Cuisine of the OLD Kotgarh Hills

Ever wondered what the people of the Kotgarh Hills ate before dal-chawal-subzi-roti took over. Most ate food which was quite plain and dull but provided high heat and energy to see them through the day of hard work in their fields. The vegetables preparations were almost non existence except for the ubiquitous tubers. The different forms of bread cooked in different styles formed staple with rice and milk based products and a few homegrown pulses and cereals were also used in some main course preparation. Meat was always a luxury as one had to loose his livestock for dinner nonetheless the people of the hills ate sheep, goats and lamb.

Enter any Kotgarh kitchen (rasoi) today; the traditionally chulla (fed by forest wood) has made way for more convenient and modern ovens, microwave, and LPG fed stoves. The layout and the utility have also changed with time. Most of the fare has been renegaded to special occasions primarily because of the availability and affordability of the seasonal vegetables, pulses and cereals. Today an average kitchen churns out all sorts of meat, lentil and cereal preparations.

I have put together a list of dishes and preparations from the Hills. Some of them have been long forgotten but some still retain their popularity.

Breads:
Baturu - Leavened bread cooked on a griddle
Lauta - Wheat flour pancake (thin and soft)
Patanda - Wheat pancake (large and thick)
Chalaudhi - Unleavened maize bread cooked on a griddle
Seegdi - Leavened bread with stuffing - steamed
Zarigra - Like seegdi of Barley (smaller in size)
Panigri - Stuffed dumplings bread - poached
Bathodi - Unleavened Millet bread
Kadraudi -
Mashroudi - Unleavened black gram (urdh) bread
Pakain - Wheat flour leavened bread - fried

Main Course:
Baadi - water+ghee+ salt or sugar +wheat+ cook
Gadani - water + Jagger + wheat
Khatta - curd accumulated in a clay urn over time and whey discarded each day; cooked with spices
Bada - black gram fried dumpling
Churah - buckwheat flour sweet fried bread
Sanshe - suju or maida pancakes (sun dried) and fried
Khobdru - atta dumpling
Katrari - rice + lassi (cook)
Aaalo le bhazi
Indra - kolth + aloo
Dhandra - arbi leaves
Lapphi - coarsely ground maize + roasted millet = cooked (accompanied my chas)
Daauna - wheat flour+maize flour bread stuffed with jaggery etc and cooked in warm ash/amber (It was a favorite with the folks who had to wait for their turn at the gharat) and another favorite delight was roasted potato (bhozena adho) - roasted in the warm ash.
Sattu - grounded rosted dried corn or barley dried accompanied by buttermilk

Non-Veg Delicacies
Meenz bedhau- (fat of goat/meat used for stuffing in seedgi)
Tongra shooruo - soup of animal totters
Bhozena shkar - meat roasted in warm ash and amber (viz. chalza-liver, buktu-heart, bhash-lungs)
(-------------- )- Sheep/Goat intestines stuffed with blood (palach) and wheat flour mixed with spices and boiled (just like blood sausages)
Dalkhi - stewed meat

Relish/Chutney:
Pudina Chutney
Delle ke Chutney (apricot kernel)
Till ke Chutney
Chas (buttermilk)

Sweet Dishes:
Meetha bhat (branz)
Seera - sweet dish cooked in ghee from the extract of the wheat grain (endosperm)
Atta Halwa - ghee+atta+Jaggery

Wild Ingredients:
Kungshi (Nettle) - used as stuffing (bedho) or for broth and as veg
Balaltu (Field grass) - used for veg
Rachi (Wild mushroom - Chanterelle)
Chauen (Morels)
Lengude (Fiddlehead Fern)
Chaulai (Amaranth)

(I have tried my best to get the name and ingredients right. I would build and fix the recipes in due course. In case correction need to be made please drop a mail at admin@kotgarh.in)

Phrases, Idioms & Sayings from Kotgarh

1. Mochi le cham, zimidar le kam (no dearth)
2. Jehne Maa tene Dhee, Jehno Halh teni see (core value and structure)
3. Harye khetey Gaban gai, tebe jadno jebe ghara le aye (don't coun't your chicken before they hatch)
4. Jai mere mathae bhag, te kye kara tero Deo Nag (no one can change my destiny)
5. Jai Gae na deya ta Mae ke deya (Cow Is Supreme)
6. Chupikya chawal gunthia gheo, puru mukha (little by little we eat into our resources)
7. Ghaniye bharti katano ghas, hamasha le nahi randho. (things don't last for every)
8. Gudae gudae ke raash, gudoe gudaye nash (bit by bit we built and bit by bit we can destroy)
9. Bheena chawziye ghor, bheena marda doar (only women can run the house and the men keep things in control)
10. Ghor seenchi aapu le, bhaun begano (look after thing at home then gathering stuff in the wild)
11. Ghort chala pani ke, ghor gharthani ke (women is important to run the house as is the water to watermill)
12. Kachi kanaki bauna satt sawari (the young mind could be molded in any shape)
13. Neenge nee loodhi satro, bhukh nee loodhi chookan (in extreme situations we forsake comforts)

*I would try to add more as and when I stumble upon them.

From the archives

- submitted by Avninder Thakur

Endree tendree pankhi poli
Tetha ka nikhlo Hinsru koli
Hinsru koli ye phukre naal
Tetha ka nikhlo doom chamar

Doom chamare Khauto kaam
Tetha ka nikhle saat daam
Saata daame maiyen roopi
Tetha ka nikhle soniye topi

Soniye topi mein Deo li dene
Deo e mule ghandi dene
Ghandi main ghasariya li dene
Ghasariya mule ghas deeno

Ghas mein gowe deeno
Gowe mule doodh deno
Doodh main Dadu le deno
Dadu e mule ghar deno cheeni

Revive the glory! (KOTGARH)

Perhaps you are not new to the debate of decline in the apple production and thus the income in Kotgarh notwithstanding looking for new oppertunities to showcase Kotgarh's natural wealth and history and in the process making some money.

A well documented discussion from the people of Kotgarh Hills cutting across boundries of wealth, experience, education and social standing.

It would leave you richer and thinking. In case you have something to say; you could join the discussion.

Visit the below listed links for the complete Discussion.
Revive the glory! (KOTGARH)
Prospects of tourism in Kotgarh

The Unfinished One

I sit under the bright starry night sky,
My fragile dreams won't survive;
The time fly,
And my dreams need some hope.

My apple trees need some rest,
They endured a long summer;
I have done my best,
And I tolied in my orchards hard.

If you don't show me your kind light,
I would loose my hope in you;
If the flakes don't warm my cold cheeks this night,
Never would I be the same.

My fond memory - The Tani Jubbar Fair

Often, I see articles in prints about this picturesque place. A lot has been mentioned and written about it an it rightly deserves a spotlight. I fondly remember the place and its colours and those once a year visit to the fair.

Each year we kids used to look forward to the Tani Jubbar fair, it was listed as a Holiday in our school calendar. A day before, our gang after a heart fill of cricket would sit under the open starry sky and plan for the most important day that year. Every gang member had a suggestion to push - 'when to start?', 'how much money to carry?', 'which route to take?', 'to walk or wait for the overcrowded bus or hitch a hike?'

Mom used to have a difficult time with me fussing about my clothes and the pocket money. I only insisted on wearing a new pair and nothing else and always demanded more pocket money on that special day. My demands were met only after I would promise and assure her that I would keep my little brother close and return home well before sunset and won't venture too close to the lake.

A promise of exciting day ensured a sleepless night. I would peep from under the covers all night hoping to see some light through the window; my eagerness used to be met by my mothers admonishment. My mom would warn me of catching cold and was very firm to keep me tucked in till the sun was up.

On that day to everybody’s surprise I would be the first to jump into the bathroom for a nice scrub. And the remaining morning would be spent preening in front of the mirror - my little brother could never understand it.

The gang would group around my house. It would gradually increase in size as we moved through the village and then made our way through the forest trail. The excitement and exhilaration used to be palpable. We would fool around and enjoy the up hill climb through the sea of people to be greeted by the beautiful serene lake with ancient Nag Devta temple on the other end. We were in awe of this beautiful lake – a small placid shimmering lake surrounded by deodar tress on the northern and the southern slope and by apple orchards on the western and eastern front. We always loved coming back to see it.

One could see the bright coloured rezta/dhatu donned womenfolk’s with kids in tow. The place used to be filled with colours, smiles and the smell of cheap perfume. Groups and groups of womenfolk and kids would emerge from nowhere and then disappear in the crowd. The electric environment would rub on to everybody and we rarely saw a sad soul around.

The courting couple were a real delight to see and then there was the younger lot showing off to attract attention and the old folks catching up on the good old times. One could also catch sight of some tourist in the swank cars and inapt attires - we kids always had a laugh at them.

The day would be spent eating juicy jalabies, water melons, cheap ice candies and frolicking around. I was always scared to ride the swings and the wheels and admired the easy which which they were operated. Quite a time was also spent checking the toy guns at the hawkers before settling for a good one.

The most awaited moment used to be the arrival of the Deota (It is his festival), a mesmerising sight. He would be carried on his rath to the main ground preceded by the baja. The whole place was filled with an air of charm and divine blessing. As the day passed we weary kids would look for some shade in the slopes and on most occasions disturbed the courting couples. Later it was the nati that attracted us - everybody could be seen joining in irrespective of the cast and social standing. The day would get noisy with every passing hour and influx of the devotees and visitors. The evening was always reserved for the folk dance competition. A lull used to fall when it would start followed by cheers and applauds.

A blissful day would come to an end and remembering mom’s instructions we would regroup and make our way back home with the toy guns and memories and a promise to come back next year.

Care & Share

Someone died today. You might have known him well - he slogged for you in your orchards, run errands for you, maintained your house, brought news and gossip to you, kept you in good humour with his jokes and stroked your ego. Literally, he was your 'pacemaker' and let’s call him that. He died but you are still alive.

The 'pacemaker' had inherited nothing and was raised on doles, didn't get much education and food. He lived in squalor but dreamed big - he dreamt of being you someday but he couldn’t even come close.

I came across couple of archaic articles in news print which lauded Kotgarh for its economic progress - one of the articles says Kotgarh has the highest per capita income (rural) in Asia and then an article published couple of years later says it has the highest per capita income in the South East Asia. My chest is already puffed up but the news of the death of 'pacemaker' deflates my jubilations - we could have made a difference to his life.

I remember meeting an elder from Kotgarh about a year ago who was aghast at the appalling attitude of the youngsters toward the elders and he was quite eloquent in expressing the though that more than the cast and the religion it’s the economic divide which separates the people in Kotgarh. The display of bonhomie is pseudo and the relations are all but for personal gains.

Have you done your bit for your ‘pacemaker’? Do you ensure his family is taken care of? His kids have decent education and his small dream are supported. Don't wait for him to die.

Next time in case you are driving back home from Narkanda in odd hours, check if you could help someone reach home for dinner.

LINKS - KOTGARH

Some excellent choices sites on KOTGARH

http://traveller.outlookindia.com/issuecontent.aspx?pagenum=0&id=725

http://himachaltourism.gov.in/post/Kotgarh-(1830-m).aspx

http://www.nityin.com/about/

Life and Experiences in Kotgarh

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