[Reader-list] Chouk Tshoont te Wangan

[Inder Salim]

Thanks dear
so many other details of my childhood and beyond possess me sometimes
like a ghost.

i am perhaps, not too interested to know the historicity of details
which are running inside me veins... they are there and hardly desire
any references,,, expression about them is because of lack...

I believe, we are already living in a porridge like situation, so what
is good and bad, speaking conventionally, knowledge of things hardly
changes the situation... memories are very profound....

besides that, i see of course, kashur wazwan, quite popular, but that
is just for them, ( THEM ) but for me, simple hakh and bate, some
pudne chatine with curd is something very fundamental to my idea of
kasheer.

It is not about vegetarianism, but about something which sustains me,
once in a blue moon, if there is a goshaab/matchigand/roganjosh , it
is wonderful, but for daily consumption, i would eat thok tshoont te
wangun instead of a regular wazawan.

with love
is

On Sat, Sep 4, 2010 at 6:38 PM, gowhar fazli <gowharfazili at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Dear Inder,
>
> I remember Tsok tsoont very well.  I used to climb a tree as a child, take mirchi and salt along with me and eat them right there!  It is a sensation that makes your mind come fully alive in an instant.  Never tried to cook wangan and sour apples though.  Thank you for the recipe.  Unfortunately people at home have cut down the 'low grade maharaji apple tree' apparently to stop shedding and the curse of having to rake leaves from the lawn.  I really miss the tree and the shocking flavor of its massive hard green apples.
>
> Interestingly the apple used to be a hit with the kids and often disliked by the adults exactly like snowfall. They used to say don't eat too many or you will get 'Kaambal', don't have an English word for that disease nor do i know exactly what it means.  Sounded scary enough to act as a temporary deterrent  though.
>
> Also I wonder why the name maharaji was ascribed to the apple?  Did he like them too or was he responsible for bringing the variety to Kashmir or was the name given to the 'low grade apple' to cheekily lampoon him?
>
> --- On Sat, 9/4/10, Inder Salim <indersalim at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> From: Inder Salim <indersalim at gmail.com>
>> Subject: [Reader-list] Chouk Tshoont te Wangan
>> To: "reader-list" <reader-list at sarai.net>
>> Date: Saturday, September 4, 2010, 12:51 PM
>> Chouk Tshoont Te Wangan
>> ( sour apples and brinjals )
>>
>>              For S
>>
>> Cook tonight few Majarej Apples with Brinjals,
>> You may know, these days
>> how nostalgic i am about my past in Kashmir.
>>
>> They are round, with red on cheeks.
>> But look-wise they are simply 'countryside'.
>> A simple bite would paint your teeth,
>> with a thick layer of iron compound.
>> That is raw, but if coocked, it is different.
>>
>>  A 'maharaej' is still there in each orchard,
>> But like a scheduled caste, usually
>> offered to cows, if production exceeds..
>> Elite vendors, you know dont
>> let them sit next to 'Delishun', 'glas' or 'toung'
>>
>> 'Delishun' is grafted, but now it is fully Kashmiri,
>> so is the sound Maharej, although a little unkashmiri,
>> but quite embeded in the vernacular. Well
>> whatever the storey of  both,
>> I like Mahareaj, the sour one,
>>  which my mother once cooked with brinjals:
>>
>> Chouk Tshoont  with Brinjal:
>>  Ah, that taste with hot rice.
>> She never peeled while slicing them,
>> and i often asked for more, and she would
>> gladly fill my 'thal' with more.
>>
>> In Delhi, i saw Majarej only once, that too
>> on a raede, near seemapuri slum .
>> I instantly bought 5 Kgs in one go,
>> and offerend few of them to those who
>> merit Majareaj over other sugary ones.
>>
>> Never mind, if you fail to find a sour one,
>> to coock them with a brinjals
>>  for a kashmiri meal in your home.
>> Just wish me back in kashmir
>> to buy few for you.
>> They are quite travel resistant
>> and dont decay for long if stored at room temp
>>
>> .......................................................
>> Some words with meaning:
>>
>> Mahjaraj= name of the sour apple,
>> chouk =sour,
>>  tshoot= apples
>> delishun = deliscious sweet apple.
>> glas= cherry
>> Toung= pear
>> thal= plate.
>> raede = cart on four wheels,
>>
>>
>>
>> .
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> http://indersalim.livejournal.com
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> http://indersalim.livejournal.com
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