Something old, somthing new

I agree almost every ethnic group makes a dish which is a copy or take off of another group  Some examples  french crepes and blintzes.. Lasagna-Pasticcio.. chowder and some bisques, stuffed grape leaves- stuffed cabbage, stuffed derma  and sausage  and on and on. The processes are almost the same as is the look but spices and taste differ.

Isn't that the very point?

There are only a limited ways of combining ingredients. So the variations are in the nuances, the herbs and spices and the specific protein.

This is perhaps best shown in Andreas Viestad's great book, Where Flavor Was Born. In it he explores the cuisines of the Indian Ocean region: 15 countries, who knows how many ethnic groups. They all use virtually the same ingredients. And yet, their cuisines are identifyable because of how they use them.

Food is like any other human edeaver: There are only a limited number of ways to solve any particular problem. So it's natural that the solution will reappear over and over again, albeit with minor differences.

I'm put in mind of the time I spent a few weeks in Swedish Lapland. Initially I was astounded to find that the Sami, when they were nomadic, lived in tipis. But that limited number of solutions thing took over, and it made sense that they did so---a conical, portable house being an ideal structure for open country.

Food is no different. Take that paprikas, for instance. If I'm living halfway around the globe from Budapest, I might stew a chicken using paprika as one of the ingredients (won't be by that name, of course), and, at the last minute, add some dairy product. Doesn't mean I copied it. Just means I came up with a similar way of using the ingredients at hand.