Some stories never end. Some journey’s do not too. But when stories and journeys
come back home to nest, they have a tales to tell. Anisha Mendes, is a
journeywoman, who is, in a cute sense, a “Mistress of Spices” in the
mode of Tilo the lead actress in Gurinder Chaddas “Mistress of Spices” movie.
Mendes, a Hyderabad born, of Hyderabadi and Goan parents, and Delhi- St
Stephens and all that- raised, realised that much of her life’s journey was
around food and spices. What else would you expect of such impeccable lineage?
And when she returned to Goa, she took over her
granny’s ancestral home on one of the tucked away lanes in Saligao, bathed in
sunshine and covered in shade and immersed herself in the world of spices,
drawn both from Goa, and Hyderabad. Saligao Stories is a journey of spices,
much like Tilo in ‘Mistress of Spices’ , Anisha, with her vintage
cooking, much inspired by culinary traditions of both Goa and Hyderabad,
transports us back in to a very desirable culinary past of both these lands.
In Chadda’s film Tilo (Aishwariya Rai) an immigrant
from India runs a spice shop, gives spices to her customers such as sandalwood
to dispel painful memories and black cumin seeds to protect against evil eye,
with a hint of predicting the future. Mendes isn’t quite that clairvoyant
except that she does know the effects of good spices in Hyderabadi and Goan
cooking in folks she feeds, and their great strength and incomprehensible power
in the lives of those who love to sample them, like this humble wanderer.
Midweek last week, yours truly had a sudden bout of ‘haleemitis’–
the craving for haleem ( an euphemism for a sudden urge to sample
delicate preparation of meats consumed by Nizams and nawabs). Project Saligao
stories was initiated, a drive undertaken to eat haleem. That in a sense would
be doing injustice to the repertoire of hyderabadi cuisine, the mistress of
Spices doles out but when pinpointed pangs arrive, kings and commoners become
one. But this does take some work and step by step cooking. Wheat, lentils and
shredded meat cooked over night with the meat hammered continuously. It comes
in a handi with fried parathas, a complete meal by itself. But
can indulgence be far behind when a meal of this nature has commenced. At
times, stories happen without a script as this story of the mutton chutney at
Saligao Stories. One of the chefs of Saligao Stories while cooking korma over
fire forgot to turn off the heat till the mutton disintegrated into complete
shreds. While the team at Saligao Stories were wondering what to do with this
“accident” Anisha’s mother came up with a practical veteran’s advice. She asked
for ambade and gongura flower to be added to the disintegrated
mutton and slow cooked for eight hours, spicing it with red chilli, tamarind
and pure ghee. Ambade is a green hard fruit with a tangy taste also
called hog plum in English.
As it happens often in culinary journeys, (and in life) accidents or necessity
(as in the case of the Kakori kebab) give birth to iconic dishes. The birth of
the “mutton chutney” could well be a path breaking accidental innovation which
history will raise a toast to.
Goa really is full of such stories and this
gatherer will bring many of them for you. And food is as much about people as
about spices. And the stories of people marinate so well with the story of
food. In the coming weeks, this column plans to seek out two extremely
interesting people whose stories promise to be as flavourful as the food they
have brought to Goa. In Anjuna, a Japanese duo has started a non-descript,
without frills, japanese eatery while Chef Sohan Ahluwalia has opened Bistro
Bourbon Street on North Goa’s sands. He ran Bistro Bourbon Street in Tokyo for
18 years. We are sure it is the journeys of Chef Ahluwalia and the Japanese duo
that make their cuisine. Here’s a pre-toast, as we raise our glasses to some ‘sake’,
(Japanese rice wine) to them.
