After the hustle-bustle of city life, travelling to the hilly countryside, cosying up with villagers and partaking of a distinct cuisine under their roof, is the break that you must have. SANGEETA YADAV travels to Shoghi in Himachal trailing some lost Himachali cuisine and the anecdotes that go with it
There is no better way to peep into the past and experience a town or a city than by getting to go on a food trail of its local cuisine passed on from generation to generation. Each ingredient and dish tells a tale of its origin and how it was used during the bygone times. The Himachali cuisine is one such wholesome platter that would take you back to the British Raj in the early 19th century.
In a bid to revive those memories, Aamod at Shoghi in Shimla has curated a village food trek in which they take their guests to dine at a nearby village where a local hosts the lunch with much fanfare. Villagers get together to cook for the guests and decorate the space too with colourful earthen pots and rangolis. Giving a rustic look and feel, the locals welcome you by singing in their language and dancing to it.
Food is the single great mediator that unites people across cultures. And, when it comes to Himachali food culture, people like to celebrate the togetherness by starting their feast with something sweet and sour by serving their popular dish Malpua with kaddu ki chatni.
“The significance of this age-old dish was to celebrate the coming together of the relatives and locals with this sweet dish. Since the food is considered to be warm and good for digestion, it was consumed like a starter,” Harish Sharma, Executive Chef and General Manager, Aamod Shoghi, says.
Apart from pumpkin, the British brought seeds of capsicum, peas and apple which is now wildly cultivated in large quantities all over Himachal. But the one prized gourmet item which is only found in Himachal Pradesh is naturally grown wild mushroom called Gucchi which costs Rs 30,000 per kg and its sale is regulated by the Government.
“Gucchi is one such ingredient that will make you sweat even in minus degree temperature. Though it has no taste, Gucchi is famous for its nutritional and medicinal value. That is why it is very costly and found in high altitude. It is considered to be warm food and majorly used in soups by locals. The locals even consume it as a vegetable by frying it in desi ghee, wild haldi and jeera,” Sharma tells you.
Yogurt is one of the most commonly found food products in every household and is used for almost everything. One such dish is Khoru, a delightfully refreshing soup made of curd and vegetables.
Served with love, the sumptuous Chane Ka Madra is a dish that consists of soaked chickpeas cooked well in oil with cloves, cinnamon, cardamoms, cumin, coriander powder, turmeric powder and tamarind.
Talking about its history, Sharma says: “Chane Ka Madra has no onion and garlic and is authentically made in ghee. During those days, it is said that widows were not supposed to eat onion and garlic so they used to make this dish and have it with rice.”
A lot of cuisines are curated keeping winters in mind. The other dishes include kaddu ki khatti sabzi, rajma daal, khatta meat, aalo ka palda, til ki daal, lingdu (wild asparagus) ki sabzi and achaar etc. Originating in upper himachal, Siddu is another popular dish which is quite common in Shoghi. It is fermented bread stuffed with khameer which has good bacteria and made from ghee.
Cooked in brass utensils on the wood fire, these dishes have its rustic aroma adding to the flavours. Every house has a dark room where all the seasonal foods are stored in bulk. One such aromatic food is Sepu wadi which is cooked mostly for wedding feasts as it is supposed to have been a recipe from the royal kitchens of Himachal Pradesh. When with comes to dessert, Himachali cuisine is known for gudh ki kheer made from brown rice and palak ka halwa.
Rhododendron trees are found in large in the regions and during summers, locals make rhododendron juice at home and serve chilled. During winters, the khade masale ki chai is quite popular.
Not just the villagers. Sonia Minocha, the proprietor of 25-year-old Minocha Industries, is keeping the traditional food products alive made in Shoghi through its mass production under the brand Minchy’s Food Products.
One of the traditional food products which is dying slowly is Chamba Chukh pickles, sauces and paste, a unique recipe made of chilli procured from different parts of Himachal Pradesh and sun-dried and blended with citrus extract from a local fruit.
“Since seasonal products are difficult to get, we procure it in bulk and preserve it so we continue with its regular produce the product. Another unique variety of pickles which is only found in here includes is lingdu (wild asparagus) pickle, dry dates and ginger pickle, raw turmeric pickle and kandyali and garlic pickle. The best part is instead of using acid in the pickles we only use lemon juice. There is chuli (wild apricot) oil, sea buckthorn white honey, non-pasteurised and non-filtered apple cider vinegar, nine varieties of wine and much more,” Minocha says adding that the factory employees 40 to 60 locals from Shoghi, majorly women as many of the men are either stick to farming, have their shops and some have got into drug addiction. Being a labour intensive factory, it not only have villagers as employees. They also employ five to six inmates from the Kanda jail serving their life imprisonment.
“The convicts who are serving their life-term in the jail and have a good conduct and behaviour come to our factory on special permission to work and with special security. From 9 am to 5:30 pm, they work every Monday to Friday and earn around Rs 6000 per month. This helps in acceptance and integration of them back into our society and receives a lot of support from other people. They all help in keeping our traditional food products alive and promote ‘Make in Shoghi’,” Minocha says.