There was a time when names such as phara, bijori, keerai masiyal and khoye ka chewda used to draw quizzical stares from gourmands in urban India.
Most had never even heard of these exquisite dishes that have been part of the kitchen lores of Chhattisgarh, Banaras and Tanjore for centuries now.
Today, in a bid to offer something “different” to the well-travelled food connoisseur, fine dining restaurants and hotels are crafting beautiful meals around these regional flavours.
The Food of the Muslim Gharanas of Banaras
The Muslim gharana of Banaras has been a well-kept secret by families who have lived in the world’s oldest city since time immemorial. The cuisine is believed to have been influenced by Mughal, Awadhi, Hindu and East Bengal flavours.
The street food resembles Awadhi cuisine, but my idea was not to get the typical dishes. Instead, I wanted to see how the Muslims connected with the essence of Varanasi through their cuisine.
– Anup Gupta, executive chef, The Gateway Hotel Ganges, Varanasi
And who better to learn the culinary secrets from than a home chef who is known for whipping up these dishes in her kitchen? After much coaxing and persuasion, Gupta got Husna Khanam, who was born in Bareilly and came to Banaras after marriage, to cook at the hotel.
“She makes qormas and niharis but with a difference. There is no profusion of nuts, dry fruits and oil. The emphasis is to bring out the flavour of each and every spice used in the dish. There are some traditional veg dishes as well,” says Gupta.
The hotel does a satvik menu too that is devoid of onion, garlic and other tamsik ingredients. The emphasis of this cuisine is on the seasonal veggies and grains, especially millets. There is the phara – a steamed rice flour dumpling filled with ground chana dal and spiced up with green chillies, coriander and ginger – that is traditionally served with chutneys.
I did extensive research by visiting villages and learning their techniques. I was amazed at the number of chokhas they make. There is bathua ka chokha, satpaita or a blend of dal and greens and more.
– Anup Gupta, executive chef, The Gateway Hotel Ganges, Varanasi
The Syrupy Delights of Banaras
For those with a sweet tooth, the cuisine of Banaras offers gooey, crispy, syrupy, sugar-coated delights.
“Lal peda is one. Pure milk solids are slow cooked to caramelise the milk sugars, which are then shaped into small discs and crusted with mishri. Sooran ka laddu is a well-kept secret that was reserved for the aristocrats who could afford it,” says blogger Sangeeta Khanna, who has written extensively on the city’s cuisine.
And there is khoya ka chewda, a Sankranti special, that even now people beyond Banaras don’t know much about.
Why Chhattisgarh Cuisine is Suddenly Blooming
Yet another cuisine that is making its way to the palates and hearts of food enthusiasts is from Chhattisgarh.
With more and more tourists visiting the state, the flavours that had been hiding in the local kitchens are now emerging onto restaurant tables in full glory.
The state is called the rice bowl of India and it’s no wonder that rice is the most important ingredient in the cooking process,” says blogger Manjula Bharath who has done exhaustive research on the cuisine. “Rice is used in powdered form, coarse form – even the water used to boil rice is used in the dishes.
– Anal Uniyal, executive chef, The Gateway Hotel, G E Road, Raipur
Uniyal’s Chhattisgarhi dishes are very popular with customers.
Surprisingly, phara makes an appearance here as well in both savoury and sweet forms. For instance, there is the doodh phara, a steamed rice dumpling soaked in milk and saffron. Then there is the bijori or black lentil and sesame seed poppadum served with main course dishes like chej bhaji, bhata mooli tamatar and various rice preparations. A signature dish of the region is the dubki kadhi which is made with rice pakodas.
“The cooking technique is similar to that practised in the northeast. Then there are rice flour rotis cooked on banana leaves to incorporate that delicate flavour. Some recipes were really very new to me and a delight to experiment with, such as paan roti, arbi ki kadhi and bhindi ki kadhi,” says Bharath.
The cuisine doesn’t focus too much on non veg fare as even now the average household in the villages can’t afford meat on a daily basis.
This is What You Can Sample Down South
And if you want to sample a traditional cuisine down south, there is the Thanjavur Virundhu, or authentic home-cooked Tanjore fare that is slow-cooked in earthenware pots with pure cow ghee and freshly sourced ingredients. The saivam is the pure Brahmin food, similar to the satvik cuisine of Banaras, and is cooked without onions and garlic.
The Asaivam or non vegetarian fare includes rare fish such as white bait and milk shark. Some of the options include nethili meen curry or tangy anchovies curry and kariveppilai meen varuval or snake head fish with chilli coconut paste.
(Avantika Bhuyan is a freelance journalist who loves to uncover the invisible India hiding in nooks and crannies across the country.)
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