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| Food from Himachal |
| Anoothi Vishal / New Delhi Aug 01, 2009, 00:33 IST |
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Trying out exotic new cuisines — often laden with so-called “luxury” ingredients — can turn into a rivetting game of upmanship for the snobs among foodies; rivetting for them, boring for the rest of humanity. And you don’t need me to tell you how such snobbery is only increasing by the day. But, perhaps, that’s only to be expected, given the fact that the average Indian diner’s tryst with global flavours, now more accessible to us than ever before, is so recent. However, in the race to sample the latest Brazilian, Uzbek, or Spanish flavours, we often overlook the traditions of our own country, which have a potential to surprise even the most avid of us foodies.
The sad fact, on the other hand, is that local cuisines in most parts of the country are dying. In Hyderabad, biryani shops in old markets now are said to be using Ajinomoto to spice up their cooking! And it is easier to find chole-bhature in Old Delhi than bedmi-aloo, the most popular combo for the Dilliwalla, a hundred years ago. Growing homogenisation means that certain popular or hybrid dishes that may or may not represent the best of Indian cooking have taken over the market, wiping out other ethnic traditions. This trend is nowhere as apparent as in the touristy Himalayan hubs: Last summer, I spent a perfectly lovely holiday in fraying Simla, gorging on excellent chicken tikkas, sampling Chinese food in an old-fashioned Indian-Chinese restaurant, some lovely English- style tea at an Oberoi hotel, and dodgy pasta at a supposedly trendy new restaurant on the mall, without once coming across “Himachali” cuisine.
Is there one? And how is it different from the cuisines of the Punjab and Uttar Pradesh anyway? This week, I had an unusual meal at the Sheraton, New Delhi, cooked by a young ITC chef, Anuj Sood, who has researched extensively into the cuisine(s) of Himachal Pradesh and who gave me a crash course.
Himachali food is, of course, not a uniform entity: There are local versions — food from Kangra, Mandi, Kullu and so on. Yet, one tradition that you will find alive all over the state is of “dham”. This is a festive meal served in a specific way: Small quantities of each preparation (chelu, or meat from freshly-slaughtered young goats, curried vegetables, lentils et al) are served with small portions of rice — in quick succession. It’s a unique way of eating.
Unlike other richer cuisines tracing their origins to royal courts, the food from the state seems to be mostly rustic-style.
It is thus also fresher, simpler and lighter. There are some special utensils found only in the region, including “paddu”, deg-like, and slow cooking is followed. There are interesting ways of flavouring dishes — including finishing curries by tempering with burnt walnut! Sood lists curd, mustard oil and spices like black cardamom, fennel, methi dana and nutmeg as the main ingredients — the spices providing some much needed warmth in the cold. Dishes that I tasted included:
Chaa meat: There are only a few non-vegetarian curries but they are quite popular. Chaa meat is boneless mutton cooked in the whey left after churning butter. From Mandi.
Daddu wala meat: Anardana or dried pomegranate seeds are used and called “daddu” locally. Mutton or chicken may be cooked in gravy flavoured by this.
Mandra: Another popular gravy in the state, in which you can dunk everything from mutton or chicken to rajma or aloo. Made from reduced curd; ghee is poured on top once the reduction is complete. It reminded me of the far richer “shahi” paneer gravy. This can be a healthier substitute.
Wadi: Split urad dal is soaked, ground and flavoured with ghee before being poached and fried, fashioned into wadis and dunked in thin gravy. It is supposed to taste like meat.
Siddu: A steamed bread that I enjoyed with til chutney. Made from fermented whole wheat flour and stuffed with poppy seed paste and green chillies, it is eaten hot with ghee and jaggery.
Finally, I also had some excellent tandoori Kullu trout, fresh and subtly flavoured with ajwain, dahi and heeng. It is apparently a favourite with former PM Atal Behari Vajpayee. Some of the dishes will now be included in the menus of state tourism-run outlets, Sood says.
I certainly hope so.
(anoothi.vishal@bsmail.in)
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