Traditional Cuisine of Kumaon — Janhavi Prasada, Abbotsford

Red Coral
Red Coral
Aug 27, 2017 · 5 min read

Where else in the world would you find food fit for the Gods but in “Dev Bhoomi” the land of “Devis’ and Devtaas’ ,” where purity, myth, magic, craft, forests, lakes with power of the divine and folktales surrounding lands and the pahari people reside in quietude of nature. We know it as Kumaon nestled in the northern foot of the mighty Himalayan ranges that spread their wings from Nanda Devi to Panchachuli shielding it from the winds of afar.

Amidst these rocks and forests that spread across 65% of the state of what we now call Uttrakhand, there are millions of species of herbs “jari-booti”, edible roots, wild berries, green leaves, legumes that we would fail to even recognize with our naked eye but some of them to happen to reach our tables in our daily diet that we take for granted.

The culture of Kumaon is very nature driven, simple people with basic wants, and as the saying goes you are what you eat — their food is even more basic but full of nutrition, purity that we in the cities crave for in fancy packaged organic produce.To me the Kumaon food is nothing but “soul food”.

And this soul food is best had in people’s homes rather than in restaurants. For one there are a handful of eateries in the whole of Uttrakhand which are stand alone Kumaoni food eateries. You might find a dish or two in a few hotels of Kumaon, barring Abbotsford where we offer a whole Kumoani experience for our guests over a hearty meal and host food groups to experience the cuisine from close quarters there is the good old Grand Hotel on the mall that offers a Kumaoni thali.

The best appetizer ever invented is the ‘Sana Hua Nimbu’ made from the juiciest citrus produce of the hills — the big bright yellow lemons. Light flavour, a sweet tinge — almost tastes like sweet lime juice when you spin it with its rind for a good old ‘nimbu paani’. On a chilly winter day when one is sunning in the outdoors, women of the household gather outdoors to eat ‘Sana Hua Nimbu’- rich in vitamin C and warm for the body, its a concoction of peeled lemon chunks, jaggery, paste of marijuana seeds, mint and green chilies, all whipped up with curd. All you have to do is slurp it in as the sweetness of jaggery balances the tangy lemon chunks in the mouth. It is delicious.

I must admit that Kumaoni cuisine is more inclined towards the vegetarian palate in terms of variety of dishes. The range of herbs used to infuse these dishes is unique to the region. Tempering of curries and pulses with pungent herbs of jambu, jhakeya, gandherni and the use of Bhanga — marijuana seeds especially in chutneys is a rare experience to savor.

The staple diet of most mountainous regions across Asia is meat, rice, potatoes and wheat — that keeps one warm in the bitter cold climate that is a norm throughout the year. But in Kumaon the main stay for keeping warm comes from leguminous broths of hardy pulses like toor, swanta and especially gauhat that is so warm in its efficacy that it is known to melt the gall bladder stones in the human body and was used to blast rock mines back in the hey days. The rice grown in this region is coarse and sweet to taste. It is enhanced in its flavour when the hill livestock of the cows milk is turned into clarified butter which we refer to as desi ghee — the ghee in the hills of Kumaon is absolutely yellow in color as compared to the cows in the plains. The yellower the ghee, the more its authenticity of purity.

If you live in one of the greenest state of India, then green vegetables are a must. Kumaon has thousands of wild herbs and edible bushes. The most sought after is the tender nettle leaf preparation which today has caught the eye of the world as an antioxidant with anticancer properties. Wild asparagus called lingrau sprouts out during the monsoons is cooked in pure mustard oil and the most rich in minerals dishes are prepared in an iron pot — kaapha a spinach and herbs combination, chainsu made from black gram, bhatt ki churkani, a sort of hard black bean — these preparations are almost black in color after hours of slow cooking till the green takes in the iron content of the pot- high in nutrition to be had with piping hot rice.

A really pungent preparation is the Kheere ka raiyta — cucumber, whipped curd, crushed yellow mustard seeds and salt to taste. It’s almost like a pickle that can be had with anything. The pahari cucumber is 10 times the size of a regular one. Its crisp, juicy and big seeded. The riper it is the better the dish.

Considering radish i.e mooli is considered to have a “thandi taaseer” i.e. cold temperament for the body causing indigestion, in the hills of Kumaon, mooli is consumed day and night be it for pickling or as sabzi for making thechwani and pahari kari. Also the size of the pahari mooli is humongous and the leaves are again used in rotis best for roughage.

The Kumoaoni’s share a pan Indian fetish for sweet meats, and still by nature of their origins they are slim and trim in their physique. The sticky brown fudge coated with sugar balls is a hot favourite with all the tourists as well — its called “Baal Mithai.” The bread like semolina and anise flavored dessert almost like a jalebi is best had over a cup of tea or with a dollop of vanilla ice-cream for dessert.

Unlike the Awadhi cuisine in the north of India which carries with itself an air of formality and exquisite flavours of saffron, kewra and garam masalas’ bursting on the palate, the Kumaoni cuisine is a delicate amalgamation of flavour that one develops over time. They are not strong flavors but they add the subtle zing to your food. It’s a really simplistic edible experience, which comes with a term ‘comfort food’, flavors, fragrances that one has grown up with.

Kumoani food is one of the healthiest foods since time immemorial. The world is moving toward coarse, unpolished grains, green organic vegetables, from refined oil back to ghee, from growing in your own back yard as opposed to pesticide driven vegetable markets — why in the world would you not live and eat in Kumaon which offers everything that is healthy and delicious, straight from the farmland to the table. As for me the gods have blessed my table to be sharing the food of the Gods with everyone.

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Red Coral
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