Ashok Sharma
Food is an important part of the culture of a region. It mirrors various recipes which our ancestors were familiar with, which foods they took, whom they ate with, who cooked the food and how they shared food with the other members of the community on important social and religious occasions. So food culture of a region tells us a lot about its culture and traditions.So far Dogras are concerned, they live a simple and hard life and they are hardy and hardworking people.Most of the people in Duggar region live in villages where life is not so easy.They go to their fields early in the morning and work till late in the evening.They return home quite tired and exhausted.But they don’t let their hard life come in the way of their celebrations and enjoyment.They are fond of eating nutritious food and don’t miss the occassion of taking products produced from wholesome grains and vegetables or milk obtained from the cows or buffaloes they usually rear.They take delight in taking milk and milk products such as curd (dahi or matha), shash or lassi, cheese,butter, ghee etc. The Dogras have a tradition of celebrating life by preparing delicious dishes on the joyous occasions of marriage, mundan, namkaran ceremonies etc. Food prepared and served on such times adds colour and vibrancy to life and affords them an opportunity to meet their friends and relatives.Not long ago,tasty food used to be cooked on the eve of functions and celebrations in villages and towns in big copper vessels called ‘saglas’.In villages, as happens in many hilly areas even now, many days before a function, the youth and elders of the village would converge at the home where the function was to be held to cut wood as fuel for the function.On the day of the function, they would dig’ daan’ on which they would place saglas to cook rice,rajmash (red kidney beans), pulses and a big iron pan to prepare ambal using pumpkin, tamarind and jaggery with traces of fenugreek leaves.Instead of frying daals, the cook or the sayaan as he was called, would use a burning coal in hot mustard oil and apply dhuni to rajmash and other pulses to give them a unique aroma of smoke.The Syan would not take food till it was offered to Gods before being served to the guests who would take the food while sitting on the mats.This dhuni was also applied to chutneys and savouring the chat of kimb.This tastier food contained little spices with the result it was easily digestible and it had a distinct taste and aroma of its own.There were a large number of favourite dishes in the days gone by, which are gradually vanishing and being replaced by fast food items such as noodles, burger, momos etc.The rice cooked on the wooden fuel and the daals, especially rajmash and black gram, maa ka madra garnished with dry fruits and ambal cooked by using pumpkin, jaggery and tamarind had a distinct taste.Dhuni was also used to add aroma and flavour to kimb(Citrus medica) and shasha(chutney made from unripe mangoes).Daal da madra and Shuaron ka madra used to be famous dishes eagerly relished which are losing charm with the modern generation these days.’Sund’ prepared in Desi ghee used to be sent by the parents to their pregnant married daughter.The parents would cook khameeres and pathorus from fermented dough or buy sagaaraans or suchians made from maida and send them to their daughters and relatives on the auspicious occasion of rakshabandhan and Bhai dhooj in big bamboo baskets called bakhaars.
Then, we had tangy foods like Auria(made from spiced potatoes and dahi and fermented rye), Maani made from semi ripe mangoes, Timbroo ki Chatni, Anardaanae ki Chatni (made from unripe dried pomegranate, mint, etc) etc.which was relished by our ancestors but which are losing ground to modern junk foods.On Lohri, the Dogras used to prepare Tricholi, on Bhugga vrat’ bhugga’ made from seul, alsi, etc,on Makarsankriti’ khichdi’ was prepared, which were eaten with all the members eating together.On auspicious occasions, babroos and rotts were prepared and offered to the gods on various occasions such as Bash dua or Dhrubri.These days food is cooked in aluminium or steel tubs on LPG and a large no of spices are added, which make the food indigestible.Even at home daal was cooked in clay pots locally called kunnis on wooden fuel over a slow fire.What was unique is that they would use home ground spices to add taste and aroma to the food.’Maaki ka Toda and Sarson ka Saag’used to be a staple food, especially during winter but it is less popular with the younger generation.Todas made from maize flour obtained from water mills called ‘gharats’were also savoured with lassi/curd or with Sarson(mustard leaves) saag.Lassi was usually taken in big glasses called adni wala glass.The daal such as Roungi (black eyed beans) and Kulth (horsegram) having medicinal properties used to be quite favourite and were relished with rice.Whenever a guest or close relative came, he was served ‘keurs’ made from maida.The new bridegroom was also served Keurs with sugar and curd by the friends and cousins of the bride.
There used to be vast fields of sugarcanes and people used to extract sugarcane (rau), boil it to get pargao and jaggery which were served even to the travellers who passed by.In sweets, Desi burfi, mesu,Alsi (linseed or flax)laddoos, icecream (malai burf) made from milk and served on banyan leaves were delicacies which are seldom cherished these days.’Gaadal’prepared from the milk of buffalo, which had recently delivered birth to a calf was savoured and also distributed to the neighbours.Ambla(sour) saag prepared from sarson with jameeri’s (Citrus aurantifolia) juice, Suttu Putto used to be a favourite dishes prepared to celebrate the Ahoi Ashtmi.Rotts prepared on the eve of Dhrubri was a dish which was eagerly awaited.Then there was’Paaji’ which consisted of rott, gulra, khameere, mathian, sagaran, suchian etc, which were sent to the relatives on festive occasions and which have now almost passed into oblivion..Among the forest produce consumed by Dogras are mushrooms, guchi (morel), kasrod (fern stalks), tarad(dioscorea)etc. The Dogras were also fond of taking homemade pickles made of unripe mangoes, lime, galgal (Citrus aurantium), kasrod(fern stalks), tarad (dioscorea) dhio (Artocarpus lakoocha) adrak,lasura, keora(agave), katrair (Bohenia variegata) etc.and also of vegetables such as knolkohl, beans, potatotes, etc which are now losing ground to sauces, pickles, etc sold by big companies.The ‘Rayta’of the flower buds of agave (having longest stalk of inflorescence) and Katrair (Bohenia variegata) used to be relished as a delicacy but which has now almost gone out of vogue.Chille, Draupars, Sattu etc fried in desi ghee and taken with desi tea also used to be very popular among the Dogras.Not only this, the Malai burf made from Khoya and served on Banyan leaves used to be a delicacy savoured on eve of melas.Kheer prepared from rice and milk and garnished with dry fruits was an item usually prepared frquently but which is now served usually on eve of pitr shradhs.Kalas made from maida were sent to the inlaws of the newly married daughter and also to the other daughters of village married there.But this custom has now vanished and so have kalas except in some rural areas.Cooking and promoting traditional foods and recipes are an excellent way to preserve our culture and pass it down to the children.There is need to popularise the vanishing dishes which are full of nutrients and easily digestible.They used to be prepared from wholesome and pure ingredients which provide energy to the children and the old alike.Unlike these traditional foods, the junk food which our children are so fond of, have very little nutrients.So parents ought to develop in their children the habit of taking home cooked food and promote such traditional foods as are rich in nutrients but are losing charm with the young generation.
(The writer is serving as lecturer in English, Govt.Hr.Sec.School (Boys) Udhampur)
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