Tal-Vat, Shing-Vat (coarsely ponded Sesame + Jaggery and Peanuts+Jaggery) and times when homemade snacks and meals were the only foods we knew. The snacks were simple and sustaining, leftovers were upcycled in the most ingenious ways. No packaged foods made way into our kitchens or larder.
Back in the early ’80s, these and Bhakhri Churmu (leftover Bhakhri/flatbreads crushed and mixed with jaggery and ghee) were the snacks that appeared in our tiffin boxes every alternate day. Mummy, who was in her mid-30s then was struggling with crippling Rheumatic Arthritis, while most girls my age were rebelling to stay away from kitchens, my father, younger brother and I were responsibly dividing our time in the kitchen. That is the reason my brother and I embraced cooking as life-skill rather than a mundane chore. The fabled and revolutionary Sumeet Mixer Grinder had introduced some fantastic new attachments and my father who till date loves shopping kitchen appliances and tools bought home a brand new upgraded Sumeet to help us three-speeded up our work. Certain kitchen tasks that needed to be finished before leaving for school at 7 AM became easy because of Sumeet. Whizzing up Tal-Vat, Shing-Vat, especially during winters and Bhakhri Churma, was our father’s favourite way of ensuring we ate fresh and our snacks nourished and filled us well. All he needed to do was crush roasted sesame in the chutney grinder, to it add some jaggery and crush a little further to have a crumble. To make the Shing Vat we follow the same process with roasted unsalted peanuts.
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