Nuakhai Juhaar and Sambalpuri Aamil
Nuakhai is
celebrated with festive fervour in western Odisha and by migrants therefrom in
several towns and cities of India and the world. Ma Samlei, a manifestation of
Devi and the presiding deity of Sambalpur, is worshipped after which the entire
extended family meets at the family patriarch’s home to partake the prasad and
the lavish vegetarian meal- arua rice, moong dal, aamil, tarkari, bhaja, manda
pitha, mugabara, and khiri.
After the hearty meal, it is time for Nuakhai Bhetghat. Younger ones offer their salutations to elders who shower their blessings; past rivalries and animosities are forgiven and forgotten as warm greetings are exchanged by one and all. It is a day of rejoicing for the family and the community.
In the
afternoon, when dhols boom on the village streets or in an open ground, young
people break into joyous dance and song.
Nuakhai is
now celebrated the day after Ganesh Chaturthi, on Bhadrapada Shukla Panchami.
It is a kind of advance thanksgiving to Mahalakshmi to bless the farmers with
an abundant crop, and all homes with enough food during the coming year.
Kharif paddy
is the primary crop in western Odisha, and rice the staple food. However, paddy
is ripe for harvest only by November; and in September when Nuakhai usually occurs,
paddy may have begun flowering with a few ears with a little milk, but it would
take time for grains to form. To have a little new rice for the puja,
panchamrit, and a few grains for khiri; a few plots with assured irrigation are
planted earlier than usual.
Nuakhai in Sambalpuri- Nabanna bhakshana in heavily Sanskritised chaste Odia, Nawakhai in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Maharashtra- literally means partaking the new produce after offering it as prasad to Mahalakshmi or Annapurna, the Mother Goddess of plenty and prosperity.
We, too,
celebrated Nuakhai at Bhopal. Our children are too busy at work in distant
towns, so the two of us held the puja at home and partook the prasad and lunch.
Before that,
Sanjukta had cooked all the dishes- rice, vegetable curry, tawa-fried green
banana, suji manda, and khiri; and had arranged the prasad on a platter for the
goddess.
Yesterday, I
had told her that I’d cook aamil, the signature Sambalpuri sour and soupy
vegetable curry which is a perfect pairing for rice. I had bought saru (arvi in
Hindi, and taro root in English), brinjal, bhindi, beans, pumpkin, and tomatoes
which I carefully cut to appropriate size- bigger than curry-size cut.
No pressure
cooker. You can't dump all the vegetables at one go since each has a different cooking time. I used a kadhai. Poured about five cups of water, added turmeric. After
the water came near boiling, added rice paste to thicken the gravy. Spouse
looked askance, and commented, ‘I use besan.’
Added saru,
cooked it for 15 minutes; thereafter added in staggered sequence pumpkin,
brinjal, beans, tomatoes. Missed radish, not available in market.
When will you add curd, asked spouse? I don’t use curd for souring. Instead, added a few pieces of dried mango, diced bamboo shoot lightly roasted. Added salt. The whole process took nearly an hour. Whoever thought cooking aamil was easy? It needs great skill and much patience. Once done, seasoned it with garlic, panch phutan, a big dried red chili, and a bunch of curry leaves.
My aamil was
excluded from Devi’s prasad platter since I had seasoned it with garlic!
Before
serving, tasted the soup, added a little more salt; checked a piece of saru and
found it hard and inedible. Lunch had already been served, and spouse was
waiting. No time to make amends, segregated the saru pieces, and ladled the
rest into serving bowls.
How is it? I
asked.
Need more
salt, she said, without even a smile, and added.
Don’t see any saru, what happened? Still no smile, stern as the tough judge of Best Chef of India contest. No grace marks for the chef who made the dish after decades. Is that a frown? I now focussed on the aamil bowl and not on her face.
Saru quality is bad here, not as tender as back at home, I said. Why does a spouse fail to notice the partner's amazing talents shining bright like a 30 Watt LED Hammer bulb so close to her face, and is rather miserly when she reluctantly takes note once in a blue moon, I wondered.
Next time, I
will do better, I muttered under my breath; just give me easy-to-cook saru, fresh aamul (pickled tender green mango slices) and kardi (diced bamboo shoots), and a radish or two; but still won’t use besan or curd, I insist.
Nuakhai Juhaar
and Best wishes.
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