Culinary Chronicles
By Yasmin Rahul Bakshi
My memory lane terminates till the late seventies when not many vendors sold eats on the sides of the Mall Road and in Kulri Bazaar. Apart from a handful of “popcorn and bhel puri” hawkers abreast the Jhula Ghar.
The town was hygienic and unconfined those days as juxtaposed with current times. Less traffic with a countable number of Ambassadors and Fiats that rolled on the boulevards. Hand pulled rickshaws, trotting horses and baby strollers contributed to the mild congestion on the streets.
Out of many eateries, three were trendy for the food that they presented and the ambience they provided to the guests – Kwality, Whispering Windows, and Tavern. Much later in the mid-eighties, Hotel President of Dehradun introduced Snazzy during the summer months on the rear side of Living Literature on the Mall where, in the present day, stands a video game arcade.
Food in those good old days presented at these restaurants was classic with their own specialities prepared by the masters of gastronomy and served by self-trained, most professional staff. They acknowledged the regular guests and their preferences.
Amidst the tourist period, Tavern organised musical evenings with live bands while Whispering Windows hosted the “Miss Mussoorie” beauty pageant and dished up the finest “Ala Kiev, Fish and Chips”. Sipping a hot cup of coffee at a window seat in Kwality, overlooking the passersby on the Mall Road with a pacifying breeze kissing the face, would create a dramatic feel. Weekends, either Saturday for dinner or Sunday noon for a lunch, were reserved for a family meal at either of these places.
The long lost bakeries of Mussoorie have left an everlasting impression on the minds of those who have witnessed them. Burre Khan, Maula Baksh, Ghulam Nabi were the eminent bakers of the town who baked to perfection in the wood fire ovens with the purest of ingredients. The British touch was experienced in their recipes. Sober, yet delightful chocolate and pineapple pastries, butter and ginger cookies, cream filled unicorn horns or the cream rolls, “double roti” or the bread, and not to be missed – the stickjaws which could take away anyone’s heart.
Often bakers with metal trunk boxes filled with baked goodies on their heads were spotted ambling on the roads, like the mobile patisseries that vended the finest products to the school children, tourists and the locals. Somewhere in the eighties, Le Suisse came in. A panache and high-end outlet for bakery and confectionery that brought the modish products which appealed to the eyes and the palate. Perhaps the first in Mussoorie with the French hint.
Long back, on the Mall Road where Hotel Hammers stands majestically today with adjacent shops of attire, fruit and antiques, was a vacant piece of earth. During the main season, culinary artists from Lucknow would set up pop up eateries that served exclusive and finest delicacies from the kitchens of the Nawabs. An array of “kebabs, biryani and roomali rotis” with fresh mint chutneys and onion rings invited the aficionados of food to dine there.
Those were the times when the Indian fast-food menu was precise, here, disparate to the megalopolises. A handful of “halwai” shops marked their presence in the Pacific Bazaar of the town. Pampering oneself with the savouries and sweets crafted by the artisans was an ambrosial delight. The vibrant sweet meats with or without the veil of silver leaf over them were unquestionably luring. The steaming hot golden frizzled pastries or fritters on a frigid noon were parallel to a feast along with a few pieces of deep fried, syrup laden batter spirals.
Jamna and Sindhi sweet shops in Kulri, Omi and Hapurwala amidst the hustle-bustle of Landour, Delhi Sweet Shop at Picture Palace, and Lakshmi at Library End. One could swear by the “rasmalai and rasgullas” of Bengali Sweets. It used to be an exhilarating experience as a child to watch all these stores embellished on festivals. Stairs of sweets protruding out on the streets with bright awnings above, with the shop owners sitting in between, hurriedly packing the boxes. The aroma of these piquant savouries could captivate any onlooker to indulge in those or carry back home.
A stroll on a sunny noon around the Clock Tower or Kulri would certainly lead to the hubs of South Indian delicacies. Either Madras Cafe or the small restaurant opposite the Survey of India gate for the foremost “dosa and idli” with a coffee cuppa. The lingering aroma of paper thin, golden crepes paired with a stew of tamarind and vegetables accompanied by dips of coconut and onions or the steamed, light and porous rice cakes could entice any walker-by passing those quarters.
Yogurt and chutney laden “chaat”, spicy and tangy “golgappa”, taro and potato salads were available only at three sites – Mathura Chaat in New Market, Jagdish Chaat inside Rialto Gate and by Rajkumar in the premises of Picture Palace. The owners of these outlets recognised their patrons and the fondness with which they dressed the platters to serve was evident with their gestures and expressions.
Grievously, most of the above do not exist today but their mark still lingers in the reminiscences.
(Yasmin Rahul Bakshi is a food historian and an accomplished consultant Chef. A widely travelled Army wife from the Mussoorie hills with exposure to international cuisines & preserving recipes with the medium of food photography and digital content creation in the form of stories.)
