Sun-dried vegetables, fruits and meats sustain the winter diet

Pushpesh Pant

THE winter in the hills where we grew up was arduous. Days were short and nights long. Shadows started lengthening right after noon and the wind was touched with chill. The pale sun failed to warm. The worst part was that meals without fresh ingredients were insipid. Mothers tried valiantly to feed the children well-prepared meals that were nutritious and not monotonous. This is where the dried stuff transformed the winter of discontent to a more joyous season.

In the northern tip of the land, Ladakh has sun-dried yak cheese called churbi, a hard, chewing gum-like product, as well as sun-dried yak meat that can be easily rehydrated to make piping hot curries. In the valley of Kashmir, the most prized item is guchhi (a variety of wild mushrooms called morel). Considered the most expensive ‘vegetable’ in the world, it has a subtle flavour and can be enjoyed either stuffed or lightly cooked, in delicate yoghurt-based gravy or in pulav, both fresh and dried. Eggplant is also dried to be cooked as the tangy-sweet tusk vangun. In Kashmir, cockscomb or velvet flower called mawal is dried and used to impart a scarlet hue and distinct flavour to rogan josh.

In the entire Himalayan belt from Himachal Pradesh to the states in the north-eastern part of the country, there is a strong tradition of using dried or preserved products through fermentation. Cured sun-dried meat and churbi are part of the staple diet in Sikkim, Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Manipur. Fermented fish and beans paste, made with ingredients dried in summer and then fermented at home, is popular as a condiment. Ngari is dried and fermented fish used to spice up many a delicacy by the Maitei community in Manipur.

In Meghalaya, the Garos love their nakham (dried fish) that is flavoured with alkaline khaar (ash used as main condiment in Assam and many other states in the North-East. It is obtained by burning an edible ingredient and filtering it through water. The water is then used to impart a sodium bicarbonate-like taste to the preparation) and nakam bitchi (a soup made with dried fish). In Tripura, no meal is without sidol, a fish curry prepared with fermented sun-dried fish.

In the earlier days in Uttarakhand, long before the advent of winter, preparations began almost on a war-footing to cope with the days of snow, sleet and frost. Pumpkins and cucumbers were dried on rooftops and green leafy vegetables — mustard, radish, arum (arbi) and fenugreek leaves — were also dried in sun. The more enterprising lot also dried radishes, carrots and cauliflowers. Sun-dried cucumbers are called karadia and are the foundation of the nose-tingling, heady raita spiked with ground mustard that puts wasabi to shade. Vegetable-based pahadi badi (different from Punjabi vadiyan), made from grated squash vegetables and the lentil paste used as binding, are dried in sun and shade. These are very mildly spiced and not at all.

Punjab and adjacent Rajasthan have a strong tradition of making vadiyan, mungody and papad. These are lentil-based and far more spicy than the variety encountered in Uttarakhand. People of Rajasthan also dry berries and shrubs in generous amounts prior to winter months. Best known among these are kair sangri. Fenugreek is preserved similarly to be enjoyed out of season.

In many states, fruits are also dried in sun. Amrakh, aam papad and anardana are the commonly used souring agents. Small sour plums are dried to yield alubukhara used in chutneys and stuffed kofta. In Gujarat, kokum fruit is sun-dried to be used in lieu of tamarind or tamarind paste in various preparations. Grapes, small and large, are transformed into raisins and sultanas after being sun-dried.

Most interesting is the case of apricots. Dried on a large scale in Ladakh, Kashmir, and Himachal Pradesh, and in limited quantities in Uttarakhand, these are transported to distant Hyderabad where the signature dessert in the city of Nizams, khubani ka meetha, is prepared reconstituting these by soaking in water overnight and boiling over low flame. Paired with thick-clotted cream, the meetha is an irresistible temptation. The Parsis in Gujarat and Maharashtra love these dried apricots that they call jardalu and use it in recipes for jardalu boti or jardalu murgh.

The culture of drying green, leafy vegetables and then powdering them to prepare flavourful broth like soups is widespread in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and adjacent Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. Most popular are moringa leaves, though bitter neem leaves are also used. Sometimes the base is starchy water in which rice has been boiled. Neem ka maada is believed to be a potent antidote against heatstroke. Phutka, rugda, khukdi (spurs and mushrooms) are dried and stored to supplement the diet and to be sold in the market. Recently, locals have also been growing exotic oyster and shiitake mushrooms and drying them. Mahua blossoms and fruit are also dried and stored to prepare intoxicating beverages as well as refreshing preserves, murabba and even laddoos. Dried dates (chhuhara), figs (anjir) and fox nuts (makhanas) are used in many Indian recipes.

All along the coast, on the eastern and western seaboard, a variety of fish, prawns and shrimps are dried, salted and stored to be used during the monsoon when it isn’t safe to venture out on fishing boats on the storm-tossed sea either in the Arabian Sea or the Bay of Bengal. Many local recipes in Konkan, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala rely on these. There is even an unusual poha recipe that is enriched with dried shrimps.

Kasargode in north Kerala has a very large dried fish market. In Kerala, dried spicy shrimps are used as a satisfying snack. There are similar specialised markets in Tamil Nadu also. The state has many regional variations of dried fish used in kuzhambu curry and chutneys and verthatu (a dish made wih fried fish). Most are fiery red in hue and the spices incorporate tamarind and grated coconut. The recipes are identified with prefixes that serve as geographical indicator tags.

From sharks and seers to pomfret and anchovies, all kinds of fish are dried. You either just fall in love with sun-dried fish or are scared by the strong fishy taste and deterred by extra saltiness. Moar milagai is the name given to green chillies marinated in yoghurt and patiently sun-dried. These are fried in oil and served as accompaniment to thayir sadam (curd rice).

The Bay of Bengal yields a rich harvest of fish and in Bengal, shutki maach bata made with dried Bombay duck is greatly relished. There is an old saying in rural Bengal: “Ekti katha shono, mone khotka na rekhe, tatka maachh jutlo naa to, shutki dyakho chekhe” that means, “Listen to me, don’t lose heart if you can’t lay your hands on fresh fish. Try the taste of some dried fish instead.” Salt-cured nona hilsa paturi cooked in pumpkin or other leaf wraps enjoys a cult following in neighbouring Bangladesh.

In Odisha, dried fish bhaja prepared with fish, smoked or dried in hot sand, often finds a special place with pakal, lightly fermented rice that is relished in summer. A little of dried fish referred to as sukhua jhuri in Oriya goes a long way. Vegetables like bamboo shoots, jackfruits, raw bananas are added, fresh or dry, with mustard paste to stretch it. Often a simple dish is prepared with garlic and tomatoes.

Dried foods have many advantages. As all moisture is removed, these do not spoil easily. This also lightens the net weight and reduces the cost of transportation. Absence of moisture also means that these foods need less oil to fry.

We are also discovering references in ayurvedic texts about superfood-like properties of dried ingredients that have long been foraged like harad, baheda and amla, called triphala. That’s perhaps the reason that more and more people are turning to them.

Dried Foods

Kashmir

Guchhi, vagun, smoked yak meat and cheese

Himachal Pradesh

Flowers, greens and guchhi

Uttarakhand

Greens, pumpkins, cucumbers, radishes, fenugreek

Rajasthan

Kair-sangri

Punjab

Vadiyan, mungody, papad

Jharkhand

Guda moringa

Chhattisgarh

Green leafy vegetables

Sikkim and North-Eastern States

Fermented beans and fish, green leaves and dried yak cheese called churbi

Andhra Pradesh

Dried apricots

Eastern & Western coastline

(Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Odisha): Fish, prawn and shrimp