There is much more to the idyllic Tehri Garhwal region of Uttarakhand
than just the tourist-saturated hill station of Mussoorie. “And what better way
to get a crash course in this unique culture than by immersing oneself in its
highly-nuanced cuisine?”, asks Raul Dias who recently discovered its magic on a
wonderfully curated culinary soujourn.
I’ve always been a firm believer that to truly ‘know’ or at the very
least attempt to know any culture, undertaking an immersive experience into its
nuances is imperative. And what better way to do that than by partaking in
something that’s so very basic and primal—eating! So, although I’d been privy
to the wonders of Uttarakhand
and more specifically, Mussoorie on several occasions in the past, its
indigenous cuisine had somehow always been sacrificed at the table of more
plebian continental and Mughlai fare I’d eaten at the hotels that I’d stayed
at. “But not this time” I told
myself as I set off on a wonderfully
curated culinary soujourn into the
alluring world of Garhwali cuisine at the JW Marriott Mussoorie Walnut Grove Resort
& Spa.
Grass Roots—Literally!
This 115-room resort overlooking the scenic Northern Garhwal range of the
mighty Himalayas itself might be a far cry from anything traditionally
Garhwali, in terms of its rather minimalist, almost Nordic, linear
architecture. But over the course of my two days stay, it revealed several delicious
(pun intended!) facets that showed me its refreshingly rustic core.
Take for instance the quaint afternoon tea drinking custom of kachdi that it hosts every afternoon
from 4-6pm on its lawns for all guests free of charge. After a quick check in
and change of clothes, off I was to enjoy this pahadi tradition of getting together over warming cups of masala chai, chaat and spicy corn-on-the-cob—all served from push carts. It was
here that I was told by general manager Ramandeep Marwah about the resort’s
many initiatives to promote and thus sustain the traditional Garhwali food and
culture.
Not only do they have their own self-sustaining organic farm and greenhouse on
the property helmed by locals from the village, but they also work with local
cooks, farmers and food producers to showcase the food of the region. But what
excited me the most was the resort’s outreach program whereby guests like myself
are taken on immersive local village sojourns to get a bite of the indigenous
life.
Of Shivlings
and Swalas
Up early the next morning and guided by the resort’s director of food and
beverage, Sunil Kumar, a trained chef and local Garhwali himself, we were taken
on a long almost four-hour drive to the village of Lakhamandal for a breakfast
with a big difference! An ancient Hindu temple complex, situated in the
Jaunsar-Bawar region of Uttarakhand, the Lakhamandal temple is dedicated to
lord Shiva. The unique aspect of Lakhamandal—that is also the progenitor of its
name—are the many (lakh) shivlings (or mandals as they are called) that can be found here. Many of which
are still being discovered by the village’s inhabitants on an almost daily
basis.
And speaking of the locals, we were invited into an almost-200year old
traditional Garhwali home, made of deodhar
(cedar) wood for a hearty breakfast that has now set the benchmark for all my
future breakfasts.
Sitting cross-legged on the worn out wooden floor facing the stunning
Himalayas, our brass thalis were
laden with calorific treats like the hearty white butter-anointed mandua (finger millet) roti, the potato-stuffed swala roti, gath (horse gram) ka paratha
with thick homemade curds, til
(sesame) chutney sweet apricot chutney and as condiments. Also showing us the
adaptive nature of Garhwali cuisine, we were served a sweet, steamed rice cake
that was stuffed with dried coconut and jaggery.
It was here that Chef Sunil told us a bit about the non-vegetarian aspect of
Garhwali cuisine wherein although the repertoire of specific recipes are
limited, meat does play an important role in the diet. So, while river fish are
generally either crumb fried or cooked into a jhol (curry), one of the most interesting ways of cooking fish is
by wrapping it in malle ka patta a
local leaf and then steaming it. As for mutton, the most notable of the
traditional Garhwali recipes is kachmauli
wherein the goat meat is first smoked over a fire fueled by local herbs. When
still slightly underdone, the meat is deboned and tossed in raw mustard oil,
salt, chillies and turmeric and then served as a dry appetizer.
Lunching with Locals
Barely had we
digested the diet-busting brekkie, when a short hour’s drive from Lakhamandal
had us deposited at the hilly village of Pantwadi for lunch, again had in the
delightful company of the rosy-cheeked locals. Greeted with a folk dance
performed to the rhythmic beats of the dhols
and trumpets, we were taken into the headman’s home for our treat.
Another mighty deodhar home, this one
came replete with legends of its own. Sensing our dismay at the painfully tiny
doors that required even the shortest among us to stoop in order to get in, the
head man had us know that these were purpose built so that when attacked by the
enemy, the enemy’s head could be chopped off as he bent his way through.
But casting all morbidity aside, we sat down to a simple, yet flavourful meal
of ghee-drenched makke (corn meal) rotis, rajma curry, sabut masoor dal, peppery pahadi
palak (local spinach), red rice and an unusual condiment in the form of the
lehsun ka namak (garlic salt). A
drinkable almost chaas-like raita was poured into a brass tumbler to
aid in digestion and all we could do after that was to lie down on the wooden
floor and marvel at the satiating powers of the simple, yet supremely delicious
local fare all made with an important ingredient called love!
Pics courtesy: JW Marriott Mussoorie Walnut Grove Resort & Spa
FACT
FILE
Getting
There
The mist-shrouded hill station of Mussoorie—that is the nerve center of the Tehri
Garhwal region of Uttarakhand—is a scenic three hours’ drive from Dehradun, the
state’s capital. There is now a daily direct flight from Mumbai to Dehradun’s
Jolly Grant Airport on Jet Airways. Alternately, Mussoorie is just 290 kms from
Delhi-NCR by road, but there also are several daily direct flights linking
Delhi with Dehradun.
