India, Aug. 18 -- Lucky us - the rich addictiveness of slowly simmered Rajma, the tang of home-cooked Rasam, or the lip-smacking taste of Indo-Chinese masterpieces was never out of reach. It's a medley of flavours that we can never quite put our fingers on, but it always hits the spot. Salty? Sweet? Sour? Bitter? The high school science class can't summon the word for it, but our tongues know better-it's not the same old descriptors. Even "chatpata" feels too vague-emotionally precise, yes, but technically lacking. If, like me, you have also taken to the internet to explain that lingering, mouth-coating savour, you've probably hit the revelation point. There's a fifth taste. It's called umami.

Merriam-Webster defines it as "the taste se...