Lost food of the mountains

Situated at the foothills of the magnificent Himalayas, Uttarakhand has been a popular holiday destination. However, its food has been relatively unexplored. Thankfully, it’s changing since travellers are getting increasingly curious about the local flavours.   The local Garhwalis prefer their fare to be simple, home-style comfort food that is full of distinct flavours. Since the community works in a difficult climate, the diet is nutritious, filling and quick to rustle up. Typically, the day may begin with mandua roti (made of finger fillet flour) or bhari rotis (rotis stuffed with dal). Garhwali cuisine employs methods such as cooking on spitfire, boiling and roasting. Also, they use a number of preservation methods including air drying and pickling. They also tend to use lot of ingredients that are originally dry.

The food is cooked in a woodfire. Spices and herbs like jhakiya, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and asafoetida are generously used. Unlike traditional spices, jhakiya is an underrated herb. Actually a weed, jhakiya looks like tiny black seeds which are smaller than mustard or sesame. These crunchy seeds bring a warm and sweet punch for the palate. Jhakiya is usually tempered and used with lentils, vegetables and rice. It gives out flavour when toasted or fried and blends well with the cuisine; hence it is mostly used in every dish.

The community gets its proteins mainly from dals — toor, masoor, channa and urad are popularly used. However, these dals are prepared with a huge number of variations, to ensure that the fare is interesting. While urad dal is roasted and ground for chainsoo, a type of dal, phanu includes soaking and grinding urad dal, with a generous helping of ghee. With the variations that the vegetarian dishes have, it is no surprise that the cuisine hasn’t borrowed much from its neighbouring states. However, the preparations also depend on the location, which varies from one community in Garhwal to the other.

I think each cuisine is native to its land and is a reflection of indigenous ingredients available therein. For instance, food on Garhwal uses a lot of freshwater fish (trout curry is a popular dish amongst the people). The locals of Garhwal do not make use of seawater fish due to the absence of seawater in the region. Very few know that best quality of basmati rice comes from the region of Garhwal. This is possible because the Garhwalis are a closed community. However, it is about time we familiarise ourselves with this cuisine — multiple options on the table means that we are in a way, keeping these forgotten cuisines alive.

Phanu
Ingredients:
500 gm gahat dal
6 green chillies
2 tbsp jhakiya
1 tbsp turmeric powder
½ cup mustard oil
Salt to taste

Method:
Soak gahat in water overnight.
Next morning, drain and blend in a mixer.
Now in a pan, heat mustard oil and add jhakiya. Sauté and add chopped green chillies, sauté and add the blended gahat.
Cook on a slow flame for about 45 minutes.
Add salt as required.
Phanu is ready to be served.

Jhangore ki Kheer
Ingredients:
500 gm jhangora
3 litres milk
1 kg jaggery

Jhangore ki Kheer

Method:
Boil the milk and add jhangora.
Stir well and cook for 30 minutes.
Add jaggery to it.
Cook for 20 more minutes and it is ready to be served.

Manduwe ki Roti

Ingredients:
1½ ragi flour
½ wholewheat flour
Salt to taste
Oil/ghee for roasting
Water as required

Method:
In a mixing bowl, mix the ingredients together.
Add enough water and knead it to a smooth, soft dough.
Cover with a damp kitchen towel and set aside for about 15-20 minutes.
Cut the pieces of the dough in equal parts.
Roll the dough into rounds and cook it on a hot griddle with oil or ghee.
Cook on the hot tawa until it starts to brown.
Your roti is ready. Serve it with a vegetable curry.

Vishal Atreya is an executive chef at JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar