CHENNAI: When I was growing up, April was the month I looked forward to the most. My cousins and I spent glorious afternoons on the terrace of our grandparents’ ancestral home, squinting under the sun, listening to the twittering birds, and watching the large jackfruit and tamarind trees shimmering, declaring the arrival of summer.
Also jostling for our attention, the mango trees blossomed, filling the air with the rawness of its fruit. At the other end of the terrace, sitting around heaps of raw mangoes freshly plucked from these trees, our mothers, aunts and uncles exchanged juicy bites of family gossip. In another corner, paati exercised her arms in laying out vadams, vathals, and slices of lemon, tomato and gooseberry to dry on thatha’s white cotton veshti. And our task was to keep the usual thieving birds at bay.
Summer rituals deserve that extra bit of praise, don’t they?
While this year’s summer arrived with a pall of coronavirus-induced gloom, the spirit of Chennai folk, however, seemed to hand out a promise of not losing this tradition to a pandemic. Soaking in this sunshine, the city began preparations for its version of preserves for the year.
Pickling memories
“Lockdown or not, certain things don’t change. I began with my usual pickle-making process in the first week of April. My daughter-in-law, daughter and grandchildren helped me this year. What used to be a solo ritual turned into a family bonding exercise and I’m grateful that this generation is getting to enjoy these activities. We’ve made gooseberry, lemon, raw mango and vegetable pickles. I’ve also made vadam (rice crackers) using rice, sago and maize, because I had an extra set of hands to help me out,” says 80-year-old Bhooshanam B, who has been labouriously but lovingly continuing this summer ritual for the past 50 years.
This year, however, Bhooshanam’s duty has been simply to guide and monitor. Division of labour was introduced. The grandchildren —Karthik, Nisha and Chandru — were tasked with washing fruits and vegetables for making pickles. Her daughter-in-law Shanmathi sliced and marinated them; her daughter Sithara mixed the pickle in vinegar and filled them into jars with labels for each. Usually, when the pickle is ready, the grandchildren deliver the goodies to friends and neighbours. “This year, due to the lockdown, we could distribute the pickles only to a select few. Also, I couldn’t get access to the usual variety and quality of vegetables. We’ve prepared a batch with whatever was available and stocked up on pickles for the next few months. The kids realised how difficult and time-consuming pickle-making is,” shares the octogenarian.
Family recipes unlocked
Pickles, preserves and podis are not just condiments. They are emotions. And no one knows this better than our grandmothers and mothers who have guarded their heirloom recipes close to their heart like a family member. So, being party to this secret required consistent display of enthusiasm and the promise of never failing the recipe. But in the case of sisters Sundari Raman and Shwetha Raman, it took a pandemic to convert the new homebirds into kitchen ninjas. “Both of us have been wanting to do this every year. We just procrastinate in the name of work.
I’m usually busy with taking summer coaching classes for students and Shwetha has a morning shift. This was the first time we were involved in the making process and it’s been completely worth the effort. We’ve made hand-pounded garlic powder, sambar powder, and chutneys and thokku made of watermelon and orange peels. Cauliflower and peas pickle has been our family’s heirloom recipe for many years. We’ve made many jars of it and given it to our neighbours. There’s a certain sense of satisfaction when you make everything from scratch. This has been of great help to amma as well,” says Sundari.
Ditching comfort
Brothers Bharat Ram and Ananth Ram have been using this quarantine to commune with spices and all things summer-nice. “This lockdown has been an eye-opener to us. Our parents stay in Madurai and we’re stuck in Chennai. Both of us work at an automobile firm. We usually take a summer break and go to our hometown for a week. Since that was not possible, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to learn cooking during this time. Amma teaches us simple recipes over video-calls. Ananth is fond of pickles, so he made a simple cut-mango pickle; he also learnt to make onion crackers from dad, who is an expert at it,” shares Bharat.
Growing up, the brothers have seen the kitchen duties be equally divided between their parents. While their mother does the everyday cooking, their father anchors all the pickle and vadam-making activities. “We did not do even the basics such as washing mangoes when we all lived under the same roof. The situation has pushed us to step out of our comfort zones to get a hands-on experience. It’s been an exciting journey for two months now. We live in a single bedroom apartment. Some of the aunties in our neighbourhood appreciated us when they saw us drying the vadams, and fruit peels to make pickles on the terrace, early morning. We’re managing with minimum ingredients, putting them to good use,” shares Ananth, gushing with excitement.
Jars of nostalgia
For sisters Janani Ravi and Preethi Ravi, summer is about taking a break from being city slickers and visiting their hometown near Theni, to dig their teeth into their amma’s summer specialities. But caught in the confines of the lockdown, the duo has been eating bites of nostalgia this year. “Not a day went by without thinking of mom’s dry fish crackers and prawn pickle. I usually take leave for a week while my sister has a two-month-long vacation. She’d help amma with preparation from the first week of April. Back home, we live in an independent house and we’d keep the materials for drying on the porch, in the backyard and on the terrace. We do not get that comfort here living in an apartment. We’d bring back more than 10 bottles of these non-vegetarian pickles and boxes of vadams for our friends,” says Janani. Not willing to be separated from their staples, the duo decided to make their fix with instructions from their mother on video-calls.
“We made a batch of fish and prawn pickle along with rice and dry fish crackers. Mom instructs and I follow. Since I’m used to helping her often, I find it easier. She is equally upset that she wasn’t able to make pickles in large quantities and distribute it to family members this year. Mom’s pickles are sought-after by family and friends. But it was fun preparing everything from scratch. Non-vegetarian pickles are more time-consuming. We have to devein the prawn, grind the masala with roller stone (that we bought recently), marinate for weeks in oil and rock salt, and only then devour. The quality of seafood and cost also varies. Most of our meals comprise only pickle and curd rice. It’s filling and works out to be economical. It’s considered to be a divine combination even at home,” says Preethi.
Lessons for lifetime
The lockdown, however, has been a blessing in disguise for Parul Bhatt in fulfilling her summer duties. “The lockdown was announced just before we were to go abroad with my daughter and grandchildren who’d come for a vacation. What would’ve otherwise been a mundane pickle-making session was filled with laughter and enthusiasm shown from the little ones. I involved them in simple tasks such as cleaning, drying, that do not involve fire or sharp objects,” says Parul, who started her brand Parul’s Magic three years ago.
While the pandemic continues to stay stubborn, Parul’s plans are anything but foiled. Keeping up the annual tradition, this year too she prepared eight varieties of her ancestral Gujarati pickles, including mango, chundo, lemon, garlic, methiya keri, channa and capsicum. What’s special about them? They are all hand-picked seasonal vegetables pickled in minimal oil and seasonings. The feisty grandmom and her grandchildren have been busy separating the spices, scraping the peels of veggies and preparing them to dry on the terrace.
“This is the right age to keep children focussed and train them in the kitchen; they are sharp. They taste and tell me how much salt and spice is required. I’m passing on the legacy to my grandchildren, just the way my grandmother once passed it on to me. This lockdown is a gentle reminder for us to slow down, calm ourselves and get back to the basics,” says Parul. Truly so. Even as the COVID clouds continue to loom, this summer comes with a promise from these families that traditions and rituals emerging from the kitchen will always be pickled in the fragrance of legacy.
Minimalist staples
Pickles
Raw mango varieties, Cut-raw mango pickle, Grated raw mango pickle, Avakai pickle, Narthangai pickle, Lemon pickle
Vathal or rice crackers
Puffed rice vathal, Leftover rice vathal,
Sago vathal, Mor milagai,
Onion vathal