Friday, July 22, 2016

Bhakri Ballads for a Rainy Day


My friend Saee Koranne-Khandekar recently posted a photograph of an "infused Jowar Bhakri";  which is like a  jowar bhakri  made from jowar dough  which is spiced up and revelling in its garlic, chilles, fenugreek and ajwain additions. Patted/rolled/cooked and blooming on a blue flame, there is nothing better than this with a dollop of butter and a bowl of dahi, on a Mumbai monsoon morning.

Saee has recently authored and published a book , "Crumbs ! Bread Stories and recipes for the Indian Kitchen", which contains  exhaustive information and recipes , on Indian "breads" , (like bhakris/thalipeeth et al )  besides what  we may call western breads.  All this, complete with memory narratives that take you right into childhoods and the family kitchen. 

As she says in her post "PS: Recipes and tips for the perfect Bhakri and lots of such variations (and a chapter on my grandmother's childhood memories of the Bhakri in my book, Crumbs!"

A bunch of enthused ladies augmented her post with their own ideas of enhancing the original Jowar Bhakri.  I happened to mention recycling a Baingan Bharta within a Bhakri, and then someone mentioned the Ghatotkach Bhakri. 

Just reminded me of something.




चुलीवरचे महातवा युद्ध.
आत्मसंतुष्ट घडीच्या
कौरव पोळ्या , पुर्या ,
आणि टम्म भरलेले भ्रष्ट दुर्योधनी पराठे.

आणि मग एकीकडे,
वेळीच कामाला येणारी
पांडवांची जोंधळी सेना.

स्वच्छ, स्पष्ट , कदाचित भोळ्या,
साध्या युधिष्टीर भाक्र्या ,
रेखीव पर्णयुक्त, कधी कधी तिखट,
नेमक्या चवीच्या अर्जुन भाक्र्या..
शक्तिमान उडीद आणि सत्तू युक्त
बलशाली भीम भाक्र्या..
थोड्या कमी आडदांड,
पण लसूणी शेपू मेथीवाल्या नकुली भाक्र्या,
आणि लक्षपूर्वक
मेथी, लसूण, आणि ठेचलेलं आयुष्य
पारंगत सहदेवी भाकरीसंग
घालवणाऱ्या
मिरच्या आणि ओवे .

मग जोंधळे सेनेच्या
तीळ पेरलेल्या
चक्रव्यूही युवा अभिमन्यू भाक्र्या ,

आणि शेवटी
अनेक फोडणीयुद्धातून "परतून"
वापस आलेल्या भाज्या आणि रायती
आपल्या कधी लहान,
तर कधी विशाल देहात
सामावून घेणाऱ्या घटोत्कच भाक्र्या.

महातव्यावरचे तुंबळ युद्ध ,
आणि
कौरवांचा तेल तूप शिष्ठाचार,
जोंधळे पांडवांच्या अग्नीवर फुलण्याच्या
तपस्ये सामोर कमीच पडला .

हो. जोंधळे पांडव जिंकले

आणि त्यांचे कृष्णसारथी
शेवटी आपले स्वाभाविक वैशिष्ट्य दाखवणारा
लोण्याचा गोळा घेऊन
आले हे सांगायचे राहूनच गेले .
The Stovetop Maha Griddle Wars.

Complacent, multifold
Kaurava Chapaties,
Puris ,
and
Stuffed, Corrupt,
Duryodahni Parathas .

On the other side,
standing up
to be counted,
the Pandav Jowar Sena .

Clean, succint,
straightly innocent
simple Yudhishtir Bhakrees;

Chiselled features,
leaf encrusted,
spicy just so, Arjun Bhakrees;

Powerful,
Udid and Sattu empowered
Super Bheem Bhakris ;

A bit less overbearing,
but garlic-dill-fenugreek
incorporated  Nakul Bhakrees ;

And some thoughtful
coming together
of garlic and fenugreek,
amidst chillies and ajawain
having a big crush
on Sahadev Bhakris.

And what do you say
about sesame-in-a-circle
dotted youthful Abhimanyu Bhakrees;

Last but not least,
encompassing
all the stir-and-cook-weary
vegetables  and salads
amidst his
sometimes small and
sometimes huge
magical body,
Ghatotkach Bhakrees .

Desperate wild battles,
and the
Kaurava protective OilGhee protocol
falls woefully short
of the
Bloom-on-the-Fire Expert
Pandav Protocol.

Yes. The Jowar Bhakri Pandavas won.

What I almost forgot to mention,
is that Krishna,
the Charioteer of Arjun,
was present for the celebration
with his
customary lump of butter.....

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