Times Kitchen Tales 2: Let nature be your dietician

Our body needs warmth in winter and our skin becomes dry. The food that we traditionally ate in Maharashtra during dhundur maas, which coincides with poush, uses seasonal grains and produce, which help us tackle this,” says Mr Suryakant Joshi of Aaswad Upahar & Mithaigrah, Mumbai, over a breakfast celebrating winter dishes. “There are references to these in the puraans and the vedas.It is part of our ancient wisdom,” adds his wife, Smita Sarjoshi.
On the menu were thali peeth, the multigrain breakfast flatbread typical of the state (made with jowar and bajra millets this season, and topped with white butter). Amboli, the rice batter-based Maharashtrian dosa equivalent had yellow hues instead of the usual white, thanks to the turmeric added for boosting immunity. To go with these savoury treats was satori, a pancake-like dish, stuffed with jaggery, sesame seeds and grated coconut, and a kheer made with kharikh (dried dates). The breakfast included til laddu, peanuts, jaggery, sugarcane on the side, and warm water with honey instead of the usual chaha (tea). No, it’s not a typo. There was also a hot congee made with sticky rice topped with metkut, a dried chutney made with ground pulses and spices (considered to keep one healthy during the cold).
This reminded me of the ‘Parsi chawanprash called vasanu, that my mother-in-law, Pervin Bilimoria, had introduced me to. The family recipe has 32 ingredients. Her mother used to roast each (walnuts, almonds, pistachios, whole spices, pepper, gond, dessicated coconut and more) over different durations, before blending them together over a slow flame with “lots of sugar and ghee”.
Now you might say that Mumbai does not really have a winter, which is why I reached out to experts well versed with the food of the hills to see what people traditionally eat in places that get really cold in winter.
In the Northeast, it is all about using seasonal greens and slow cooking techniques when it comes to meats, says chef Vijay Malhotra. A lovely example of this, shared by restaurateur Doma Wong, is a noodle soup called phakthuk by the Tibetan/ Sikkimese Bhutias and as kowri by the Nepalis. It consists of conch shell shaped ‘pasta’ cooked in a meaty broth using meat bones and greens such as spinach and radish.
In Himachal, people look to horse gram, traditionally fed to race horses, to keep humans warm and fit during winter, says home chef, Sherry M. Kulath ki badi (horsegram dumplings) are steamed, fried and then added to rice to make a pulao or to make a slow cooked stew with radish, carrot, potato and other vegetables available.
Sourcing vegetables in winter is hard in the hills, which is why in Kashmir, fresh vegetables such as turnip, tomato, pumpkin and brinjal, are hung as garlands outside houses to dry in the sun earlier in the year, says home chef Jasleen Marwah. These dried vegetables, which are referred to as hokh syun, are later soaked in water and then cooked by themselves, or with meat, to keep one nourished during the harsh months later.
Winter in Kashmir is also when small shops offering harissa spring up, says food writer Marryam H Reshi. The harissa here is a slow-cooked meat dish which has a bit of rice in it too. It keeps one warm for at least a few hours post consumption and is considered to be a life saver.
It is clear from these dishes that our forefathers knew how to adopt their diet according to the change of seasons, showing a deep respect for nature. It’s a practise we need to bring back to our lives too.
By: Kalyan Karmakar
Please share some dishes from your kitchen which are traditionally had in winter at www.timeskitchentales.com
How can you be a part of this? Keep a lookout for this space – where we will introduce fresh topics of discussion every week. Find us at: www.timeskitchentales.com and share your stories.
The most inspiring stories from the repository of ‘Times Kitchen Tales’ will be shared in this column.