The Dogras are inhabitants of Jammu, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh with the majority settled in Jammu – the region that is the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir. In the earlier days, the dogras settled along the lower-lying Himalayan Shivalik Ranges and the area between the Surinsar and Mansar lake of Jammu. Interestingly, historians recount dogra to be a demonym for Dwigart Desh, which is what their land was called at the time. Dwigart Desh translates to land between two hollows in Sanskrit, the hollows being the two lakes here. As the mainland began speaking new languages, Dwigart Desh became Duggar Desh.
Now that you are acquainted with the geography, let’s talk about their food. In India, much like the right-wing and left-wing, there are rice eaters and there are wheat eaters but there are also households that alternate between the two in their meals. The dogras are centrists in that regard. Their street food hero is Kalari Kulcha, a soft leavened flatbread stuffed with a portion of kalari cheese that is fried until its exterior turns crispy, it is then halved and served with imli aur pyaz ki chutney (tamarind and onion chutney). Kalari is Jammu’s very own. It is a beautifully dense cheese crafted by the nomadic pastoralist communities of the region.
One of the rice dishes they love to cook is Meethe chawal, a preparation of parboiled basmati rice tossed into a pot of sizzling ghee, roasted cashews, almonds and raisins, finished with a generous addition of sugar and a few strands of locally grown saffron to lend a subtle amber colour. Sometimes they give dhooni to smoke the rice, in fact, dhooni is a common cooking practice in the region. You don’t need much for it, you and I could dhooni too – for this, a piece of charcoal is heated and then placed on a ladle, into which a good spoonful of mustard oil is poured, the doused coal is then placed into the dish and sealed with a lid for the remainder of the cooking time.
If you look at traditional dogri food, the thought process behind it is spiritual – they believe that food is eaten to please the body as a whole. So while you may think that it is just about vegetarianism, even then, not all vegetables make the cut. For example, Ambal is cooked with pumpkin, jaggery and tamarind, unlike most Indian dishes, it leaves out onion and garlic because they are believed to be energy drainers. You won’t find them in the multi legume and yoghurt based Madra either. But with time, as Rajputs and Muslims entered the community so did meat-eating. Dogras flavour meat with anaardhana (pomegranate seeds) which yields a tart and tangy tasting curry called Katta Meetha which translates to sweet and sour. Another running ingredient along dogra cooking is the faint use of coriander stems and cinnamon.
I cooked this dogri chicken curry and it was absolutely pleasant; a breather from the usual Indian fare which are masked by the taste of masala. A bowl of rice, a generous serving of curry on top and some papadoms on the side and I was set.
This curry is: Mildly spiced. Ultra delicious.
Dogri Chicken Curry
Serves 4
For the masala:
4-5 coriander stems
3 tbsp ginger garlic paste
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp coriander powder
2 tsp fennel seeds
For the gravy:
4 tbsp vegetable oil
4 cardamom pods
2 sticks of cinnamon
8 cloves
2 tbsp peppercorns
3 medium onions, finely chopped
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder or 1 ½ tsp of regular chilli powder
5 medium sized tomatoes, diced
Salt to taste
½ cup of water
1 kg chicken, cut into pieces (let the bones be)
Juice of 1 lime
A bunch of chopped coriander leaves
1. In a pan on medium heat, roast the coriander stems, cumin seeds, coriander powder and fennel seeds individually.
2. Add the roasted spices and stems to a blender. Add garlic paste and blend to form a chunky fragrant paste.
3. To start making the base, in a pressure cooker on medium heat, add oil. After a couple of minutes, once the oil has heated up, add cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks, cloves and peppercorns. Sauté for a couple of minutes and then add the onions.
4. Add sugar to the mix to get the caramelization going. Sauté for a few minutes.
5. Add the masala we prepared earlier. Incorporate all the masala into the onions very well.
6. Add turmeric, Kashmiri red chilli powder and tomatoes. Mix well.
7. Add salt to taste. Drop in the chicken and pour water over it. Give it a quick mix, and then close the lid. Fix the whistle.
8. Let the curry simmer until one whistle goes off.
9. Turn off the flame and let the steam out. Open up. Add a bunch of coriander and squeeze a lime all over the curry. The consistency we are looking for is close to something which falls off from a ladle but leaves some residue behind.
10. Serve with basmati rice or roti.
An alternative to using a pressure cooker, would be to use a deep pan with the lid on.
