Flavours Of Dogra Life Through Utensils

Renu Bhran Visiting one's ancestral house located in some far flung serene and beautiful hilly-village; frolicking in natural surroundings filled with fragrance of flowers; taking dips in clear waters of flowing stream; sitting with parents and grandparents and relishing traditional food served in traditional utensils! Isn't the scene perfect? Any city dweller will love to break the monotony of life in such a way.

But such a scene is not common in present times, even in villages.

Like the family bonds which have weakened and changed over the years, the way of life and tradition has also undergone much change.

The villages also have not remained untouched by these changes.

No doubt life has changed in the present times but the charm of old things has not faded a bit.

Just a little glance at the age old items and they can captivate easily even if dust has settled on them.

Consider the traditional Dogra utensils.

Made up of copper, brass and alloy Dogra traditional utensils still have importance of their own.

Though there are not many households in Jammu city where one can find Dogra utensils still in use yet the people in Jammu villages still use them.

However, in village kitchens one also gets to find steel utensils and porcelain bowls etc along with the metallic traditional utensils.

The Dogri names of traditional utensils which were once used in every Dogra household and are still used in some homes daily or occasionally include- adni wale glass, garba, katoriyan, tarambari, thaliyan, katore, karahi, sagla, degcha, parthi pateeli, etc.

however, there exist a little variation in the names of these utensils.

A large round shaped container made of brass is called 'sagla' in some areas where as in some areas people call it 'baltaou.' Majority of these utensils were made of brass, bronze or an alloy which is called 'kain' in Dogri.

The traditional utensils though have a long life yet they need maintenance.

From time to time they need to be plated.

Moreover cooking in them requires more fuel.

It is said that the taste of pulses, especially daal- mash, cooked in parthi pateeli or degcha, which is also called deshka, is incomparable.

The flavour is the result of metal of the vessel and the medium heat of the wood- fire of traditional stove or chulha.

Parthi pateeli or degcha has thick bottom so it takes time to the cook pulses in them but the end result is always enticing.

Women would cook daal in an earthen 'kunni' also.

Earthen pot or kunni is also used for fermenting curd.

Katora, a kind of bowl, is used for putting curd, milk or kheer.

Mothers would lovingly give rice mixed with milk and sugar put in a 'katora' to their kids.

Katoras were of different sizes.

This is one of the least used utensils in the present times.

It is a saying in Dogri that one should not sip water slowly and with breaks.

Rather in one gulp the liquid should be finished.

If someone challenges you to drink a glass- full of water in one gulp from a traditional Dogra -Adni- wala- glass' then think twice before you accept it.

Take a look at one such drinking glass.

Its size will never encourage you to do so.

A traditional tumbler may hold half- a- litre liquid in it.

Different designs were carved on them.

Though not all tumblers have 'adni' (adni is a foot or stem below the tumbler that ensures its balance) yet they were famous and more preferred ones.

For children there used to be tumblers of smaller sizes.

Once filled, one did not need to refill these glasses.

To pour water into glasses Dogra people would have a metallic jug, gadwa or a Ganga- sagar (a jug of a specific design).

Ganga- sagar was especially used when guests were served or during some special occasion like marriage or some other ceremony.

Though children as well as elders in cities have forgotten the taste of sweet and salty 'babroos' but there was A time when women would knead dough in a 'tarambari', a wide container made of brass or 'kain', for making them.

The dough was kept for fermentation before tasty 'babroos' were made out of it.

Dogra food is simple food and not many spices are put into curries to add flavour.

But there is no dearth of variety in Dogra sweet or salty dishes.

Among the popular non- vegetarian Dogra food items one is 'Khatta meat'.

For khatta or sour flavour 'ambchur' i.e.

mango powder is added into meat while cooking.

This non- vegetarian dish is particularly cooked in oil where as other recipes of meat may include ghee instead of oil.

Khatta meat is usually cooked in a 'karahi.' Among the tangy curries another traditional item is 'ambal.' Ambal is particularly prepared in an iron- karahi.

It is said that best flavour of ambal can be expected only when it is prepared in a karahi made of iron.

The bigger sized karahi is called 'kara' and 'karata' in some places in Jammu region.

After the food was prepared it was served in a particular style.

Women of the household who cooked would serve it first to other members of the family and eat later.

Rotis, rice were served in 'thaliyaan' and curries in 'katoriyan'.

Thaliyaan and katoriyan were also made of brass or 'kain.

Katora, pateeli, karahi, garbi etc were the utensils that were found in household kitchens where as the utensils used for cooking food during some ceremony or marriage function were of bigger size but they were also made of brass or 'kain.' Large pitcher shaped vessel called 'sagla' in Dogri was used to cook most of the dishes during a function.

'Sagla' has round bottom and small mouth.

These vessels are still used in Jammu villages where as in city areas they are seldom used now-a-days.

The reason is that more fuel is required to cook food in these vessels.

Ambal is also neither cooked in traditional way nor in traditional utensil in cities.

Utensils like sagla, karata, kardch etc and other bigger sized utensils had their requirement in villages in earlier days because of joint family system and zamindari system.

In several villages in Jammu region the zamindars or landlords would put a large number of labour for harvesting.

These workers were usually given food and paid in kind instead of money.

Food was cooked by the household women and special cooks.

Those would be the busiest days for the entire villagers as majority of them either worked in fields or got work done in fields by others.

Utensils once bought for this purpose would be used for decades as these metallic utensils had long life.

Now that zamindari system exists little, the traditional utensils like sagla and karata have also lost their much use except during marriages or other ceremonies.

It is quite interesting to know that these utensils are shared by people in villages.

As far as cities are concerned these utensils are not used now.

These days one also does not find traditional utensils in all city shops.

Though people still give some of traditional utensils to their daughters in dowry but their demand has drastically fallen.

Now in a city shop one hardly finds a bigger sized sagla or thaliyaan, however, one exception is there.

A hundred year old 'sagla' which is moved with the help of three people is kept daily outside a utensil shop in Hari Market in Jammu.

The owner of the shop informs that it was bought at the cost of Rs 15 and now its price is approximately Rs 12,000.