Bhagwaan ke Pakwaan is a cookbook-cum-travelogue that explores our country's culinary heritage and takes us beyond the concept of bhog (food offered to God) whilst introducing us to various lesser-known food cultures that revolve around faith. Read on to find out more.
1. Rice Beer & The Karbi Tribe Of Meghalaya
The book traces the food culture of the Karbi Tribe of Meghalaya and explains how food plays a pivotal role in their faith and community at large. One of the staple foods of this tribe is the rice beer, which is also considered as one true food of the gods. To the Karbi people, the offering of the rice beer and meat represents their gratitude.
Rice is an integral part of the Karbi culture and is cooked with multiple proteins including pork, buffalo, chicken, fish and insects. Additionally, bamboo is also a prime ingredient in their cuisine and lifestyle - it's eaten, cooked in, fermented in, constructed with, burnt as fuel and used as a container to drink rice beer from.
Local dishes that caught our attention: pork and greens, fish cooked in bamboo and cicada chutney.
2. The Soul Food Of Udvada
When it comes to Parsi food culture, the small town of Udvada on the coast of Gujarat has always been the centre of Zoroastrian faith and community. One of the most interesting food traditions of this community is, in fact, the Zoroastrian death ceremonies conducted in four parts - Baj, Afringan, Farokshi and Stum. However, the offering isn't made to any god or fire, instead the food is offered to the soul of the person who has passed. Of course, strict procedures and specific ingredients like wheat, rose, sandalwood, milk and copper are used to fuel the souls in the cycle of salvation. This is just one part of the Parsi food culture.
The broader principle of the Parsi cuisine is khaatu-meethu-teekho or sour-sweet-spicy flavours for a balanced yet holistic experience. Over the years though, the cuisine has adopted multiple influences from across India - the local Gujarati food, a bit of Portuguese touch from the Goan cooks in Parsi households and Anglo-Indian influences from Bombay - the food culture is vast and versatile in the community.
Local dishes that caught our attention: Boi ni macchi, akuri and papra & bakhra
3. The Fading Community Of Kolkata's Jews & Shabbat
During their travels in Kolkata, Varud and Devang document what is left of the Baghdadi Jews of the city, a community that has gone from a few thousand to twenty over the centuries. What remains today is the memory of the times gone by, heard and remembered within the majestic synagogues on Park-Esplanade and of course, the food that's keeping the traditions alive.
One such food culture that continues to exist amongst the Kolkata Jews is the meal on Shabbat, a day of rest and reflection that begins on nightfall on Friday and continues until nightfall on Saturday.
The Shabbat feast usually starts with breaking bread (challah) dipped in salt and drinking a cup of wine. This is followed by a course of Aloo Makallah with Hilbe, Zalata (cucumber salad), with Mahashas (stuffed vegetables) and roast chicken. Later, a simple pulao is eaten with a curried dish of meat or Kubba, which is rice dumpling stuffed with meat and cooked in stew.
Local dishes that caught our attention: Aloo makallah, mahashas and chitanee