Koli Cuisine
Introduction
Food plays a fundamental role in all human cultures. It is not just a means of sustenance but also serves as a means of expressing oneself, connecting with others, and preserving the cultural history of a region or community. Generations pass down this way of life, an intangible heritage. Drawing from these historical and cultural roots, the food serves as a recollection of bygone eras, and simultaneously, the related cooking methods and social conventions provide invaluable insight into the values and material conditions of the people making it. Food promotes cross-cultural understanding and variety. Food can help people learn about and appreciate various cultures. In today's world, food frequently serves as the focal point of several social events like weddings, birthday parties, and get-togethers. Food preparation and sharing have the power to unite people and foster a sense of connection. Traditional cuisines frequently produce fresh, locally sourced ingredients using age-old culinary techniques handed down through the years. Consequently, they are typically higher in nutrients and healthier than processed foods.
The Koli fishing community is a remarkable example of these ideas put into practice. With the introduction of the Koli Seafood Festival in Versova in 2006, Koli cuisine gained popularity. Since then, it has opened a new avenue of entrepreneurship for the Kolis in the catering and food service industries, selling traditional foods whose recipes and cooking techniques have been passed down for generations.
The Koli community received such positive feedback that they requested to hold this festival not just once but twice or three times annually. People were so fond of the dishes that they wanted to have them regularly. Subsequently, various Koli women started their own catering businesses, while some began to host diners in their homes to provide an authentic Koli culinary experience. One such person is Harsha Tapke, a fisherwoman and entrepreneur from Mumbai's Versova Koliwada. At Versova, Tapke has been selling fish for decades. She partnered with Authenticook to host ‘Dine with the Kolis’ in 2016. [1] This program continued on weekends until the COVID-19 pandemic arrived. Tapke, her mother, and sisters have hosted thousands of people looking for a genuine Koli dine-in experience. Her husband, Rajhans Tapke, had proposed the idea of selling local Koli food to make optimal use of their catch and was one of the organisers of the first seafood festival in Versova in 2006. This would also help open the culinary world of the Kolis to other people. Hosting about 10 to 20 people on weekends and serving them authentic Koli food, Tapke says that individuals loved the cuisine and enjoyed the food she served. Unfortunately, the 2020 lockdown and other restrictions ended these events. However, since 2022, Tapke has started taking orders for home deliveries of Koli food. Hotels and restaurants regularly invite Tapke as an instructor. There, she teaches the chefs the intricacies of Koli cuisine and hosts food popups and Koli food events. The Tapke family (Tanay Tapke, Harsha Tapke, and Rajhans Tapke) runs a YouTube channel called ‘Bombay State Fisheries.’ The channel shares information about seafood and the Kolis of Mumbai, as well as videos of authentic Koli seafood recipes.
Well-known and lesser-known dishes of the Kolis
Koli food is best described as simple, fresh, and wholesome, full of flavor and taste. It has two main elements: the Koli masala and the seafood. Garlic, tamarind, and kokum (Garcinia indica) are essential ingredients in Koli cooking. Kokum, or wild mangosteen, is a small red fruit that turns reddish-purple when ripe. The Western Ghats region of India primarily grows it, and coastal cuisines use it as a souring agent and an alternative to tamarind. Only shellfish, crab, and sweet dishes use fresh coconut.
Koli food would not have a soulful taste without the Koli masala, called bhukni. The bhukni adds a strong flavor to Koli dishes, particularly curries. Koli women prepare this powdered spice blend in large batches every year. Tapke says that they produce around 20 kilograms of bhukni each year. Made every year after the festival of Holi at the beginning of summer, this masala lasts its makers for almost a year. The family recipes of the Koli women dictate the proportions of over 20 spices used to prepare the bhukni. Apart from the five to seven different kinds of dried red chillies, some of the spices used to prepare the bhukni include tej patta (bay leaf), jeera (cumin), coriander seeds (dhane), cinnamon (dalchini), cloves (lavang), black pepper (kali miri), and dried turmeric (halkund), among others.
Since Kolis are fishermen from Mumbai, seafood naturally plays a prominent role in their diet. Restaurants have popularized dishes with prawns and pomfret, but the Kolis love all kinds of seafood. [2] The Kolis consume all varieties of fish. During the monsoon, when the law prohibits and harsh weather conditions halt fishing, the Kolis transition from fresh fish to dried fish. They also enjoy dry fish dishes for breakfast. Apart from fish, rice is another major constituent of the Koli diet. The Kolis refer to fish curries as kalvan or ambat. ‘The ordinary Koli meal consists of curry (ambat), rice, fried fish, and rice cakes’, mentions The Gazetteer of Bombay City and Island. [3] SM Edwardes compiled the Gazetteer in three volumes in 1909, providing information on several aspects of the region.
Served with the kalvan, or fried fish, is the Koli tandlachi roti, or tandlachi bhakri. To make these rice bhakris, slowly add equal parts of rice flour to boiling water. Carefully stir and mix this mixture for a minute or two until it comes together. Once completed, we set it aside for a few minutes to allow it to cool sufficiently for kneading. The dough is kneaded, still warm, until it becomes soft and pliable. Small balls are portioned and flattened into discs by hand with a little bit of water. Once the desired thinness is achieved, this flattened disc of dough called the bhakri is cooked on a hot pan on both sides.
The dish known as bamboo ke bombil is unique to Mumbai's Koliwadas. [4] Partially dried Bombay ducks are the main ingredient required for this dish, making it a popular dish in winter when the sun is not harsh. Fresh Bombay ducks, or bombil, are cleaned in the morning and left to dry on valantis or bamboo racks. Around four in the evening, these bombil are taken off the bamboo racks and then used to prepare bamboo ke bombil. The dried ducks are gently washed with water and then transferred to a pan. Add chopped garlic, green chilli, turmeric powder, Koli masala, and oil to the pan, then mix with a small amount of water and salt. Once ready, this mixture is cooked with a lid on for about 15 minutes. It is garnished with chopped coriander and served with bhakris.
The stuffed or bharlela paplet fry is a quick and easy-to-make recipe for fried fish. To make this dish, paplet (pomfret) is rubbed with salt and turmeric. A lateral cut on the fish allows it to be generously stuffed with a paste made from roasted coconut, coriander, chilli, garlic, and ginger. This stuffed fish is shallow-fried in hot oil on a pan. It is cooked on all sides until it is nice and brown. This stuffed fried fish is best served with onions and lemon.
Restaurants commonly serve fish curries made of paplet, ravas (Indian salmon), bangda (Indian mackerel), halwa (black pomfret), or surmai (Indo-Pacific king mackerel). However, few people know about mixed kalwan, a Koli lunch dish. Bombil, mandeli (golden anchovy), and kolambi (prawns) combine to make this curry. To prepare the mix, stir-fry kalwan, crushed garlic, and chopped chillies in oil. Add bhukni, turmeric powder, salt, water, and kokum or turmeric (depending on availability) to this. Add the prawns, bombil, and mandeli once it reaches a boil. Garnish the cooked curry with coriander.
Another recipe, called the bomblacha tawa, or the bombil chilli, highlights the same three ingredients: bombil, mandeli, and kolambi. In a pan, mix these ingredients, finely crushed garlic, chopped green chilli, oil, bhukni, turmeric powder, and kokum. Add a little water to the mix, put it on fire, and cook with a lid until all the water evaporates. The water released from the fresh bombil aids in cooking the mandeli and the prawns. Unlike the kalwan, we serve this dish dry, meaning it lacks gravy. Another popular dry dish found in most Koli households is sukkha bombil batata. The recipe calls for onions, sliced potatoes, green chillies, garlic, bhukni, turmeric powder, salt, oil, water, and dried Bombay duck (washed and soaked in water). After thoroughly mixing all the ingredients, cover and cook for approximately eight to ten minutes until the water evaporates. When ready to serve, garnish with coriander.
When asked about vegetarian Koli dishes, Tapke answers that if they are not fasting, then they add prawns to vegetable dishes. [5] Adding prawns enhances the taste of the dish. Tapke mentions that there is one dish that has become popular among the Kolis. It is the papdichya shenganchi bhaaji. Papdichi chya shenga or valachya shenga, refer to flat green bean pods. The recipe and preparation for papdichya shenganchi bhaaji are similar to those for sukkah bombil batata. However, the bombil is replaced with a sliced potato. Tapke claims that the similar preparation of the two dishes reduces her longing for the taste of fish during the fast days.
The Kolis do not have elaborate or special recipes for breakfast. The Kolis reheat the leftover fish from the previous night's meal and pair it with bhakris for breakfast.
During festivals, weddings, and auspicious or important occasions, people make sweets. Koli weddings require gharya, an all-purpose flour-based sweet. To make the gharya, equal parts of flour and sugar are mixed with oil, gramme flour, and a bit of bhandara. Bhandara is the holy turmeric, sacred to the god Khandoba. The bhandara is added with the thought that the food will turn out well with god’s blessings (‘devacha krupe ne changla banel’).[6] Add the oil to the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. After thoroughly mixing all the ingredients, gradually add water to form a dough. The dough should not be runny. Add the preferred amount of sesame seeds and dry fruits. Set aside the prepared dough for at least one hour. Once the dough is well-rested, it is divided into small balls. These balls are turned into flat discs (like puris) and deep-fried in oil or ghee.
Another famous Koli sweet is the punnya, or karanjis, which is made especially during the Narali Pornima (Coconut Day) festival. Narali Pornima marks the beginning of the fishing season. On this day, people offer prayers to the sea, requesting calm waters, protection for the fishermen, and a bountiful catch through the offering of a coconut.
Grated fresh coconut, coconut water, grated nutmeg, cardamom powder, jaggery, ghee, and dry fruits like almonds and raisins make up the karanji's stuffing. These are cooked until the liquid evaporates, resulting in a nice brown, dry stuffing. To prepare the outer covering of the karanjis, ghee is boiled in water, and the boiled liquid is added to all-purpose flour and kneaded into a fluffy dough. Small balls are made from this dough, rolled flat, and then stuffed. Hands shape the karanjis and deep-fry them in oil until they turn golden brown. The family first offers the prepared karanjis to the sea before sharing them among themselves.
Food is a repository of shared community knowledge and experience. As a result, it can empower communities, as was the case with the Koli community. Over the past two decades, the success of the Koli Seafood Festival has helped bring this fishing community’s cuisine to a broad audience and paved the way for several budding entrepreneurs.
Footnotes:
[1] Uchil, ‘Mumbai food: Savour authentic Koli cuisine at a fisherwoman's home.’
[2] Harsha Tapke, interview with the author, March 9, 2024.
[3] Edwards, The Gazetteer of Bombay City and Island Vol. 1, 227
[4] Korgaonkar, ‘A little known winter delicacy of Mumbai.’
[5] Harsha Tapke, interview with the author, March 9, 2024.
[6] Harsha Tapke, interview with the author, March 9, 2024.
Bibliography:
Uchil, Shraddha. ‘Mumbai food: Savour authentic Koli cuisine at a fisherwoman's home.’ Mid-Day. 2016. https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai-guide/mumbai-food/article/Mumbai-food--Savour-authentic-Koli-cuisine-at-a-fisherwoman-s-home-17558164. Accessed March, 2024.
Harsha Tapke (Fisherwoman and entrepreneur), in discussion with the author, March 9, 2024.
Edwards, S M. The Gazetteer of the Bombay City and Island. Vol.1. Cosmo Publications, 1909.
Korgaonkar, Bhushan. ‘A little known winter delicacy of Mumbai.’ Mint Lounge. 2022. https://lifestyle.livemint.com/food/cook/a-little-known-winter-delicacy-of-mumbai-111642505525684.html. Accessed March, 2024.