What's cooking at Mumbai's Durga Puja pandals?

The second I took my first bite of Khichuri at a Durga Puja pandal last year I knew just what my Bengali friends meant when they raved about the dishThe Khichuri was cooked not to dazzle but to inspire perhaps spirituality with its simplicity mdash it had been freshly prepared that morning and had acquired a comforting creamy consistency The Subzi of cauliflower and spinach was flavoured lightly The Begun Bhaja fried brinjal too barely contained any masala but could give any fried comfort dish a run for its money I remember the tang of the sweetandsour Tomato Chutney and the comfort of the PayeshThe bhog says food columnist and blogger Kalyan Karmakar is meant to replicate a fullblown Bengali meal ldquoUnlike the Ganpati pujas during Ganeshotsav which are widely held around homes as well as in pandals Durga Pujas are largely community affairs So traditionally the idea was to keep the meal simple inexpensive but representative of the Bengali cuisinerdquo he saysThe Khichuri acquires its taste from cooking in its own heat for hours after its preparation believes Karmakar ldquoThatrsquos also why the same dish at home tastes so very different from the one yoursquod have at a pandalrdquo he saysKitchen experiments If you ask 38yearold Tapan Sahai hersquod say ldquoTry as one might it is impossible to replicate the taste of the pandal Khichuri at home because the goddess blesses it sordquoEarlier this week I meet Sahai the caterer at the Bengal Club pandal at Shivaji Park In the makeshift kitchen set up outside the clubrsquos hall is food being cooked for 2000 visitors for that night He eggs on a cook to add some more ghee to a gigantic vessel of Khichuri which will be served as bhog for the goddess for the Amavasya pooja that evening and every day during the Durga Puja at the pandal Sahai astutely eyes the contents of another vessel and asks a cook to stir the cauliflower in it and let it simmer before adding the brinjal to itTapan Sahai prepares bhog He believes the secret to a delicious Khichuri lies in the timing one puts the ingredients in PICSATYAJIT DESAIIt is too soon to tell but the large canopied space near the Devi temple at Shivaji Park will soon resemble Kolkatarsquos 200yearold Kalighat Kali Temple At least 100 workers mdash some hammering away on the scaffolding others ambling around during their break mdash will transform the space for the Durga Puja celebrations by the Bengal ClubSince a decade Sahai has been feeding thousands of devotees who come to the Shivaji Park pandal The numbers have swelled mdash Sahai began by serving bhog to 2500 visitors daily and now cooks for 7000 for three days each mdash but the taste and sentiment behind his Khichuri he claims is unchanged ldquoJust how much can one do with such a traditional widelyknown recipe one might wonderrdquo begins Sahai ldquoWhat sets the Khichuri here apart is knowing the precise minute in which each ingredient must be added to the dish Ek alag cheez ban jaati hai a different dish emergesrdquo he reveals Only after the surti kolam rice moong dal and the masalas are cooked does Sahai add the ghee and garam masala to the KhichuriBhog typically comprises Khichuri Subzi Begun Bhaja Tomato Chutney and Payesh PICKALYAN KARMARKARSahai is all for experimentation even in the lineup for the bhog Usually the bhog here comprises Khichuri Begun Bhaja Labra Subzi made of cauliflower sweet potatoes radish spinach and cabbage Tomato Chutney Payesh and a sweet such as Mishti Doi or Gulab Jamun Until this year Sahai limited experimentation to the sweet dishes but this year he decided to push the envelope He will serve Mishti Pulao a paneer subzi and Mango Papdi Apart from the bhog eight counters set up across the pandal will serve vegetarian and nonvegetarian snacks such as Mughlai paratha ilish cooked in mustard mutton cutlets and so onldquoAll of this happened by chancerdquo says Sahai adding that he came to Mumbai 18 years ago after a fight with his father over poor grades in school He began working in a Dadar hotel as a helper and was noticed by a fellow Bengali who encouraged him to begin cooking for bigger hotels and catering too ldquoI havenrsquot been to the Durga Puja in Kolkata in almost two decades nowrdquo he says a tad ruefully ldquoI try to bring a bit of the city in my bhog thoughrdquo he saysHe sources his masalas and the surti kolam rice from Kolkata The cooks who set up counters too arrive from Kolkata a few days before the PujaCityrsquos oldestThe Bombay Durgabari Samiti which organises Durga Puja at Gowalia Tank is the cityrsquos oldest and prefers being lowkey as compared to other pandals in the city Convenor of the bhog Sajlendu Chatterjee says the pandal prides itself on its homely feelFor this pandal the significance of the celebration lies in bringing the neighbourhood together says Chatterjee On an average the pandal caters to 3000 visitors on the saptami and ashtami seventh and eighth days and the committee members here are closely involved with the preparation of the bhog ldquoThe women in the committee prepare the bhog offered to the goddess which is later mixed with the Khichuri prepared by our cooksrdquo says Chatterjee Unlike other pandals in the city the Gowalia Tank pandal does not serve nonveg and egg dishes or those containing onion and garlic even at the counters at the pandalThis year the bhog at the pandal will comprise Khichuri Phoolgobi and Mixed subzis Mango and Tomato chutneys Payesh Gulab Jamun and Boondi ldquoThere will be one counter set up in the pandal which will sell vegetarian snacks When it comes to food our bhog is the star of the pandalrdquo says Chatterjee