A Taste of Gujarat with a Twist

Bhanu Hajratwala’s cookbook on Gujarati food catalogues traditional recipes and hidden gems from this popular, yet not widely discovered cuisine. Nidhi Chawla interviews the US based author. 

Bhanu Hajratwala, the author

Bhanu Hajratwala’s book ‘Gujarati Kitchen – Family Recipes for the Global Palate’ is a book for all Gujarati cuisine lovers across the world. The book is aimed at opening vistas for Gujarati food, made popular by the likes of Dhokla, Thepla and Khandvi, in more and more kitchens while also preserving traditional recipes which have never been catalogued before. So while you will find the usual suspects in Hajratwala’s book you would also realise there are many undiscovered gems of this increasingly popular cuisine.

“Surat nu Jaman ane Kashi nu Maran —The food of Surat is like dying in the holy city of Kashi (now Varanasi, in Uttar Pradesh). This popular saying praises the cuisine from the district of Surat in Gujarat. My ancestors came from this area,” says Hajratwala. Born and brought up in a Gujarati family on the Fiji Islands, where her ancestors migrated during the British Raj complete with their palate and cuisine, Hajratwala was like any ordinary girl with limited interest in cooking. True to her Gujarati DNA, food revealed itself to her during a cooking competition at a women’s club that she was invited to judge as a teenager, where she figured she could differentiate the tastes of the same dish prepared by multiple contestants. Learning continued in the kitchens of her mother and mother-in-law and what started as trial and error soon changed into seasoned cooking with exact measurements.

Over forty years of traveling and relocating from Fiji to New Zealand and finally to United States, Hajratwala kept evolving her techniques and food within the challenges that each location brought with itself, even with the dearth of Indian ingredients in foreign lands. A physiotherapist by profession during the week and a cook for a family of four by the weekend, she took to Gujarati and other Indian cooking for its ease and familiarity. Over time she found herself giving impromptu cooking demonstrations during their travel sojourns.

Bhanu Hajratwala signs copies of her book

We asked Bhanu what prompted her to write a cook book. “The recipes in this cookbook are our family favourites, and some are generations old. Many have never been written down before,” says she. “My inspiration for writing this cookbook came from our children who had grown up with Gujarati food. When they went to college, they would call home for recipes. One Christmas, they requested that I write a little Gujarati recipe book for them of their favourite dishes. This became an ongoing project for several years. Finally it materialized in 2011 when Westland-Tata approached me regarding a Gujarati cookbook. I was glad to accept their offer and submit my manuscript.” The book was unveiled in several cities in India and United States during 2011-2013 and has been received well across the globe with commendable reviews.

Using her experience as a benchmark, Hajratwala’s book helps every novice get started in the kitchen. She gives you tips on setting up a basic home pantry, descriptions and recipes of various ingredients, measurement guides, freezing techniques and also sample meal plans. The book has eleven sections covering starters and appetisers, main dishes — vegetarian and non-vegetarian — breads, rice, accompaniments, sweets, tea-time snacks, drinks and even mouth fresheners. Covering 85 recipes in this book, Hajratwala still has more kitchen to cover and is considering a sequel.

She shares with us one of her favourite recipes from the book

JINGHLANU SHAAK

Jingalanu Shaak

Shrimp Curry

Preparation time: 45 minutes

Serves 4-6

Ingredients 

2 lb shrimps, deveined, with shells on

10 cloves garlic, peeled

10 fresh green chillies, decapped

4 inch yellow turmeric or 1½ tsp turmeric powder

1 tbsp oil

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp coriander powder

½ tbsp cumin powder

1 tsp turmeric powder

2 tsp chilli powder

2 tsp salt

¼ cup + 2/3 cup oil

½ tsp fenugreek seeds

6-8 curry leaves

1½ lbs tomatoes, diced

2 cups water

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander leaves

1 tbsp chopped fresh garlic greens (if available)

Method

• Wash and drain shrimps. Set aside.
• Grind garlic, chillies, and fresh turmeric with 1 tbsp oil and lemon juice to make fresh seafood masala.
• Mix in coriander, cumin, turmeric, and chilli powders, salt and ¼ cup oil to make a smooth marinade.
• Marinate shrimps for 10 minutes or more (overnight in the refrigerator is excellent) and set aside.
• In a medium saucepan, heat 2/3 cup oil over medium heat.
• Add fenugreek seeds and let brown.
• Add curry leaves.
• Add diced tomatoes and let cook covered on medium heat.
• Stir often. Cook until most of the tomato water is boiled off and tomatoes are cooked, about 10 minutes.
• Add marinated shrimps and water. Bring to boil. Cover and continue to cook on medium heat until shrimps are cooked, 8-10 minutes.
• Remove from heat.
• Garnish with coriander leaves and garlic greens.
• Serve hot with chapatis and/or rice.

Note 

• Can keep in refrigerator for up to 7 days.
• Heat and serve.

Gujarati Kitchen is published by Westland (Rs. 395) and is available at most Landmark stores. To know more check out www.gujaratikitchen.com.