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Zainab and her Food Feast She is a
familiar face in many a Mumbai Bohra home, a small rotund figure, often
perched on a small stool as she stirs pots and pans fragrant with the aromas
of traditional Bohra food. For over 30 years when help is needed with home
cooked goodies for more than one thal, Mumbai mumins grab the phone and make
a quick call to Zainabben from Bhendi Bazaar. Her repertoire ranges from
salwaat ni rotis to kharas like white sauce cutlets; from excellent halwas
and malidas to paya, khichra, etc.,and she remains the few exponents of bohra
culinary practice that requires patience, painstaking preparation and
specific ingredients (no short cuts for Zainabbai) “I have been
working ever since I was a child,” she smiles. First it was in her home to
help her mother to makes ends meet, then after her marriage to make ends meet
for her own family. Either she took catering orders or made home made
masalas, pickles, snacks and went selling them door to door. Now her small
home in Behndi Bazaar is crowded with family and she’s too old to go shopping
for ingredients, so she prefers to cook in the homes of people placing the
order. Watching her
cook is a therapeutic experience. She goes about cleaning, chopping and preparing
with a thoroughness all but unknown to modern day cooks. Then she marinades
and cooks step by step, each step getting its due attention and cooking time
– she simply does not believe in short cuts. She is also emphatic about not
wasting, and uses all the material to the fullest. “I can make a tasty dish
with the driest left-over rotis,” she says. Now a widow, she
continues to have her share personal of ups and downs and age makes her
irritable and irascible. But she’s still used the blessings of her art to
educate and raise four children and now grandchildren – her daughter-in-law
died leaving a small child and now the little boy is the latest of her
responsibilities. But she is happy to cook up a great meal prepared in a fast
disappearing painstaking tradition, and certainly, I for one swear by her
“sola khichri!” |
