In this penultimate episode of our outstanding Kumaoni Food Series we are at Solluna Resort in Corbett National Park, where we have joined Executive chef Trilok Ji and Sous chef Deepak Ji for a cooking and tasting experience featuring some Kumaoni classics. It is a beautiful and serene property beside the Ramganga river that is by surrounded by dense emerald jungles.
For this we arrived at the makeshift kitchen set up in the lawn. The menu included bhatt ka jwala, gahat ke dubke, palak ka kapa, roat and lapsi. Deepak ji started with the making of bhatt ka jwala which is a thick and super healthy porridge made of bhatt dal paste and rice. This is a dish that is usually consumed by people suffering from a bad stomach or fever as it is easy to digest. Then he moved on to gahat ke dubke. This is a comfortingly thick lentil dish made of horse gram that is spiced up with onion, ginger, garlic and chillies. It is best enjoyed with plain rice. Both the dishes had an earthy taste to it.
Around this time Trilok ji joined us and showed us how to make another unique yet simple dish called palak ka kapa. It is essentially a thick curry made of spinach, fresh coriander, garlic and chillies. Its spicy and piquant aroma made us so hungry. Next they made the roat which is basically a festive sweet treat. It is a firm textured, shallow fried flatbread that has been sweetened with jaggery. It was infused with the pleasant aroma of ghee and fennel seeds. They also made another sweet dish called lapsi which is very similar to aate ka halwa. It is best enjoyed the roat just like the malpua and rabri combination. Trilok ji light heartedly mentions that it is only enjoyed by people have abundant supply of milk and ghee.
Finally we enjoyed this gratifying meal along with the genial chefs, sitting on a cot. the experience was enriched by numerous stories shared by them. We hope you enjoy this exploration as much as we did.