Perfect spell for a full-moon night

Pushpesh Pant

We, in India, have an obsessive fascination with what is referred to as ‘fair complexion’. No, we do not have a cosmetic application that claims to impart a tinge of whiteness to the skin, but are, at the moment, engaged with the celebration of white delicacies in our culinary repertoire. The month of Kartik, falling in sharad ritu and corresponding to October-November in the western calendar, is associated with the white spell cast by the autumn moon. There is this couplet from the Sanskrit work, Bhojprabandh, that recounts an interesting anecdote about the peerless poet Kalidas.

Legend has it that he was once living in seclusion, temporarily out of favour with the court, when a poor Brahmin, an aspiring poet, sought his help. He had composed a line in verse begging the king to provide him food enriched with ghee and lentil soup but didn’t know how to conclude the rhyme. Kalidas obliged by contributing the second line dazzling with one of his trademark similes. It added to the wish list curd prepared with buffalo milk, white as moonlight on an autumn night! Why go that far, doesn’t our National Song, Vande Mataram, evoke joyous images of blessed motherland bathed in enchanting moonlight? This, indeed, is the time to rejoice in beautiful white. Traditionally, Sharad Purnima was celebrated with an all-white menu served in the royal palace in the erstwhile princely states of Jaipur and Udaipur. This day, also called Kojagari Purnamasi, falls midway between the onset of Navratri and Diwali, a period of gay fasting and feasting. Images of Radha-Krishna enjoying the raas, expressing their celestial romance under the well-lit canopy of the sky, abound in miniature paintings of Rajput and Pahari style.

However, it is time to return to food. The challenge is to curate and create a satvik vegetarian spread that breaks the monotonous fetters imposed by orthodoxy. It isn’t easy to delight the discerning diners eschewing polychromatic recipes. To compose a ‘study in white’ that resonates with different notes of sweet and sour, and more, is not easy. We take great pleasure in previewing here one of Chef Nishant Choube’s creations paying tribute — to borrow from Kalidas — to Sharadchandra chandrika dhawalam dadhi! This globe-trotting celebrity chef is equally committed to reviving lost gems and using natural ingredients in harmony with region and season.

An auspicious sweet beginning to a celebratory meal is usually a spoonful of panchamrit, prepared with five ingredients considered pure and exceptionally nourishing. Nishant has improvised on this theme by assembling an ashtamrit in a non-liquid avatar that can serve as an overture to the snow-white symphony played to please the palate on a full moon autumn night.

Ashtamrit 

Ingredients:

• Hung curd (whisked well) 100 gms
• Gangajal 10 ml
• Tulsi patra (holy basil) A few leaves
• Ripe banana purée 20 gms
• Mango purée 20 gmsn Wood apple purée 20 gms
• Cow milk 20 ml
• Rock salt (stabiliser) 2-3 gms