Jharkhand Food Series – 01

Jharkhand Food, Sattu ki kachori, sattu, Jharkhand speciality, Deoghar, rustic Jharkhand food, hand cooked food, love made edible, aalu-tamatar ki sabzi, aam ka anchaar, Jharkhand, love, recipe, food, sattu, Bihari khana, Jharkhandi khana, love for food, Puneeta Prakash, gulmohar doodles, gulmohardoodlesPhoto courtesy: Balakrishnan K | www.utopianhere.com

It was a blazing hot summer afternoon. I was fumblingly wrapping up the clothes put outside for drying in the morning while tiny sweat drops lazily rolled down my forehead. I turned my head and saw the happily dancing newly blossomed white jasmine flowers and my heart swelled up with pride and contentment. I lovingly bent over to caress and smell them for a moment when my eyes caught up seeing a young couple in the nearby shop. The nervousness of meeting in the most secured and safe hours, the excitement of seeing your love amidst the fear of getting caught. That tender love which can lift you to cloud nine in just a whiff of your lover’s perfume. The lover’s smirk, the rolling of the eyes, hastily running your fingers in your hair and then nervously whimpering for things which you don’t even know why and what you want it for? Isn’t young love so pure and cute? You know it won’t last (mostly), you know it is just a phase yet you fall for it. But, when you grow older and wiser, maybe one day, doing the most random things, you might catch up seeing a younger version of yourself which can leave you lingering with sweet maybe funny memories of your own days?

Jharkhand Food, Sattu ki kachori, sattu, Jharkhand speciality, Deoghar, rustic Jharkhand food, hand cooked food, love made edible, aalu-tamatar ki sabzi, aam ka anchaar, Jharkhand, love, recipe, food, sattu, Bihari khana, Jharkhandi khana, love for food, Puneeta Prakash, gulmohar doodles, gulmohardoodlesPhoto courtesy: Balakrishnan K | www.utopianhere.com

When I was in my teens, there was a small grocery shop near our home. I still remember those nervous tinkling eyes and the stammering voice which always asked for 100gms of Sattu from the shopkeeper. I wasn’t sure whether he liked eating Sattu that much or blurted it each time just because his brain somehow knew it was affordable and healthy! I wonder how many kilos of Sattu he would have bought just for a glimpse of his love. My vague memory remembers his mom complaining about finding packets of Sattu in random places of her house and I guess this caused so many Sattu delicacies often trips to our home 😀

Both Bihar and Jharkhand, strive on Sattu. It is still one of the most sought out food there. Apart from being really healthy and nourishing, it is very fulfilling and easy to prepare too. I can not fathom anyone from there who would not carry a packet or two of this while travelling outside the state :). A variety of dishes are made from this humble soul. Litti, Sattu ka sharbat, Sattu ka jhor, Sattu ka paratha and Sattu ki kachori to name a few. You can even find random joints selling a combination of Sattu ka sharbat and sprouted brown or green chana (chickpeas) early in the mornings. A semi dry preparation of Sattu along with chopped onions, green chilli, finely chopped coriander and mint leaves, pinch of cumin-pepper powder and salt too is a morning breakfast favorite among the locals during the scorching summers. Winters are reserved for hot-piping Sattu parathas along with kheer, coriander-tomato chutney and some homemade pickles. Nights when the weather becomes really cold, the members of the family get together, play antakshari, lit up charcoal and bake themselves some delicious litti and chokha. Some days it could be teamed up with a spicy garlic chicken. Sattu was a saviour even during our 4:00am morning schools during summers. A quick stir of sattu ka sharbat and we were ready to go to school with a full stomach.

Jharkhand Food, Sattu ki kachori, sattu, Jharkhand speciality, Deoghar, rustic Jharkhand food, hand cooked food, love made edible, aalu-tamatar ki sabzi, aam ka anchaar, Jharkhand, love, recipe, food, sattu, Bihari khana, Jharkhandi khana, love for food, Puneeta Prakash, gulmohar doodles, gulmohardoodlesPhoto courtesy: Balakrishnan K | www.utopianhere.com

Jharkhand Food, Sattu ki kachori, sattu, Jharkhand speciality, Deoghar, rustic Jharkhand food, hand cooked food, love made edible, aalu-tamatar ki sabzi, aam ka anchaar, Jharkhand, love, recipe, food, sattu, Bihari khana, Jharkhandi khana, love for food, Puneeta Prakash, gulmohar doodles, gulmohardoodlesPhoto courtesy: Balakrishnan K | www.utopianhere.com

I have loved the humble Sattu in all its form. But, Sattu ki kachori has been my all time favorite. It is my childhood love. It is nostalgia. I remember going to my grandmom’s house and among lots of other delicacies she wouldn’t bat an eyelid to cook these lovelies for me in breakfast. I would wake up with a big smile on my face smelling the aroma of these kachories being deep fried in coal stove. The smoke, the atmosphere, the busy mornings, the mist, the shared laughter and the feeling of being loved, together, has created magic in my head. I can still sit and think of those times for hours. So you see, every time I go back home, I ensure, rather goad my mom to make a couple of these for me. Those perfectly round fluffy beauty can lift anyone’s mood in a jiffy. The aroma, the crunchiness and the taste can keep on lingering to your soul for years.

Jharkhand Food, Sattu ki kachori, sattu, Jharkhand speciality, Deoghar, rustic Jharkhand food, hand cooked food, love made edible, aalu-tamatar ki sabzi, aam ka anchaar, Jharkhand, love, recipe, food, sattu, Bihari khana, Jharkhandi khana, love for food, Puneeta Prakash, gulmohar doodles, gulmohardoodlesPhoto courtesy: GulmoharDoodles

No wonder, whenever I see my daughter’s fluffy round cheeks, an instant feeling of biting those comes in my mind 😉 I have resisted from doing so by pampering myself with some kachories. Forget the calories, just gulp and enjoy 😀

I believe that this humble soul, can create that urge in your tiny heart to come visit that land from where you belong to once again. To come and get pampered, love and relate to it again and see what you have been missing this entire time. It can remind you to take a moment, relax, take a deep breath and cherish the moment. I invite you to Jharkhand, live in it, cherish its humbleness, it’s beauty and the unadulterated serenity. Don’t just believe me, come, find it and discover it yourself 😀

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