Parul's Magic: An Introduction to Gujarati Home Cooking
Microbiologist turned cookbook-author, Parul Bhatt’s self-published cookbook, Parul’s Magic, features 142 recipes drawn from her Gujarati heritage, many of which are heirloom recipes passed down through the generations.
Until very recently, regional cuisines in India were hardly known outside their home states. Today, while that has changed significantly, what is served at restaurants and eateries is hardly representative of the complete repertoire of a regional cuisine. And a case in point is that for many of us, we know little of Gujarati food beyond dhoklas, khandvi, theplas and shrikhand. Parul's Magic, a cookbook of “everyday, delicious, easy-to-cook Gujarati dishes” authored by Parul Bhatt, aims to change that. With a vast array of dishes, demystified for both novices and experienced cooks, she hopes to encourage readers to try their hand at Gujarati cuisine.
A microbiologist by qualification, and co-founder of the PR firm Prism Public Relations, Parul’s journey as a cookbook author began in 2014, on a visit with her older daughter Priyanka, in the US. Back home, her younger daughter Pooja, and husband Satyan, missed her food. “I would jot down simple recipes and send it to Pooja. She would try them out, and then call me to say it was an all-round hit! I worked my way to a collection of 60 recipes by the time I returned home. Then my daughters and husband told me to make a recipe book for their personal reference, and that idea took seed.” Parul’s Magic was conceived.
Besides cooking for family and friends, Parul also worked with chefs at the Taj hotel group, guiding them on the preparation of authentic Gujarati dishes for Dandiya nights. Subsequently, with the launch of her personal brand of pickles and masalas, her recipes being featured regularly in mainstream papers like The Hindu, The Times of India and The New Indian Express, a cookbook seemed like the next logical step.
With 142 recipes running the gamut from soups, kachumbers (salads), raitas, chutneys, dals, rice, khichdi, rotis, shaak (vegetable dishes), kadhi (made of buttermilk/dahi and gram flour), farsan (snacks), one pot meals, nasta (breakfast dishes), and mithai to masalas there is something for everyone. “In Gujarat, a daily meal consists of several traditional dishes which includes dal, bhaat, shaak, rotis or Indian breads (wheat, bajra, jowar and maize), chutneys, salads, pickles and papad, along with chaas (butter milk). Festival thalis will have additional varieties of shaak, sweet dishes and farsan,” explains Parul.
Describing the recipes in her book, she says “Parul’s Magic is not about fancy food. It is about traditional, authentic, homely food that you can cook week after week for your entire family without getting tired of eating it. Several are heirloom recipes, passed on to me by my grandmother and mother.”
“Food played — and continues to play — an important role in my life. There were always guests, friends and relatives in my parents' home, and a plethora of dishes that were cooked by the women folk of the house, many of them great cooks. The atmosphere at home was such that I was drawn into cooking like a duck taking to water.”
“There were many lessons to be learnt, as I watched them in the kitchen. My curious mind was full of questions, and I enjoyed lending a helping hand in my own small way — mixing and shaping those tiny ladoos during festivals, and making rotis of various shapes,” she laughs.
Parul’s paternal grandmother Menaba, who was a great cook, and holds a special place in her heart. “In no time at all, she would whip up delicious meals for the family. My first lesson from her was how to cook a healthy, nutritious meals with a few seasonal ingredients."
“I will never forget, one day my brother asked her for ladoos, and in ten minutes flat it was ready. It was simply amazing watching her go about it: She was making bhakri (crisp wheat flatbread), and took one hot bhakri, crumbled it and added jaggery powder and loads of white butter, mixed it well, shaped it into little balls, and placed them in our palms saying — eat this delicious ladoo. That memory is etched in my heart.”
By her teens, Parul began watching and learning from her mother. “She never used a recipe book, and would always encourage the children to try our hand in the kitchen and let it get messy. Her kitchen was filled with love. She inspires me to cook from the heart, which I hope to pass on to my daughters.”
Parul sharpened her skills as she began to cook when she left home for higher education. After getting married, she joined a large, joint family in Chennai, which proved to be the ultimate training ground.
Priyanka Bhatt, her daughter, describes her mother as the ultimate multi-taster. “Mummy has always been a fast cook because she had to go to work in the morning, and pack our school lunches before leaving home. She always had many dishes cooking at the same time on the stove, microwave and rice cooker. When she was at work on week-ends and we had to cook, she manage the kitchen, instructing and my sister and I over the phone.”
Parul Bhatt explains the basics of Gujarati cuisine, “Our food is predominantly vegetarian, and is unique in that each meal is an interesting combination of sweet, sour, spicy and pungent flavours, all together in a single platter. Gujarati cuisine is influenced by the four regions of the state — Kutch, Saurashtra, Surat and Central Gujarat — the climate therein, and the local produce. Each region’s food has its own unique flavour, varying primarily on the method and style of cooking. My book focuses on Gujarati cuisine mainly from Ahmedabad and central Gujarat, and the food of the Brahmin community of Ahmedabad in particular.”
Idada or white dhokla, made with rice and urad dal | Image from Parul’s Magic
She elaborates on the common cooking techniques used in the Gujarati kitchen: “Various methods like steaming, deep frying, roasting, direct cooking on a flame (rotis, bhakri which are staples) are employed, depending on the dish. Besides red chilli powder, turmeric powder, there is dhana-jeera powder that is unique to Gujarati cuisine, garam masala, methiyo masala (pickle masala), the signature addition of sugar or jaggery to shaak, dhal, and kadhi. And we’re partial to groundnut oil and ghee as cooking mediums.”
Gujarati vaghar, or seasoning, which lends that final flourish of flavour, is also quite different from other parts of north India. Tempering ingredients range from mustard, fenugreek, cumin seeds, ajwain, asafoetida, whole red chillies, whole spices, curry leaves, along with a pinch of chilli powder. Fresh coriander leaves are a favourite garnish.
In an age when people surf the net for recipes on their mobile phones, opting for a coffee table book format seems like a bold choice.
“When I started work on the book, the first thought in my mind was to popularise Gujarati cuisine, highlight its vastness, and produce a classy book, that anyone would be proud to own and pass on to the next generation. I also wanted my book to inspire conversation and be displayed on a centre-table, where guests are entertained. So we decided to make it a large-size book with tantalising photographs, and easy-to-read matter.” The coffee table book format also allowed her to tap into the festive and personal gifting market.
With encouragement and prodding from her mentor, the late Mr. S Muthiah, prolific author, better known as the master chronicler of Madras, who connected her with well-known cookbook author Chandra Padmanabhan (of Dakshin, Dosai, Southern Flavours, Southern spice, Simply South, fame), Parul began work in all earnestness in 2016. “Over those initial discussions, I understood that while Gujarati cuisine is vast, the food I cook at home had many takers. I also realised that the 60 recipes I had weren’t enough for a cookbook. I started documenting more recipes. The importance of accurate measurements, sequential listing of ingredients, instructions and photographs were among the early learnings.
Parul tested her recipes rigorously. “When I started writing the book, I would pack dabbas and send it to a few friends or call some Gujarati food lovers over for a meal and feedback. As a passionate cook, it is easy to dish out food. But writing a cookbook is a different ball game altogether. Selecting a dish and cooking it repeatedly until perfection is achieved, constant tweaking and rewriting, is what it is all about.”
Simultaneously, designing began. Parul was keen on using typical Gujarati elements, and finally, it was her bandhani shawl that was enlisted as a backdrop to the thali, on the cover. “The experience of writing a cookbook was enriching but also challenging, intimidating and tiresome. There were many sleepless nights, and I often felt like giving up.”
The other challenge came with photography. Finding a good photographer (the photographs were shot by friend and photographer Bimal Kumar who made his debut as a food photographer with Parul’s book), then prepping ten dishes at once, and ensuring they all appear fresh and appealing, is easier said than done."
And as with all projects, there were many times that life interrupted, demanding complete attention and forcing the cookbook to take the back burner. “In 2017 my younger daughter got married. A little after that, I had to travel to the US to be with my older daughter with her newborn. Then there was work related travel on my return. COVID-19 turned out to a blessing of sorts for the book. Everything else was on pause, and the book gained momentum. The first copy of the book was in my hand by Ganesh Chaturthi.”
Although the book (self-published and self-financed) has only been launched on social media, given pandemic restrictions, Parul has been greeted with a flood of appreciative messages from those who have bought the book and loved the recipes. Reader Anand Khara wrote in, particularly delighted to find recipes that are almost disappearing from Gujarati homes. “Some items like Laapsi and Vagharelo rotlo have disappeared from our menus completely. As also some simple but unique items like Puffed rice, cham cham, and leftover Rotli chivada”
With a vast collection of recipes, Parul Bhatt says she has enough for a second book. But the secret ingredient in her scheme of things, apart from a perfect recipe, is to cook from the heart.
Sudha Umashanker is a senior freelance journalist, author and columnist based in Chennai.
Parul’s magic is priced at INR 3,000. To order, contact 9841014925 or shop directly at parulsmagic.com
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