Food, in the end, in our own tradition, is something holy. It’s not about nutrients and calories. It’s about sharing. It’s about honesty. It’s about identity. – Louise Fresco
This is a food blog which shares recipes from around the world powered by the mega power of internet and massive search algorithms of google, it reaches your eyes at the click of one button. But this is the age of gizmo recipes but when there was no technology how were the recipes made. I have made a feeble attempt to parse my memory, to recollect visual glimpses of how was the process of cooking evolved in my grand mothers and mothers era.
My grandmother a very headstrong and self-made lady of her era. She had eight children in her kitty. I am sure she would have never thought of cooking À la carte meal to her beloveds. For her cooking was quick and aided with lot of farm animals products. There was bread with milk, yoghurt with rice and clarified butter with pancakes to serve the entire household. And I totally agree with her ways as I still go crazy cooking monotonous meals and given the population I would make a back door exit. 😉 The things she cooked were strongly influenced by her origin, local produce and cultural background. I always observed the intricate art form of prepping while I was growing up, which is completely unheard of today.
The puffed rice was made by toasting rice grains in an earthenware filled with sand. The “Chulha” was an earthen or brick stove which was lit by wooden shaves or wooden shanks. You started the fire with the starter fuel and then “Phookni” a long hollow iron pipe with inside diameter of about quarter to half-inch was used for blowing air to help start fire.The heated earthen vessel heated the sand which gave a uniform distribution of heat for toasting and puffing the rice grains. Then the puffed rice was sieved through a “Chalni” to remove any traces of sand. The white puffy rice was ready to be eaten as a porridge or snack. My grandmother made lovely sweets from the puffed rice mixed with dried coconut and jaggery.
We did not have polished rice back then rather pure pounded rice. A lovely time when women met to pound rice in the traditional “Dhinki“. The Dhinki was based on the lever mechanism where a rigid beam was pivoted to the fulcrum. The women would raise the beam from one end with the rhythmic motion of their feet while the other end of the beam had a conical wooden cone pounding into a groove in the ground. The groove was filled with rice. This could have been quite a tiresome task but it got levied by the women signing folksongs and taking turns to mount. When pounded and separated, the paddy would yield rice, smaller portions of bran and broken rice. The thud of the falling beam, the humming of the ladies and children playing around seems like a picture postcard or a Instagram image to me. My petite frame could never lift the beam no matter how much I prayed to Hercules. Alas, today I have the weight (giggles) but I doubt I will not find that Dhinki installed anywhere to showcase my strength.
The courtyard of the house would always have less passage to walk and for most time of the year would be carpeted with mangoes, spices, peanuts and seeds to be dried under the scorching sun. They served so many purpose and they Anawould be stocked for the whole year round as seasoned food condiments and supplies for the next year. One such thing is the pomegranate seeds and raw mango which was later powdered to make the magic spice powder. My grandmother never had a refrigerator nor did she use any preservative apart from salt to maintain her food stock. This is pure legacy and I see myself falling short of carrying it forward.
There are so many urns still to open and so many more stories to tell but I bring this cooking shooking to an abrupt halt only to cook something from her preserves. I promise to be back with more of her food stories.
Quoting from Livestrong.com the benefits of “Dried pomegranate seeds, known as anardana, are used in a variety of ways. They are rich in vitamins C, K and 6. They also contain the minerals potassium and copper. You can purchase sun-dried anardana in packages much like you would sun-dried raisins or cranberries. Spice companies offer powdered and dried pomegranate seeds or you can make your own powder for use in and over foods to add a tangy, sour and sweet flavor to your favorite dishes”.
- 250 gm chickpeas, soaked overnight
- 1 onion,finely sliced
- 1.5 tbsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp dried pomegranate seeds
- 1 tsp red chilli powder (optional)
- 1/2 inch ginger root,julienne
- 1 tomato, finely sliced
- 2-3 green chillies, slit in the middle
- fresh sprig of coriander leaves
- 1 tbsp oil
- salt to taste
- Boil the soaked chickpeas in a pressure cooker for 5 whistles.
- In a hot iron skillet, dry roast the cumin seeds and pomegranate seeds until the fragrance of cumin engulfs the kitchen approximately 2 minutes. Careful not to char the cumin seeds. Allow the roasted seeds to cool down then powder the contents in a grinder to a fine powder.
- In a pan heat oil then fry the onions until slightly red. Then remove the pan from the heat and add the above magic spice powder to the oil sauté and place it back on the heat.
- Then add the boiled chickpeas along with its residual water (1 cup) and let it simmer over medium heat for ten minutes. Then crush a few chickpeas with the back of a spatula to make the gravy thicker.
- Add salt,chilli powder,tomato and ginger julience to the above gravy and simmer for just 5 minutes.
- Garnish with green chillies and coriander leaves and serve hot as a snack or steamed rice or naan.
