LOW-KEY BUT WARM HEARTS FOR VIGYAHARTA GANESH THIS YEAR: Mahadev Vasant Nanoskar’s family celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi with togetherness and collective synergies every year at Arambol in village Goa.
By Tara Narayan
WITH Chovoth (Goa) or Ganesh Chaturthi (Maharashtra) here it’s time to savour some nevri or neureo or karanji – deep fried stuffed ivory pastry crescents of the very best kind. I’ve got the first of the festive season in Goa (when is it never a festive season in India) season. Usually, come Chovoth I look around for decent nevri at the self-help group women’s stores in Panaji …but some of these nevri can come with pretty hard crust of maida and are stony to bite into and can hurt mouth tissues! The filling of whatever choon within the only good part and even this can be very dry and if the dry grated coconut a little dated…you may as well chuck it.
But this time I got some real good nevri form my friend Mahadev Vasant Nanoskar who’s an assistant sub-inspector(ASI) and lives in Arambol where Girkar or Nanoskar Wadi is where there is a lively village community from the sound of it. These nevri are amazing crescent crunchies and I don’t how they balloon out – the shell is perfect as his wife Ankita believes in combining maida, rava and moongdal flour to bind the dough, this gives the outer shell a most agreeable soft crunch. The filling within is redolent of such good things as roasted chana, sesame seeds, coconut choora, raisins and so on and many senior citizens love to just empty out the delicious choora in a bowl of milk to soften and eat it (be it dairy cow’s milk or coconut milk which is more pleasant).
So first day of Ganesh Chaturthi I was blessed with these original home-made nevri courtesy Ankita. Nanu fills me in with the Ganesh revelry which goes on at his home during the five days they keep their Lord Ganesh – the entire family and extended family of 30 or so members come together to do the puja every evening. Mercifully, theirs is a friendly family and watch out for each other. There also his respective two kaka’s sons, some five of them and their families. The women get together to prepare the meals daily which are traditionally significant at least on the first and last day of Chaturthi.
Yes, of course, he said in response to a query, the monsoon veggies are supreme in the cooking – the five veggie dishes will feature “bhendi, val papdi, adu, vaingan, aloo” and there will be dal, chana ros, puri, papad-loncha, sheet or rice…a variety of sweets ranging from different kinds of nevri to poli to modak and more each day. The food is of course served to Lord Ganesh on five banana leaves first and the men take turns to sit at the Ganesh puja each evening led by their bhatji from Maharashtra, “sometimes the bhatji who has trained his sons may send one of his sons to conduct the puja!
Damages? I asked inquisitively. And Nanu replied, “Not much, we will be spending about Rs30,000 or so for the five day observance of Ganesh Chaturthi…we all contribute and oftentimes we are just generous as we feel, for instance I buy the matoli stuff and nobody adds this up!” It’s all very easy and co-operative as they play it by ear too and are sensitive to each other’s situations in life. From the sound of it society is much happier further down the ladder than further up the ladder!
ONE Chovoth dish intrigues me, it’s made out of five leafy greens: could be red and green amaranth, arvi or arbi leaves, shepu or dill leaves, methi or fenugreek greens, the leaves, palak or spinach are of course most popular and most expensive with folk nowadays looking for organically grown baby spinach. No garlic and onion may be used in the cooking for Ganesh Chaturthi of course and the leafy greens taste the sweeter for that (seeing how onion and garlic are so all pervasive in their distinct aroma).
If a single leaf bhaji has to be made most folk love the tender green leaves of the drumstick tree or maaskachi bhaji! I haven’t cooked this maaskachi bhaji at home yet and am really anxious to learn how to do it with a gentle touch…drumstick tree leaves are said to be all kinds of good things.
The drumsticks are a hot favourite in south India’s sambar and rasam and I love to cook them. A bundle of three to four sticks cost Rs50 in the market currently and one tries to bring it down to Rs10 per stick…failing which one may quietly raid a drumstick tree some evening while in the mood, passing by some friend’s house compound or garden which is sporting a tree. Drumstick trees are sheer value for food values and you will never lose if you plant one in your own compound or garden!
THE AACHI SPICES
SUDDENLY I’m reminded of some wonderful stuff coming out in the south Indian market, especially in spices and spice powders. I feel they are more shudh than the northern variety! At a recent trade show in Goa I was charmed to be introduced to the Aachi foods people whose stall was decked up with all kinds of pure spice powders and spice mixes which a lot of homemakers are now investing in to aid quicker cooking of meals. There was this bottle of freshly milled coriander powder on the table and inhaling it left me on a high, it was so good!
I bought a few things for if you’re asking me all spices are anti-inflammatory and one should use them judiciously in cooking. Aachi is reportedly south India’s No.1 spice brand and possibly beating MTR which is more and more expensive and export oriented. Aachi may take MTR’s place! I don’t know if this brand is available in Goa or not but look for it, the Kashmiri Chilli Powder, Garam Masala, Turmeric Powder, Chilli Powder, Coriander Powder, Curry Masala, Pepper Powder, Cumin Powder and a whole host of masala mixes to facilitate faster fixing of veg and non-veg dishes. I also spied various familiar rice preparation kits – Vegetable Pulao, Dindigul Biryani, Hyderabadi Biryani, Chettinad Biryani, Fried Rice, Vegetable Biryani…visitors visiting this stall were treated to goodies cooking in a rice cooker like the Aachi biryani and it is true it is the aroma in the air which was wooing everyone in! Go check out AachiFoods.com to see the entire range.
I will swear by whatever Aachi stuff. I persuaded the diffident Vinod Kumar here to sell a few things to me; although he kept saying strictly speaking at these trade expos they were not supposed to sell, but give away samples — to those who they think will open up new business partnerships with them. My point of argument usually is why bother to take back all the perishable stuff you have brought to display and exhibit? Better to sell off with generous discounts on last day, last hour, to visitors like me who’ve come for a dekho! I managed to buy some, get some samples.
ELSEWHERE I was delighted to see the spreads and preserves of sea buckthorn – a berry fruit from the mountains of the Himalaya. I’m not sure if sea buckthorn refers to the amber “kumani” fruit which is so delicious out in the Ladakh wilds. Sea buckthorn is really glossy orange berries and reportedly rich in anthocyanidins and natural flavonoids, berries are said to be ideal food for diabetics and heart patients.
They also had such unusual things as strawberry mint preserve, jamun spread, mango jalapeno preserve, mango kesar, spiced fig preserve, mulberry ginger preserve …but the piece de resistance — sea buckthorn preserve, absolutely tartly delicious. I don’t think these new products are available in the market though. Try Magsons or Delphinos, they usually get a lot of new stuff and stock the increasing number of organic foods which the rich and privileged are now increasingly seeking if they’re also educated!
Interestingly, this MediNatural “spreads and preserves, immunity drinks, healthy snacks, dry fruits and spices, instant gravy, herbal cosmetics”are being created by a microbiologist, Chahat Sharma of Pune. Check out www.medinatural.in.