Launching The Pinch and Handful Memory Jar Project

Do you remember your first postcard? I remember mine. My cousin Hasit Bhai sent it to me from somewhere in Europe. It had the picture of a wrinkled old woman on it. On the back he had written. "Don't laugh at her, one day we will be old like this and have so many stories to share." He passed away at 28. But I will always remember the joy of receiving that postcard. And in that joy I always find him. And I often share stories with him in my head when I think of that. It was just a fleeting scribble. But he was 25 and on his penultimate European adventure. And it told me that he was thinking of me, his pig-tailed, bespectacled entirely forgettable little sister, in that most exciting time of his life.

I have loved post cards, ever since. And letters. I loved LOVED letters, both writing and receiving them. But that's for another post. Over the years I was lucky enough to be the recipient of many postcards. From Romesh Uncle who sent me one from wherever he traveled, from my God parents in Germany, from pen-pals I made in faraway places and complete strangers in postcard swaps! Even some I mailed to myself at specific moments on my travels, so I would have them waiting at home to remind me of that moment on my return.

I remember the joy every time I found a postcard or a letter in the mail. I'd immediately pick it up and find a quiet corner or lock myself in my room to savour it in solitude. To the dreamy, bookish, romantic loner of a young girl I was, it meant the world to me. It was tangible evidence of someone taking a moment out of their busy life to spare a thought for me. I still have so many of them. In a little treasure chest by my bed.

So it seemed appropriate then to make the postcard my messenger of joy for the Pinch and Handful Memory Project.

A few weeks after my book A pinch of This, A handful of That launched, I met the first person who said "Your book reminded me of my Grandmother's Halwa. Since then I have lost count of how many people have written, called, messaged to tell me how it reminded them of somebody or someone's cooking; their Mom's Paneer, their Nani's Dal, their Dadi's achaar, their mausis laddoos, their chachis chutney,  their sisters chocolate cake.... you get the idea...

For me, each time someone has said my book reminded them of someone, it was a precious gift, a sign that writing this book was a good thing. Every event we had for the book, I asked people to go say thank you to those that cooked for them. But I always felt that the journey of this book was not done...

I am glad to have had a chance to pay tribute to the people that have cooked for me, fed me and nurtured me. More than anything I love that my Mom knows I am thankful for her Daal soup, her Chinese meals and her love. That my Nani admonishes me smilingly for giving her chaas and simple home cooking so much  importance. (She does not realise that nothing I say will ever be enough to do her justice).

But I also often wished I had had a chance to similarly thank my Dad for his fried rice. I would sell my soul to taste it again just one more time! And my Dadi for her aam papad, the ghesh she saved for me on her fasting days and her chai masala that scents my mornings everyday. And my father - in - law for his meat bhaat, kebabs and those two apples he scoured Dehra Dun for because I was pregnant and craving Apples.

It was a thought that was often echoed. Many people that told me the book reminded them of someone, said, "I wish I had told her/him...

It is from this that the Pinch and Handful Memory Jar Project was born....

We are all fortunate to have been the recipient of somebody's love in the form of food, cooked with love and served with care. But how many times do we actually thank that person? The Pinch and Handful Memory Jar Project is for each of us to do exactly that.

On Saturday 16 May we launched this lovely project at the Bombay Local, a homegrown Local Festival that celebrates home made, artisnal food and food producers through all its endeavors. A most appropriate space for the launch I thought. Thanks to the Insia and Paresh of Small Fry Co. for supporting my bizarre idea!

Some special friends from the food industry were also kind enough to support my insanity to inaugurate the project with a panel discussion. Kalyan Karmarkar, of the blog Finely Chopped, Chef Ranveer Brar, master story teller, one of the most erudite chefs I have met and an amazing friend, my favourite tale spinner archaeologist, food anthropologist, provider of great Parsi food and lots of laughter, Dr. Kurush Dalal and Rukmankan the man behind Trekurious a company that has brought so much excitement to Mumbai Dining with their fabulous curated experiences.

Each shared memories of people that cooked for them and added them to our installation of the memory jar. And then, each wrote a postcard to the people they remembered as my daughter distributed (rather over enthusiastically) retro candy. After this the audience shared their stories and memories and we inaugurated the installation that was open till late at night for people to stop by, dip into the candy jar, leave a memory and write a postcard.

It is a measure of the times we live in that most people were taken aback when we shared the idea. But almost immediately they smiled, popped a bullseye, jeera goli or aam papad and settled down to write a post card, or two, or three... or 10 (yes one young lady did that too!)

Over the next couple of weeks hundreds of postcards will go out carrying messeages of love and thanks that I hope will make people feel special and smile. And I would love to have you join us in this. If you would like me to send you a post card to start you off, email info@apbcookstudio.com your address and I will. Or just share a memory in the comments of this blog post or on the Facebook Page of A Pinch of This, A Handful of That (https://www.facebook.com/pinchofthishandfulofthat) and send off a post card or many on your own.

Share it with the world and us, or don't, but send out that post card!

Much love,
Rushina

Bawibride, Gitika's Pakghor and Poppaddum - Meet my Culinary Heroes

Gitika Saikia.

Imagine how refreshing it would be to experience meals that are different. Lighter on the stomach, seasonal, seasoned with stories and experiences; Like a Parsi Bhonu, washed down with stories of eccentric Bawas, beer and Raspberry at a period bungalow in a vintage Parsi Baug where time stops. Or a festive Assamese Bihu meal accompanied by dancing, anecdotes about looking for ant eggs cooking silk worms and learning about unknown North Eastern Cultures and Cuisines. Or a traditional Kerela Sadya served on a leaf, garnished with stories of coconut harvests and pepper picking…. Sounds like something you want to do? Well read on to find out how!

Until last year, the dining scene in Mumbai was pretty dismal. New restaurant openings, menu launches or food festival were daily occurrences. One hotel finished a Kashmiri festival and another announced theirs a week later. An element of ennui had set in. Nothing new was happening. They also caricature the cuisine in focus with the broadest brush, to appeal to the largest common denominator, dishing up predictable unimaginatively-executed menus. (Exceptions are ITC and Leela, where Indian food experiences are well researched and respectfully served).

Regional food festivals at hotels also for some reason, tend to be about royal cuisines… like they need to justify charging what they do by tagging it with ‘royal.’ Until now, home cooking has been largely ignored only seeing light in the recipe pages of columns like 'Ghar ka khana around festive times when papers are looking for something topical to feature. Or on the rare occasions that a hotel chain deigns to exploit a home-cook and showcase a cuisine their chefs cannot do (yes that is a grouse I will air at some point as well). So it is a happy thing, then, that into this desolate landscape of dining have arrived a tribe of extraordinary culinary evangelists. There is a burgeoning underground food scene that is mushrooming in our melting pot of a city and it is so exciting! Over the last few weeks I finally had a chance to catch up with some amazing women who are changing the dynamics of Mumbai’s culinary scene.

Perzen Patel

First I visited Perzen, who has been charming my twitter timeline with her indefatigable enthusiasm in promoting Parsi cuisine. I was invited to a Dhansak lunch at her new kitchen, in a vintage parsi bungalow. Perzen learned Parsi cooking from her mother to connect with her roots. Realizing that Parsi food was disappearing she decided to do something about it. The result? The Bawi Bride kitchen. She started taking orders for Parsi food, conducting personalised cooking classes among other things. But her most delicious offering is the Parsi meals she hosts. 

Jer Villa

Which climbed a few notches higher since she began offering them at her new home, Jer Villa a retro Parsi bungalow, in Malcolm Baug, Jogeshwari.  I got there on a humid Sunday afternoon to be welcomed by a smiling Perzen and a tall glass of chilled Raspberry. Much talk, eating of Saria (sago crackers) and sighing over Jer Villa’s antiquities (like a fan in the loo!) later we dug into lunch. A delicious meal of Dhansak, Salli chicken and Lagan nu Custard washed down with chilled beer. The Dhansak was perfect, but it was the Salli chicken that I really savoured that day. Tender chicken in a spicy, subtly sweet gravy with crispy salli to sprinkle over. I just could not get enough! Perzen has something happening almost every weekend so check out her website and sign up for one of her meals. For more info check – www.bawibride.com 

Next on the menu was an Assamese Bihu meal, right here at my studio. 

Assamese Bihu meal 

In Assam, April is when young village boys go hunting for a delicacy found only on mango and olive trees. Red ant eggs, costly to buy, they make for a special delicacy during Bihu, the Assamese New Year. Gitika Saikia timed herself perfectly and flew in from Assam bearing these and bags full of exotic ingredients we had never seen before like silkworm eggs and proceeded to cook up a fantastic meal of ant eggs scrambled with egg. There was also polu lota, made from the cocoon of the silkworm, boiled and stir fried, and washed down with a fermented rice drink flavoured with 80 different herbs. Gitika has singlehandedly given the cuisines of the North East and identity in India. She regularly hosts meals of different kinds all over the city. Find out more about what she does here http://gitika.me 

Sneha Niar

Soon after this I finally met Sneha Nair, an economist who started cooking to reconnect herself with Keralite food but soon found it became a full time job under the name Poppadum! Sneha invited me over and spoilt me rotten with a fantastic meal to give me a taste of her cooking. There was a subtly sweet Pineapple Pachadi spiked with mustard, Syrian Christian veg stew redolent of cinnamon, mutton pepper fry, pomfret pepper fry, raw mango mustard chutney, mango ginger chutney, yoghurt and Madras Cucumber Curry, Poppaddum and pickled mango ginger. And there was Sneha of the dancing eyes who fascinated me with her memories and stories. 

A Poppaddum Meal

                                                                        Every weekend Sneha serves up sadyas (traditional and often festive Keralite meals involving a selection of dishes served on a banana leaf) inspired by traditional Syrian, Malabar Muslim, and Kerela Hindu cuisines. The theme and menu varies with each lunch which – like all of Poppaddum’s lunches - are served in the informal setting of Nair’s home on banana leaves. For more information go to https://www.facebook.com/poppaddum

Perzen Patel 

                                                                            It’s one thing to cook a meal occasionally for friends it is absolutely another to do it on a weekly or often even daily basis. For me it is a great measure of regard and affection when someone cooks me a meal with love. They spend the most valuable commodity on us. Time. These three ladies, have taken the onus of evangelizing their heritage and culture through the medium of their food. They do what it takes, from going to any lengths to get the ingredients they need, to refusing to compromise on anything that is part of the experience they serve up.  They are up there - my culinary heroes.

I’d predicted that Indian food would be huge on the menu in 2015, when I was working on the Natures Basket Food Trends report for 2015,last year. With Indian food being discovered and rediscovered at every level in our country on a daily basis, today, I’m happy to be proven right. 

One of the areas that this is most evident in, is that of home cooks and home cooking experiences in Mumbai. In addition to contacting these ladies directly, keep an eye on the events curated by the following, Trekurious Mumbai (they have each of these ladies featuring in May), Secret Ingredient home chef experiences and Bombay Local food festivals from Small Fry Co. (They have the biggest ever Bombay Local edition on 16^th May) and of course the Culinary Legacy events I curate at APB Cook Studio (Rongali Bihu version 2 on 16^th May & a fabulous Maharashtrian Mejwani Food Festival coming up on 23 May. .

Culinary Legacy event at APB Cook Studio

Meal Sneha cooked for me

Jer Villa and a band of happy foodies! 

How lucky am I? On completing 10 years of Food Writing

This April marked 10 years from the day my first article was published. Often through the month I wondered, what if I had not discovered food writing as a career. Where would I be?

And then today someone asked me if I still had my 1st article. I did. I went looking for it and found the cupboard where I keep all my files of food writing. If one were to physically measure my writing its in those 2 piles of box files. 

As I browsed through the pile of carefully filed articles and papers; shuddering at some of my early writing (Was I that bad?), remembering the people I met, the food I tasted, the places I travelled to… And then browsed the spiral bound rough drafts of my books, diaries of thoughts and observations… I found myself reflecting… and narcissistic as this post might be, I needed to write down how I was feeling….

How lucky have I been? No, seriously! How lucky HAVE I BEEN?

If you went back in time to the clueless 18 year old college dropout I was, who had no idea where life would lead her.  Or the 25 year old homemaker and mother I was.... Id drifted through life upto that point, had a baby to early (only because an older me could have been a better Mom). I loved my life then but the me of today thinks it was an aimless existence. 

With no qualifications whatsoever in journalism or cuisine I blundered into a dream career! I would love to say I was born to it, perhaps as a wide-eyed child at my grandmother’s knee imbibing culinary knowledge as she created wonders in her kitchen, or born with a golden quill in my hand. But I didn’t. I stumbled upon food writing as a career option somewhere in 2003 -2004. And it changed my life. Thank God!

After that, food was where my heart was. Today I live and breathe it. Its given me direction and identity. And ever since I realized that food is where my heart is, I have let it take me where it will. Food blogging, food styling, food consulting, book writing, eventually creating A Perfect Bite Consulting, opening APB Cook Studio, having my first book published.  I have met amazing people, done phenomenal work, met unbelievable challenges and traveled a most unusual path. Along the way I have gained insights and lived through experiences that now define me. Life is a delicious, exciting journey that I am gratified to be living.  Today APB Cook Studio continues to thrive. This year it will turn 3, I will turn 40. And I suspect the next 10 years of my life will be even more exciting!

Thank you to each of you that have been part of this journey I call life.  May you always stay healthy and happy…