. We don't make sweet dish often. If someone feels like it, they eat fruit as a snack. Sometimes, when there is leftover food, we'll use it the next day.
It's the same when we go out as a family. A 3-course meal is just too much food. We order a couple dishes to share.
The only times when we splurge is when we are hosting a dawat. I tell my mom not to go overboard but she doesn't listen and usually throws a big spread (rice, naan, roast, kebabs, salad, raita, 1 or 2 saalans and 1 or 2 sweet dishes, etc.) which I think is a waste of food. No one eats that much. But she does it because there is the expectation that guests will take some leftover food home.
The thing that annoys me most is when people order tons of food at restaurants and when they can't finish, they just leave it there instead of taking the leftovers home.
Also, I have heard of families where lunch menu has to be different than dinner menu. Or 1 dish is not enough and there has to be a variety to choose from. That seems like a waste to me (unless they actually like pehelwans and are able to finish everything).