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As far as the eye can reach-plains, barren, ockyThe Kutch landscape shadesof brown andoccasionally otted withand bushes, espitet and semi-aridconditions.The rainfall here is uncertain,and no perennial iversErratic ainfal land droughtaffected he area, and con-he way of life.The main produce s bajra,nung and kod (matki,

TheKutchis rea hardypeople,and industrious. hey eadaustere ife. Al l these factorshe food habitsthe people. The preparationse simpleso ls the art of cook-The eatinghabitsdiffer fromto region. But milk andproducts bound.Situated in the north-westof Kutch; bordering hes Banni,an isolatedarea.tiny district is the exclusivef the Maldharis cattleere,vastquantities fan d ghee are produced.

th e guestof Miyan GulbegDhordovil lage. He is th e

leader of about 30,000 Maldharisan d known for hi s hospitality.With my meals comprising rice,mixed potato and onion vege-tables and papads, were serveddesi ghee and jugs of butter-m i lk .Wherever I travelled in Kutch,even in the humblest hXrijan vil-lages, I was treated to glassesoffresh chhaas.In general in Kutch the break-tast consists of bajra rotla andmilk, khakharas (paper thin,crisp roasted chappatis) withcurds and home-made butter.The farmers have bajra rotla withcurds, dungari (onions) and garlicchutney.Lunch consists of 'bajra rotla,curds, mixed potato an d onionbhaji, kit t i (bajra f lour fr ied inghee) an d a vegetable.Dinner isth e main meal comprising khi-chri with milk or kadhi made ofcurds. Sometimes gavar (runnerbeans) is served. Alongside areplaced a plate of jaggery orsugar, a bowl of desi ghee andhome-made butter without whichno Kutchi meal is complete.

Since Kutch is an arid area notmany varieties of vegetables are

available,Theseare even morescarce n winter. To overcomethis problern,sukotri (dehydratedvegetables) re used.Okra, methlbhaji, gawar,green chillies dip-ped in curds,kantola, inda andkothimba(a kind of cucumber)are dehydrated during summerand stored or winter use. Barismade from ground mung dal,dried in the sun,are atsostored.ln winter ponk is available nplenty. Green bajra or jawar isroastedover glowing embers ofcharcoal nd'served ot with finesev,greenchutneyor curds.Thisrustic fare is quite special. InBombay, in areas inhabitedbythe Cujaratisand Kutchis,ponkvendorsarea commonsightdur-ing the cold months.fvery community has its spe-cial pickles and morrabbas.Amongother hings,Kutchismakepickles rom debra (a kind ofberry), biioda (this resemblesgrapefruit) and stemsand rootsof brown garmar.Snacks comprise pakwan,phaphada (small crisp purles)and chorafali long thin stripsofspicedmatkl flour, deep frieGinoil).

simple,dy, likere8ion\

lain

Sweets are prepared on auscious occasions,during feastsa.marriages.Seeromade from wheflour, jagtery and ghee is common, Others include sweet scrisp puris coated with sugsyrup, meva-wadi and ghari pu(made from maida with fillinggrated coconut and sugar),gulapak made from mava - all vesi.mple, eflecting the austere ifstyle of the people.I was invited to a Kutchi wedding feast in Bhuj. The menu waunostentatious-rice, f ribhangl d(chana, tuvar and mung), ,mixvegetable bhajiyas, channa-potavegetable, papaya pickle and galic pickle. Puries are never seved. The sweets offered were b(rava seero), jalebi and doodpak.RECIPESROMKUTCH

BAJRA NA MUTHIAcupr bafra flourcup each becanend whcrtllourcmell bunch methl leevcrContlnued on page 7

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A TOUCHOF KUTCHContinued rcm page5lonions, flnely choppedpod garlic, groundtsp. ganrn masahtsp. eadr red chlllis rnddhenle powder

tcp. turmeric powderbunch coriander leavcl,droppcdhsle

2-3treen chllliesGrouodnut oll for frylngSalt to tarteAdd curds o the flour and makea pliable dough. Keep his over-night. n the morningadd al! theingredients nd mix well. Shapethe dough like meduvadas nddeep fry. Servehot with garlicchu!ney.TASANNI CHUTNEY

Add water and salt to the hatfkilo maida and make a softdough. Keep aside"Mix ghee inthe remainingmaida and kneadwell without water. Spreaddhemaida dough thinly on a wood-en board. Over this sprinkleevenly he mixtureof maidaandghee. Cut into three-inch stripsand roll lightly. Cut the roll intothree o fourpieces ndmake ntoballs usinga light pressure.Rollout into purisagainwith a gentlepressure.Deep fry on both sidestill golden brown. Thesecouldbe made smaller n size as re-quired. They resemble crisp'khari' biscuits. Preparingpak-wans needsa little skill but youwill be able to make hem witha little practice.

and removefrom heat.Mix ddand jaggery and'keepon a loflame stiring till the daliacooked. Let it simmer for abo15 mlnutes. When done, remofrom heat. Add nutmeg and cedamom powder, raisinsand mwell.

GUI.ABPAKI kg rnava (lftoy.,750 grn. rugar25 gn. carhen'nut, cut Inloplecel5 gm. cerdetnoml, porrdcrcd23 tm. d?y or frulh mre pd(dry fetek can be hd deny ayutedlc $op)Add about a glass of water tsugar to make a two-string cosistencysyrup. Roast he mafor about five minutes. Add tthe syrupand stir well. Whenbubbles,remove rom heat.Keon stirring for a few minuteTo this add rose petals,cashanuts and cardamomand mwell. Smeara thali with a llttghee and pour the mlxture nto about a one-inch thicknelet it set and cool. Cut into retangularpiecesand garnishwltrose petals.

x al l the flours and other ln--add a little groundnutand water to make a softTake istfulsof doughandoval shapes n a metale and steam.You could usepressure cooker or steaming.cooked, temove and let itSeason n groundnutoil,ed chillies and curyGarnlshwith corianderServehot.NA GAYADA

8-10 cd chllllerI lsp. each cummln reedr endcorlender powdeaI garlic, crushedI tsp. faggerytelt to tuteSoak he chillies in water over-night.Mlx al l the ingredients ndgrind finely addinga little water.Add one teaspoon hot ghee tothc chutney.

PAKWAN

rAPtfI kg. wheet, coeruely gound

(dat!a)4fXl em. l,qjgleryl* cups ghee5-6 cerdamo,rns,powderedAbout.25 nlslncA plnch of nutneg porvdcr19 qgh, metkl (kod)curdstsp. cech corirnder porvder,rcd drillier end garammrnleglnger, crurhed

I kS. malda !o rnekee dough200 8rr. nalde lor rprlntling onPalwan100 gn ghecSelt to tertcPoura little ghee n a kerahlandroast the dalia till brown. Keepaside. Boil the iaggery n fourcups of water for a few fiinutes

GOV|NDA, OVtNDAtContinued from pege 39the channa dal for twoand grlnd to a pastewithe coconut,green chillies andMix the above groundwell with the curd, addand salt and bring to athe dal has cookedhuli has thickened, re-from the fire and seasonmdstardand curry leaves,two tablespoons f oi!.bhajias made fromchannadal, ground withchillies, curry leaves andare deep fried and addedthe maggigehuli sometimes.

A llttle la$erySoakthe green nuts in hot wa-ter and then qut open to removethe kernels.Slice the tlndlis lnto stripslengthwise. Heat oil and addmustard,udad dal and red chil-lies. Nert add the curry leaves,turmeric, he tindlis, green chil-lies and the cashew ernels.Adda few teaspoonsof water for thetindlis to cook.When done, addthe salt, coarselyground coco-nut and jaggery.MULLUSOUTAKAI(KAKDI)DOSAI

MUTTON BAFAT vegetables f belng used ancompletecooking.

GREENKERNEL)gnr. gfrc*lnr (tlndli)gm. crshw kcrnclrtbsp. ollGp. uded delrcd chllllcrtsp. murterdgreen chlllleltrp. tunnadilcevcrcoronuq, coarrely ground

250 gn" tender kekdls (crqlm.bers)2 cupr rice* coconut3 grcen chllllecf walnut-sized ball faggerySalt to tasteSoak the rice in water for fourto five hours then drain andgrind with the coconut, greenchillies, jaggery,salt and lastlythe cucumbers. orm nto a thlnbatter and make dosason a hottava usinga little oi l to greasethe base.Eat with fresh butter.

lg; muttoncloveclerge piece cinnilononionsr gl:cedgreer chlllles, rllced4ds garllc, rlicedItch piece 6inger, dlccdI tbrp. vinegerGRINDTO A PASTE:I rsd chilllesI Gb. cummin rcedrI l:p muelard1 tsp corianderI tsp."tmrerlc10 peppercorirrl kS. potrtoc otcabbage opt)Cut the mriftbn and wash. Placethe mutton in a vesselwith al lthe groundmasala nd the clovesand cinnamon. dd salt and vine-gar and cook adding just sufli-clent water to allorv the meat tocook. When the nieat is almostreadyadd the slicedginger,chihlies, onions and garli.' Add the

COORGI ORKCURR1 kg. pork5 green chilllcr8 .to l0 clovcr grrllc4 blg qnlonr!-lnch piece glngcrt trp. lumrcflc3 tbcp. vinegrr or Cooryl tl.champullSalt to tactcI frp. chllli porvderROASTAND POWDER INELY

ttcp. corlandcr rcrdttrp. mustrrd rccdrtrp. cummin reedrtlp. peppercomrCut the pork into medium-sed pieces.Wash and smearwitturmeric, chilll powder and ralGrind the green chlllies,onionginger and garlic coarsely.Pthe cut meat in a dekchi witthe groundmasala nd a cup ohot water. tet it cook well. Whealmoit cooked, add the powdeed masalas, When well cookeadd the vinegar or kachampand remove from the fire. Theshould be a thlck grary for thcurry.

This s a dish madeby theChristiansn the .Manfalorearea and shows the simi-larity in the food styles ofthe people iving along heWesffioast.I,I3521

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