By Sourish Bhattacharyya
THE expression ‘sexed up’ first
gained currency when the MI6 did exactly that to its report on the so-called ‘weapons
of mass destruction’ in Saddam Hussain’s Iraq to give Tony Blair an excuse to
join George W. Bush’s unholy coalition against the dictator. But when Manish Mehrotra sexed up the humble chaulai ka saag with cheese to neutralise
its grassy taste, he did not trigger a war or cause widespread anguish. He only
had people eating out of his hands, which is something the Magician of Indian Accent must have gotten used to
by now.
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| Indian Accent's Manish Mehrotra (above) produced magic with the forgotten foods of India at the release function of the Centre for Science & Environment's most intelligently written cookbook, First Food: A Taste of India's Biodiversity |
And he gave us an idea. If only all
restaurateurs learnt to use our traditional foods in a more creative way, they
would create a substantial market for our poorest farmers, encourage the
cultivation of crops that guzzle a third of the water that the gifts of the ‘Green
Revolution’ do, and bring down their own food costs (which they keep
complaining about in these rough times). What Manish did at the India Habitat
Centre release of First Food: A Taste of India’s Biodiversity was recreate the recipes, adding his own creative lashings, in the
Centre for Science and Environment’s
cookbook with a difference. The Centre’s guardian angel, Sunita Narain, Zaike Ka Safar
presenter Vinod Dua and food
historian Pushpesh Pant released the
book to an audience that spilled out of India
Habitat Centre’s Silver Oak banquet hall.
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| It's a must-have cookbook where each recipe comes with a gold mine of information that Middle India knows very little about |
The neatly produced book narrates the
story of India’s lost foods, which are packed with nutrition and provide a
livelihood to millions of marginalised farmers across the country. If these
foods are sexed up by talented chefs such as Manish (and Old World Hospitality’s
Executive Chef Rajeev Malhotra, who
was busy elsewhere), our old food culture, which was based on centuries of earthy
wisdom, can become fashionable yet again. Manish, for instance, showed us how
roasted makhana (lotus seeds) dusted
with a tangy masala can become a
glorious accompaniment to cocktails. His sattu
ke gol gappe had a firmer texture than the standard issues made with sooji and atta, and he took us by surprise with his bajra tartlets with a sweet and sour ker-sangri filling.
Manish demonstrated how bajre ki khichdi can taste anything but
bland when you serve it like a chaat topped
up with chutneys and saunth. His sattu is the Real McCoy supplied by a
source from his native Bihar — it is made with a local variety of chana (chickpeas) and ground with its
husk on along with others pulses and cereals — and he served it in the
traditional style with a slightly runny baigan
ka bharta. He made cheelas by
substituting commonly used besan
(chickpea flour) with a cousin of buckwheat flour. And his gahat ki dal (horse gram) struck
a sentimental chord with the Kumaonis among those invited!
It was the most delicious way of
understanding the age-old ties that bind our traditional crops with the lives
and nutrition of India’s majority. The message came through without any
pamphleteering. We have to preserve our rich gastronomic heritage for our own self-preservation
and the good of the generations ahead of us. Get more bajra into your life.
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