The winters used to be long and hard at Mukteshwar, a small hill station at around 8000 feet in the Garhwal hills, where I was born and grew up more than half a century ago. Hoarding foodstuffs – both basic and fancied – would start quite early in October. Barees and mangodis (lentil-paste dumplings, spiced and blended with grated cucumber or shredded greens) were mass-produced at home, vegetables were dried in the sun, potatoes and other 'starchies' were buried underground to be dug out during the snowbound months.
My mother sure knew how to transform adversity into delightful variety. Winter was when we proudly reclaimed and proclaimed our pahari heritage. Making a virtue of sheer necessity, our meals showcased the central Himalayan culinary repertoire. Watery aloo ka thechua, muli ki baant, gaderi ke gutke with jambu ka chownk, bhatiya jaula served with generous dollops of gaay ka ghee – all these ensured that the familiar delicacies prepared in times of greater plenty were not missed. We the children were regaled with folktales and snatches of songs, some of which would describe the ingredients of dishes that, to be frank, were something of an acquired taste.
It is not easy to sustain nostalgia triggered by fading childhood memories of meals in the mountains. We counted ourselves among the fortunate. Most others nearby lived hand-to-mouth all the year round. Food in the hill villages has always been frugal. The terrain is harsh, and it is difficult even after backbreaking labour to make the earth yield her fruits generously. Those beautiful terraces can be killing fields.
The hill folk have from time immemorial counted their blessings gratefully. The poet Gumani, who three generations ago was equally well known in Kumaon-Garhwal and in Nepal, penned a poem in the early 19th century that listed the highly valued delicacies of this region. The fruits mentioned are bananas, lemons, pomegranates, sugarcane and oranges, accompanied by thick rich milk and granular ghee. Pride of place is reserved for aromatic rice – boiled, baked or flattened, or fashioned into dumplings – completed by crisply fried leaves and tender stalks of arum.