It wouldn’t be a stretch to call food the lingua franca of grandmothers across the world. Their delicious concoctions are a quick fix to life’s curveballs. Feeling unwell? Grandmas have just the right prescription; a warm bowl of soup.
Had your heart broken? There’s nothing a batch of cookies straight out of the oven can’t fix. Have some good news to celebrate? There’s a pot of biryani (a South Asian dish comprising rice, meat, yoghurt, vegetables and spices) already brewing in the kitchen.
You’d agree that a meal from the kitchens of fine dining spots would pale in comparison to your grandmother’s food.
So, today, as an ode to nostalgia, we write about seven grandmothers who have taken their love for cooking to the next level and are feeding not just their grandkids but India too.
1. Harbhajan’s – Bachpan Yaad Aajaye
“Main ta kuch ni keeta, saara kam ta ghiyon ne keeta (I haven’t done anything, it’s the magic of pure desi ghee),” 97-year-old Harbhajan Kaur insists as she prepares her missa rotiyan (a nutty flavoured flatbread). Watching her roll the soft dough into perfect circles (that would give the roundest rotis a complex) is an emotion — perfectly captured in a reel on her Instagram page (@harbhajansmadewithlove).
This is one of the many instances where Kaur can be seen in action. A quick scroll through her page is bound to make you yearn for some of her delights. You don’t need to make your way to Chandigarh to taste them. Kaur’s bestsellers gobi shalgam gajar ka achaar (a pickle made with turnip, cauliflower and carrot), Amritsari mango pickle, and besan di barfi (a sweet made of gram flour) are available to order online under her brand name.
Get in touch here.
2. Pickled With Love
The pandemic was a harrowing time for many, especially those who lost their loved ones. Usha Gupta (88) was faced with the same fate when she lost her husband Raj Kumar. But even as she fought through her grief, the plight of the underprivileged did not escape her. Through Pickled With Love, Gupta knew she could tide through her grief by doing what she loved best — cooking, while also reaching out to those who needed funds and food.
According to their Instagram page (@pickled.withlove), proceeds from the business helped more than 65,000 homeless people across four cities to get their meals amid the pandemic. Gupta was supported by her granddaughter Dr Radhika Batra, a Delhi-based paediatrician.
Together the duo created a brand that prides itself on pickles and chutneys (savoury condiments). Their main ingredient? Love. Though having started with three flavours – khatta aam (sour mango), grated mango chutney, and gulabi meetha achaar (a sweet pickle), they have introduced a bounty of other flavours.
Get in touch here.
3. Ferns’ Pickles
Heritage culinary secrets rest in the sliced vegetables coated with spices and fermented ingredients that make up a pickle by Ferns’. The legacy brand dating back to 1937 was born out of serendipity when a woman Nataline Fernandes moved from Goa to Pune with her husband Benjamin, and began trying her hand out at pickles and preserves. They amassed great popularity among the British soldiers and families in the area.
In an interview with Scroll, Brian Fernandes, Nataline’s grandson recounted, “My grandmother started innovating and came out with the concept of ‘wet masalas’, which were bottled and sold at a time when people were still using dry powders for cooking.”
From brinjal pickle and mild mango pickle to hot mango kasundi (a Bengali mustard sauce) and vindaloo (a fiery, spicy curry) paste, the brand packs a punch in each offering.
Get in touch here.
4. Gujju Ben Na Nasta
Thepla, dhokla, sabudana khichdi, farali pattice — the menu at 80-year-old Umrila Asher’s snack brand is a vibrant one. When a series of misfortunes struck the family in 2019 leaving them financially unstable, Asher stepped in. What was once a passion project — pickles only being relished by her family — set the stage for a brilliant business model.
As her grandson, Harsh tells The Better India, “My friends and close acquaintances had always liked the food my grandmother made. But I never realised that so many people would go crazy over it. We sold 500 kg of pickles and started adding snacks, such as thepla (a popular breakfast flatbread), dhokla (a Gujarati snack made with fermented batter), and puran poli (a sweet flatbread) to the food list.”
Asher, meanwhile, is oblivious to profits. “I have no idea how much the business earns. My job is to cook fresh and quality food for the customers,” she stated. The octogenarian was even seen spreading smiles on MasterChef India Season 7 with her ability to blend modern flavours in heritage recipes.
Get in touch here.
5. Boju’s Kitchen
The story of Boju’s Kitchen is of a coming together of three generations, uniting over their love for momos. Translating to ‘Grandma’s Kitchen’ in Nepali, the endeavour shaped up amid the pandemic. That’s when 87-year-old Maiyya Thapa’s grandchild, Chitrangada Gupta, suggested they turn their talent for making momos into a home business.
The three women — Maiyya, her daughter Arati, and granddaughter Chitrangada — joined hands to create Boju’s Kitchen with an initial investment of Rs 2,000.
With people missing their favourite snack during the lockdown, the demand for Boju’s Kitchen momos soared. Chitrangada explains, “We also added steamed, pan-fried, deep-fried, and whole-wheat momos.”
Get in touch here.
6. Ammiji’s
Memories of drinking chai in her home in Amritsar formed the bedrock against which 96-year-old Rajinder Kaur Chatha started Ammiji’s. Recalling this anecdote to The Better India, she says, “I was married in 1948 and came to live with a stranger, in a strange house, and among slightly hostile strangers. In a world that was unfamiliar and sometimes heartbreakingly cruel, I sought comfort, which for me had always been chai. But I hated the chai in that house. It was a mud-like concoction, thick with sugar and devoid of flavour.”
So, on one of her trips to the spice bazaars of Amritsar, she bought a handful of spices and decided to concoct her own chai. This blended in with her mother’s chai recipe led to a creation that not just Rajinder but people across India began to love.
Her granddaughter Amrita Chatwal says that to date, they stick to the same recipe. Today, the menu also features shikanji (lemonade), bullet mirchi (a spicy topping made with red chillies, garlic and peanuts), Punjabi chicken pickle, and gudmirchi aachar (a green chilli pickle with jaggery).
Get in touch here.
7. Sweet Karam Coffee
The story of Sweet Karam Coffee is about a transfer of culinary secrets from one paati (means grandmother in Tamil) to another. Janaki paati would often treat her grandkids to kai murukku and nippattu (South Indian snacks) during their childhood years.
Such was the magic of these recipes that her grandkids wanted to replicate them and give people a taste of their grandmother’s magic. They quit their jobs to start Sweet Karam Coffee (SKC) with an investment of Rs 2,000.
“I oversee the cooking from time to time. I ensure no compromise there. Everything is made with love and care with the best ingredients — just like the way I would make for my own family,” says paati.
Get in touch here.
Source
Mrs N Fernandes: The woman whose pickles inspired Salman Rushdie and a legion of British soldiers by Zinnia Ray Chaudhury, Published on 2 June 2017.
Edited by Pranita Bhat.
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