New Delhi, June 28 -- It's almost innocuous when it starts: perhaps it began when you first corrected someone's butter chicken recommendation. Or when you started compiling a Notes app list of the thalis you've eaten, and places you still need to visit. Maybe it's the way you feel an irrational pride when someone you're with orders the dish you always order. You didn't join on purpose, but before you knew it, you were part of one. That's the thing about food cults: nobody hands you a membership card. You just wake up one day, and you're in.

For me, it started with Diet Coke. Now, I've never been a Diet Coke fan, but strangely, during my pregnancy, it was one of those things I dreamed about constantly. That crisp, refreshing taste, couple...