MAGGI IN THE HILLS? While you would find it romantic, ask a local, she might scoff at the idea and ask, “Why Maggi, when we have such a diverse range of food?” Just the way Prachi Raturi Misra says it, underscoring the reason behind writing Uttarakhand Cuisine: Food and Folktales from the Hills.
Published by Om Books International, with a foreword from the well-known scholar, food historian and author Dr Pushpesh Pant, this book is an incredible collection of over 100 recipes and folk tales related to food from the region. “It’s not a recipe book but a memoir. It has recipes from my childhood, my family, the villages we have roots in, and people I know. I have connected some of them to folktales accompanied by vibrant artworks through ingredients and food-related memory, which all come together as a memoir. It is full of nostalgia, love and emotion,” states Prachi, who is a fellow journalist and author. Prachi is the managing editor and co-founder of The Mind Diaries, a magazine on mental health and well-being.
An array of tea-time snacks, main-course dishes, chutneys, raitas and sweets from the Garhwal, Kumaon and Jaunsar Bawar regions of Uttarakhand, known for picturesque valleys, quaint temples, beautiful rivers and heritage sites, feature in the book. Warming lentils like Gahat ki Dal, flavoured salt like pisyun loon, wild mustard, green leafy vegetables, millets, and buttermilk-based dishes are closely linked with traditions, geography and climate of Devbhoomi or the ‘land of gods’.
The book is a tribute to Prachi’s roots. “The hills, food, culture and its simple, beautiful people have made me who I am today. While reporting for a newspaper, I got a chance to look at the state from a new perspective. What would be the stories from the region that would interest people? I did a story on Jakhiya (wild mustard), which received an overwhelming response. I realised that Uttarakhandi food is unique and people aren’t familiar with it. So be it my articles or this book, the main objective is not just to make people aware of the gastronomic culture but also to document one’s culture and roots.”
Prachi picks out six dishes — not an easy task given there are 100 dishes —from the book and highlights nuances and cultural aspects of the dishes.
Clockwise: Amaranth Salad, Kandali (stinging nettle soup) and Fiddlehead Fern Pasta
Kachmouli: A salad including the freshest of greens other veggies and even flowers! Fresh mustard leaves, coriander leaves, rhododendron flowers, small radish leaves, malta, and any kind of microgreens — all go into this salad. They are tossed together with a bit of mustard oil, and the signature flavoured salt of Uttarakhand - pisyu loon. This salt is iconic with every region and household having its own version. One of the popular versions has salt ground with coriander, asafoetida (hing), green chillies, peeled garlic, and fresh mint.
There is also a non-vegetarian version of Kachmouli which is usually made at a few weddings in the Jaunsar area. It has meat which has been dried and steamed. During the Maroj festival which is celebrated with goat meat, song and dance in the month of January in the Jaunsar region, people cut pieces of meat into strips, hang them to dry and later store them. It is roasted and then had as a salad with a bit of mustard oil.
Urad dal pakodi: Be it festivals, marriages, mundan ceremonies, birthdays, urad dal pakodi is made without fail on every occasion. Prachi says while the recipe stays in circulation, people don’t know how to make it well. She has also included a folk tale about pakoda.
Whole black urad dal is soaked overnight and ground coarsely. Finely chopped onions, chillies, ginger, coriander leaves, spices and salt are added. “While earlier, the batter would be flattened on maloo leaves, which are supposed to be medicinal, now it is done on hand and coated with black sesame seeds. It is then deep-fried. In Kumaon, there is no hole in the middle, whereas other areas prefer it with a hole so it looks a bit like vada but a flattened vada,” explains the author.
Badeel: Kumaonis churn out this highly nutritious snack akin to kebab. Just replace meat with ground masoor dal. Known for its lentils, much of its food revolves around them. In Badeel, local masoor dal is ground and cooked with a bit of oil, ginger, garlic and spices. It is slow-cooked until it becomes a thick paste. Once it solidifies completely, it is then cut into pieces like a barfi or kebab. An ideal snack that goes well with chai or a chutney. “A lady cooked it in a festival which was being judged by Chef Sanjeev Kapoor. She won the award as Sanjeev Kapoor really liked it. It used to be very popular dish but has now gone away,” recalls Prachi.
Manjoli: A nutritious drink made by combining equal parts of rice, starch and buttermilk, it is tempered with jakhiya or wild mustard and used extensively in Uttarakhandi food along with red chilli. It’s a quick and healthy recipe. Since hilly villages are blessed with an abundance of dairy, people devised different ways of consuming it.
Swala: They are stuffed pooris made during festivals. It has two versions: stuffed with potato or gahat ki dal which is warm in nature. This dal is believed to be nutritious and is claimed beneficial in removing kidney stones. The dal is boiled, ground with ginger garlic paste, coriander and green chilli. It is dried and stuffed inside the pooris and then deep fried. “I have included it in a folk tale. Marriott Mussoorie also serves it in their breakfast,” adds the author.
Baadi: Quick, simple and nutritious in a nutshell. All you need is water, ghee and mandua or buckwheat flour. Heat water and add ghee. Once the water is warm, put flour and keep stirring it. In Uttarakhandi kitchens, it is stirred using a thick wooden stick. It is stirred continuously and then some more ghee is added and it becomes like a halwa.
'Uttarakhand Cuisine: Food and Folktales from the Hills' is published by Om Books International (2024, 200 pages, Rs 251)