When I was a cadet at the prestigious Air Force Academy, Hyderabad, everyone thought of Rajma when I told them that I come from Jammu. From those days onwards, I would invariably carry a pack of Bhaderwahi Rajma as a cherished gift for my friends in the Air Force units all across the country. Rajma was the flavour of the city of temples. Alas, it is rather difficult to source genuine Bhaderwahi Rajma in the city now.
Those days, strangely, religion had a tough competition with the red of the pulses, which, in fact, is a part of the bean family. Though there were millions of devotees visiting the holy shrine of Maa Vaishno Devi, there were an equal number of those ( if not more ) who loved Rajma.
Such was the popularity this king of pulses enjoyed, that it cut across all differences of caste, colour, creed and region. It was loved all across the country, be it Rajasthan, Orissa, or, for that matter, Tamilnadu, Sikkim and Maharashtra.
In the entire State of Jammu and Kashmir, especially Jammu, Rajma and Chawal ( rice ) were the most loved dishes of the vegetarian cuisine. At least on Sundays, it used to be cooked in almost every household of Jammu. There were no dinners or lunches that I attended in the Jammu region in the 60s, 70s and 80s, where Rajma was not put on the table !
It will be difficult to say when and how these traditional dishes of Rajma and Chawal, the favoured home food, spread over to the streets and acquired the status of ‘most favourite street food’.
At some outlets, Kulcha was also offered in place of rice, along with Rajma, and this too was relished by the consumers on the go. Rajma with Kulcha was a convenient combination. It had the taste of traditional cooking of Rajma and the convenience of a Kulcha, which could be carried by the youngsters in a hurry. (Rajma and rice could not be eaten as conveniently as Rajma and Kulcha)
Towards the early 70s, we discovered Rajma being replaced with chickpeas that we know as “safed chhole” in Jammu. This too was relished by the customers, but popularity of Rajma continued unabated.
There were definite spots in the old city where the food sellers set up their business of Rajma-chawal or Rajma-kulcha. These spots were known to the lovers of street food. Each lover had his own favourite seller.
Some of the sellers would tear a Kulcha in two parts and put it under the load of Rajma ( or safed chhole ) for some time, before putting it out on a plate, or a tree leaf for the customers. This was a variation that gained popularity with the discerning consumers. In Maharashtra too, especially Mumbai, this Kulcha pressed under the safed chana is sold in large numbers . They call it ” dabeli ” ( one that is pressed ) and is very popular with the young. Maharashtrians eat ” paav ” that can be considered a Kulcha in the rectangular shape.
My maasi, a sibling of my mother, lived in Bombay, now Mumbai. Her husband, my ” masser ” Ji was from Rawalpindi, who, after the bloodied partition, settled in the erstwhile Bombay. He was in love with Jammu, the Rajma-chawal of Jammu, and the sweetmeat called “chocolate” made only in Jammu. But, beside these items, he was in love with ” Kachalu ” of Jammu too ! We know that this is a tuberous root, like arvi.
Anybody and everybody going to Bombay was expected to carry a big bag of Kachalus for my uncle ! It was a must, and more important than the other items. Whenever my uncle came to Jammu, we would go to the Mahalakshmi temple in Pakka Danga, where he would relish his favourite Kachalus on which was sprinkled the red coloured tamarind chutney, Kalonji and some other spices !! We don’t find Kachalus being sold near this Lakshmi Ji temple anymore. The space has been usurped by street sellers of plastic wares.
There were several sellers of Kachalus in the city, and each had a committed clientele. I can easily recall the one near the present day Red Cross Parking area in Kachchi Chhawani, and the other in the lane opposite Hari Talkies, parallel to the main Raghunath bazar road.
There sat a Sardar Ji in the latter location. He was more popular than a film star to the young girls of the city ! At any given time, there would be at least 10 to 15 customers who gheraoed the most popular seller of Kachalus during those days ! There must be at least a dozen more sellers of this popular preparation in the old city, but none could best this Sardar Ji.
If Kachalus were more popular with the female of the gender, and Rajma-chawal and Rajma-kulcha were more hunger-centric, there was yet another savoury that was beyond the shackles of time, days, weather, gender and age. We still call it “samosa”, the evergreen savoury that transcends everything physical, even the price !
Samosa was, and is, a hugely popular snack of Jammuites. It is available all day long, in all the lanes and streets of Jammu, so to say. Similar was the scenario in the olden days too. I vividly recall a samosa seller in the chowk near the Ranbir Library in Kachchi Chhawani.
This shopkeeper sold Samosas like the proverbial hot cakes, especially during college hours. I would easily estimate a per day sale of over 1000 Samosas in a few hours. Students from the nearby Women’s College, Parade Ground, used to flock like birds of the same feather, and gorge the freshly fried hot Samosas that were sold at the princely price of eight samosas to a rupee, right up to the early 70s ! Today, these sell at Rs 12 to Rs 15 apiece. And the popularity remains untouched.
Samosas are still a favourite, but I also come across patties, pastries and poori chhole being savoured, besides the traditional chaat and gol gappe ( paani poori ). Olden days’ Jammu saw early morning sales of Poori Chhole in almost all the mohallas. Pure Desi Ghee was used to fry the favourite breakfast of the yore that was offered with cooked Safed Chhole, and garnished with a few pieces of Dogra “auriya”. This royal breakfast was washed down with a glass of lassi, which was sold in many variations like “pede wali lassi” and “malai wali lassi”.
An occasional dosa was first available at Capri, a small cafe near Ashoka market diagonally opposite to the Central Basic School. Then opened Rachna restaurant opposite the then Kotwali at the City Chowk, followed by the Kailash restaurant. They served different cuisine varieties.
This brings me down to the current reality of Kalari Kulcha Kulture. For the past few years, whenever I visited the city, I was treated to the currently popular street food of the modern times : Kalari Kulcha. Different friends may recommend different sellers of their choice, but the dish remains the same: Kalari Kulcha.
During my student days, Kalari was not a local favourite. Only a few shops sold it. Gujjars from the hills of Udhampur brought us the best Kalaris. These Kalaris were at least two weeks old and gave out a tart smell, which evoked hunger !
These two weeks’ old milk products would harden from the outside by the time they reached our hands, but, the inside of these Kalaris was still soft. They were put on a hotplate ( tava ) and fried in their own fats that were enough to make them crispy brown, and ready to be savoured with a sprinkling of salt, black pepper, or, maybe, some chaat masala. To me, this was the most cherished dish from the Shivalik hills. And we never ate Kalaris with a Kulcha.
We took our son Kartikey to a walking tour of the lanes of the old city Jammu, a few days ago. As we reached the famed Kali Janni, our son was hungry. A local shop keeper advised us to visit the Kalari Kulcha seller at the corner of Moti Bazar and Subzi Mandi.
We trekked down to this well known shop. A young fellow in his early thirties was busy frying Kalaris for the waiting customers, who looked well fed and displayed no hunger pangs ! Surely, they were there to satisfy their taste buds rather than fill their stomachs !
As he doled out our Kalari-kulchas, the young fellow informed us that the Kalaris were freshly made every day ! This information was like a bolt from the blue for a hardcore Kalari lover like me, who knows that Kalaris are not consumed on the day they are made…
There has to be a resting period of a few days before the freshly made cheese dries up and gains certain tartness. Sometimes, as we wait for the cheese to be sun-dried, some kind of fungus grows in the cheese that gives it an indescribable flavour with a certain sourness. We can not define this flavour, yet we can relish it.
The other day, I saw a milk shop on the old Canal Road, where there were laid scores of freshly made Kalaris with hundreds of flies either sitting on them or wandering all around. The sight put me off completely. This is a serious health concern that needs urgent attention.
I learn that a popular restaurant in the region calls itself The Kalari Factory. It has a very exhaustive menu with different kinds of Kalaris, like, Kalari Paratha, Kalari Roti and Veg Kalari Omellete.
Next time if someone tells you that his Kalari is freshly made, you know how to react !! Well, you may not discard the stuff, but you know that you need not be unduly impressed also. In the current scenario of 21st century Jammu, everyone expects his Kalari- kulcha to be served before he says Jack Robinson !
Who has the patience and wisdom to wait for the real sun-dried cottage cheese before it converts itself into a seasoned Kalari, and presents to you the divine taste and flavour that we have enjoyed during our youth, in this City of Temples called Jammu !!
Post Script : the city of temples also caters to the non vegetarian cuisine like mutton tikkas, fried fish, and brain curry. There also exists a food street of 500 meters length by the side of the airport road. We shall speak about it in a separate column of Jammu Jottings.
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