Winter is coming and home chef Rummy Nagpal is ready with her Punjabi winter treats in Mumbai.

From home chef Rummy’s Kitchen

Winter is coming

I woke up at ten this morning and opened the bedroom door. Little Nimki and Baby Loaf were waiting right outside and trundled in and got onto the bed. I then stepped out of the room to feed them and felt surprised the moment I entered the hall. It seemed as if the aircon was on and I wondered how it was so. I then realised that the ceiling fans were on with the house help mopping the floor. The windows were open too and the breeze from outside, along with the fans, made it seem as if the aircon was on.

Winter is coming! In a Mumbai context of course. Don’t laugh Dilliwallahs!

Punjabi for Bengali

Coincidentally my lunch today was a ‘winter special.’ A Punjabi one at that. It was sent to us by home chef Rummy Nagpal who runs Rummy’s Kitchen. I had visited her house in Bandra for a lunch a few years back and have fond memories of the visit and happily said yes to her offer to send her ‘Punjab on your plate menu’ for a tasting.

Shalgam ka saag, wadi wala dal, saag gosht, wadi alu, sarson ke saag

Featuring in her menu today was the famous Punjabi winter combination of sarson ke saag (this was very mildly spiced, with the dominant flavours being that of the mustard greens and ginger strips in it), makki di roti (made with corn), gud (jaggery), chitta makhan (white butter) and shakkar. 

She had also sent wadi wali dal and wadi aloo. The Amritsari wadi is a heavily spiced wadi (hard dumpling) which is broken and added to dishes. I had bought it during my trips to Amritsar but did not really cook them well. The ones from Rummy were beautifully cooked and the flavours had gone into each dish. The dal and the one with potatoes tasted different from the other. The potato one was more mellow and mildly sweet and felt very nurturing. The one with dal was more robust in flavour, but pleasantly so. 

She had also sent a dish called shalgam sabzi, turnip cooked in turmeric. Rummy told me that it is called shalgam ka saag in Amritsar and is sought after in winter. This I think needs a bit of getting used. 

There was saag mutton too. Made with mustard greens instead of the usual spinach and in which the meat was most tender. The food was cooked in ghee and had more the feel of Punjabi home cooking than that of its dhabas.

Bengali for Parsi

The use of tomatoes and more so, cumin and coriander, could admittedly lead to protests at the Brigade Parade ground in Kolkata by my fellow Bengalis, but the ginni approved and that’s what matters.

Like most Bengali women, the Parsi at home loves the lyaja (tail) too.

Rini Chatterjee told me on Instagram that this was her favourite ‘winter jhol.’ What a lovely coincidence. I had not thought of this as a winter dish.

Didu’s Delhi memories

I should get a Nobel for trying to plate and click food with our little Catatouile around!

I called my grandmom in the evening. She was not keeping well and I was relieved to hear that she was a bit better today. She feels good when I call her, just as does my mom when my niece calls her. I spoke to didu about what we had at lunch to distract her, and then the cats.

She was tickled to hear that K enjoys the lyaja of ilish. Especially since it is bony. “Most of our (Bengali) girls don’t have it these days. I guess she uses both hands to removed the bones.” The smile on her face was audible.

She said that even salt, turmeric and chillies are enough to cook ilish with when I told didu about my rather simple recipe.

I then told her about my Punjabi lunch and she remembered her time in Delhi from when she lived with my dadu (late grandfather) who used to work there, raising their kids together.

“Things are different with pressure cookers now. Back then people would put sarson ke saag in big pots and put them on a coal stove and it would take almost a day to cook. As did the wadi which I had bought and then gave up on as it took so long to cook. The ghee there was from mosher doodh (buffalo) and not gawa (from cow’s milk).”

I then told her about the #kittykarmakars and about Nimki’s love for ilish. The name Nimki had not registered before with her and on hearing it, she said with a laugh that Loaf should have been called ‘goja.’ The other snack that you get in Bengali sweet shops.

The name Nimki is of course based on fond memories of the kucho nimki that didu would make me till recently. She is 92 now but her memory and spirit is sharp as ever. Sitting here one can only pray for her health to be good and spirits to be high. I hope you would too.

Contact for Rummy Nagpal. Her menu changes every week.