New book digs into the food, cultural traditions of the Kayastha community

Kalmi VadaTheres a story thatrsquos told in the Kayasth community about a 94yearold matriarch from Gorakhpur who had a peg of whiskey every evening till she died She would drink four bottles of imported Scotch every month Anoothi Vishal a Delhibased columnist and food writer heard this story through her friend who happened to be the matriarchrsquos granddaughter It was part of the research for her first book Mrs LCrsquos Table to be launched in the city this weekend This story is one of the many anecdotes that pepper this guide to Kayasth food and cultureMangori Matar ki TahirildquoI started looking at Kayasth food as a more intellectual exercise focussing on the history and sociology of food This was when I was writing a food column on the GangaJamuni culture which is a blend of Indo Islamic and colonial influencesrdquo says VishalMrs LCThe book is dedicated to her grandmother Mrs LC or Barima a gourmet and exceptional cook whose 20 recipes are strewn across chapters ldquoIf she was alive she wouldrsquove been amused with the book because growing up I was the least interested in the communityrdquo adds Vishal who started writing the book two years back A selfconfessed rebel ndash she didnrsquot approve of patriarchy or traditions mdash she believed this gave her a chance to view the community as an outsider ldquoI spoke to a few families for my research My family hails from UP and a few are from old Delhi so I wanted to bring out the families living in eastern UP Kanpur Lucknow and other unknown community centres in the IndoGangetic plainrdquo she addsAnoothi Vishal Pic courtesyKunal ChandraFood talesThe food is divided into three parts mdash the big ticket red meat dishes like Yakhni Pulao and Shammi Kebab the elaborately cooked vegetarian dishes bhuna or dum and the faux nonvegetarian dishesIn Kayasth households an entire strand of cooking was dedicated to faux nonvegetarian food ldquoMy theory is that because a lot of women were vegetarian and yet they cooked meat for the men in the house without tasting it it was natural to develop these dishesrdquo says VishalHer childhood was filled with many such dishes Kaleji ki Subzi made by soaking and grinding moong dal seasoning it with garlic and garam masala steamed in muslin bags and cut into dumplings and then cooked in a thick gravy Moong Dal Kofte mdash lentils sauteacuteed in ghee and gingergarlic shaped into little rounds fried and cooked in a gravy of yoghurt onions and spices and passed off as mutton kofte and Kele ki Machchli mdash raw banana lsquofilletsrsquo coated with gram flour and fried till crisp and simmered in a thick onion and tomato gravy flavoured with kasoori methi fenugreekFusion fareThe word lsquofusionrsquo is mentioned a lot in the book ldquoThere is a confluence of Indo and Islamic cultures from the food we eat to the way we dressed to even the language we spoke Urdurdquo says Vishal The community she says is known for its inventiveness and adaptability mdash the culture imbibed traditional Hindu beliefs Mughal pastimes the modern manners of 19thcentury Victorianism and the legacy of the RajThe book goes beyond just the food giving the reader a peek into festive and wedding traditions language colonial influences cultural superiority pressures to be accomplished in singing as well as in cooking and so on ldquoI wanted the book to be a comment of food but also an examination of a certain way of liferdquo says VishalKayasth cookoutVishal learned to cook as a child and on her 13th birthday supervised by Barima she prepared a meal for the family Though she rarely cooks Kayasth food except during her lsquoKayastha Khatirdarirsquo food popups her favourite dishes are the Pasande Yakhni Pulao and Kele ki Machchli