Feasting for the departed

I’ve never had to deal with death so up-close. Either I’ve been too little or I’ve been away from home to play any sort of role in family funerals. It’s only a week back that I've actually had to come to terms with a death at home. It can leave you feeling quite helpless and lost.

But, in the midst of all this grief what does happen is the coming together of people to comfort each other even if it’s for the briefest of moments. Family and friends descend and take charge of the variety of arrangements required for a funeral, with the centre of activity always being the kitchen.

Endless cups of tea need to be served; variety of meats need to be prepared; mountains of rice need to be cooked and more tea to be served again. Sharing a meal has got to be the most basic thing we all do on a daily basis but it’s in moments like these that it has so much more significance and so much more love.

And for this I thank all of you who were there in our time of need.

Lemon.....Onion Tea

 Onion tea

 5:30 pm and it was clearly time for some evening tea. However, with five cups of tea already had through the course of the day, it was decided that a cup of lemon tea would be the healthier option.

 Having placed the pot on the stove with water I went about adding a little green tea leaves and a teaspoon full of sugar. Lemon was always squeezed directly into the cup to make sure that the right amount of tanginess would be attained.

 July and the lemon season is upon us; the house is also full of lemons this time around. We’d been having a lot of family gatherings this past week so I was quite certain there were lemons stored in the fridge. I opened the fridge but didn’t see the lemons where they normally were; maybe they went bad and mom threw them out. Anyway, I thought I’d just go to the garden and pluck a lemon from the shrub; but then it was quite a walk and Sunday laziness came over me. I hunted hopefully in the forgotten corners of the fridge and to my joy…a bowl of cut lemons. However the bowl also contained onions, probably from the salad during lunch. Doesn’t matter I thought, I’d just wash the lemon wedge thoroughly with water and add it to my cup.

 Washing done, I took a sniff. No trace of onion. Great! Squeezed it into the pot of tea hoping that the boiling would remove any hidden trace of ‘onioness’.

 I pour my lemon green tea into my mug. The satisfaction of holding a hot cup of tea on a fairly pleasant evening is unmatched. I get comfortable in my chair and open a book; I take a sip….it tastes of onion. I have only myself to blame.

A house and a pizza lady

Shifting houses is no small feat. So after my mum moved into her new place we were all terribly tired but we were quite proud of the fact that we were able to do it in one day. (Three cheers to the church guys for doing all the heavy lifting)

So a few days into the new place, my brothers and I decided to order a pizza. When the lady on the other end of phone asked for the address I did my best to explain clearly, mentioning the landmarks nearby and the colour of the house.

 

The pizza and desserts arrived only after an excruciating hour because it began to rain heavily. After eating, when we were clearing the table I had a glance at the receipt and to my amusement in the address it was written White House, Shillong……..I had told the lady that the colour of the house was white.

 

An idiot’s guide to bitchi

Most tribal communities have their own form of liquor. It’s usually rice based and is referred to as rice beer in most places.

The Garo’s version is called BITCHI. The liquor is made from a combination of sticky and everyday/normal rice that’s left to ferment. The rice is placed in an earthen pot with a bamboo filter in the centre to collect the fermented liquor. This concentrated undiluted liquor is called bitchi or rice wine. After the bitchi is collected, water is added to the remaining contents in the earthen pot which thus gives rice beer or dika (this is what I’ve been told so do correct me if I’m wrong).

Friends who are regular drinkers of bitchi/dika have mentioned that one does not feel the alcohol’s impact when drinking it but the hangovers are pretty bad. So ‘dearies’, kindly drink with caution.

Where to get bitchi? There is no proper store from where one can get this local liquor, but residents of Tura usually go to the outskirts, to nearby villages to get them. And though I’m tempted to mention a few places I think I’ll refrain this time around as I don’t want to be pelted with pebbles from righteous teetotallers … ;-) (with due respect to them).

 

 

Another fun aspect of going bitchi hunting is that you get to meet really nice, warm and humble people from the village and you get to see their somewhat traditional kitchen.

Dambong (the mushroom)

Thatched sheds that look like button mushrooms give this tiny eatery its name Dambong (which in Garo means mushroom). I’d always noticed it while entering Tura as it’s painted blue, which is a stark contrast to the greenery around, but thought nothing much of it even though it was always filled with people. However, I was constantly hearing good stuff of a certain roadside place where the most amazing food was available.

 

 

 So after a trip to one of the many riversides that crisscross the Garo hills I finally landed in ‘the mushroom’. The hype that surrounds the place did live up. The chicken was cooked with loads of green chillies and onions, and it complimented the fluffy and soft paranthas that had just the right amount of oil.

 

Where is its exact location? Anyone entering Tura will spot the place as everything (well....almost) is painted blue. It’s in between Chasingre and Rongkhon on the left if you’re entering Tura. It opens from 6 in the morning to 7 in the evening. I’ve heard that their pork is also really good.

A bit of yesterday

There are certain kinds of food that can trigger fond memories.  For me the soan papri is one. These flaky sweets were one of my childhood favourites. Made from gram flour, ghee, sugar and what not, I’d stuff the entire piece into my mouth and just let it melt. They were usually sold from glass jar by the piece and I loved it when it was all the more crumbly.

 

 

These days of course it’s become a little more corporate with a number of respectable brands selling it, but I’ve always found the packaged ones a little too dense. It's not light and flaky like the ones from the glass jar. Thankfully the glass jar variety is still in existence and it’s sold for just Rs. 5 apiece.

Where to get the melt in your mouth variety: The ones I got were from Ringrey. His shop is just opposite the ladies selling the local vegetables. On the same point of the speed bump in Ringrey before ML restaurant.

 

My jakepma

We all get hungry at work. Some carry lunch boxes and some don’t. Well, I ‘occasionally’ wait for a certain lady to arrive. She doesn’t bring anything fancy but what she does bring are rice treats in all shapes and forms....from pitas, rice cakes and to my most favourite jakep.

 

 

Before you begin to think that pita is only some middle-eastern bread, stop right there. In this part of the world, pita is also a crispy fried treat made of sticky rice (menil). These sweet chewy delights are great anytime of the day with a nice cup of tea.
  

Jakep is also made from sticky rice but unlike the pita it’s not fried but rather toasted and has a sweet sesame paste for a filling.
 

Another great thing about this lady is that all the packaging is eco friendly. Everything is wrapped in banana leaf and secured with a bamboo strip.

 The first time I ate her rice treats I asked for her number as I thought it would be good to have it, in case I wanted to order for certain occasions. When I asked how I should store her name,  she told me to call her Jakepma (mother of jakep) :-)