“Each culture is known by it’s culinary traditions”
Abdul Haleem Sharar
This is not a recipe post, yet a culinary one … with a little bit about the he♥rt of New Delhi, some vintage looking pots and pans, and a dash of colour. A misty winter afternoon visit to New Delhi, or Lutyen’s Delhi as it is referred to, is never complete without a drive up Raisina Hill which leads to the gates of the Indian Presidents house or Rashtrapati Bhavan. Lutyens’ Delhi is an area in New Delhi named after the leading British architect Edwin Lutyens. He was responsible for much of the architectural design and building when India was part of the British Empire.With Edwin Lutyens, Sir Herbert Baker was instrumental in designing New Delhi. The North & South Block on either side of the Rashtrapathi Bhavan or Presidents Estate were designed by Sir Herbert Baker who contributed beautiful lotus motifs, elephants and Mughal chhatris or kiosks. There are four sandstone columns surmounted by a bronze ship sailing east, two in front of each blocks representing the dominions of the British empire namely Canada, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. {A great read is Patti’s post Our India Adventure from A to Z about her recent India visit on Worth The Whisk. She’s captured the spirit of this beautiful country in her post, followed by one on food.}
For me, no visit is also complete without a mandatory stop at Tashi’s shop in the Tibetan Market on Janpath, translated as ‘People’s Path’, one of the main roads in New Delhi’s commercial district. I endeavor to buy at least a couple of things from this quaint and intriguing little shop on each visit, an attempt to build my culinary bric-à-brac … while the kids stamp their impatient feet!
A very pleasant young man, Tashi Nima, runs his shop, Doma Copper Brass, with a passion. He knows his stuff & his prices are fixed. He has his suppliers, & is known to supply a lot of people with Indian/sub continent bric-a brac. The wares move fast & he sells a mix of old & new culinary items. Everything is handmade, including the handles, rivets , latches etc. The wares aren’t antique, but do date back to the 1910′s etc, & the artistry is entirely mesmerizing.
Tashi Numa now recognises me and each time I stop by, he mischievously dissuades me from buying up his whole place. I have to keep asking him not to show me new stuff, tempt me with pans I find irresistible etc. This time Mr PAB was with me and he just isn’t the shopping kind. He accompanies me if I ask him too, but doesn’t have the patience of a seasoned shopper… but Tashi and his Aladdin’s cave had Mr PABs eyes light up like a gazillion stars!He took roots in the shop, spellbound by the young mans stories. Tashi knows the history behind where each piece comes from, the rough time period it belongs to, the uses in that day and age, why it had been given a tin or silver cladding … fascinating!He treats each piece as his baby, talking about the origins lovingly, patiently, passionately and with in-depth knowledge! Every thing I gathered on the table had to be bought declared Mr PAB. I was horrified and Tashi knows me. He jokingly said, “Yes don’t force her. You still need money for lunch!!” Mr PAB emptied his wallet {Tashi accepts cash only} and said ‘We’ll take it all!” He LOVED the place, the nostalgia, the journey back in time, the rustic ambience…I came back thrilled with my battered looking collection. There is rustic charm in these vintage pieces, each piece holds a tale, a story, a reflection of time gone by! Just talking to Tashi, one gathers priceless bits of information. The vessels that come from the North Eastern hills are simple, while the ones from the plains have intricate patterns worked on them, as do some from Kashmir. My copper frying pan has the artists name engraved on the bottom, a feeling of belonging, a pride in his artistry.
In the field of metal work a variety of styles are seen in different parts of India. In the Ladakh area of Kashmir traditional vessels are made out of iron and brass. Many richly engraved traditional household items like bowls, samovars, plates and trays are also made in Kashmir. In “Naqasi”, elaborate floral and calligraphic designs are imprinted on copper and silver items. These items are then oxidized, which makes the design to stand out from the background.
Most copperware was clad in metal. The poor would clad their utensils with tin, and the rich with silver. The plain looking simple vessels with just usability as their main feature belonged to the common man, while the intricately worked, domed dishes like serving dishes belonged to the rich, the upper classes, a reflection of the socio-economic system that prevailed in India centuries ago. Just fascinating how much you can learn about a people and it’s culture from mere utensils! Going back in time, in many ways, the Indian society and its cuisine was as diverse as the utensil it was served in!Most of the wares are dated back 50-100 years, so aren’t a 100% safe for cooking in. Some have lost their cladding, while others look like they were never clad! As Tashi says, most of them are good to use for boiling water, or for serving non-acidic stuff in {e.g. tomato based gravies can react with the metal if kept for an extended period of time}. I buy them just for quick culinary photo shoots and importantly to add charm to my kitchen. Just having them surround me fills me with a strange sense of comfort, connect & unexplained nostalgia. There is so much power in food@pennydelosantos … via twitter!Tell me dear reader, do you have favourite shops like these that haunt you and call your name? Are you tempted to buy old rustic culinary ware? Do you find them as charming and comforting as I do? If shipping wasn’t that steep, if metal wasn’t that heavy, I would happily start an Etsy store and help others build a collection too … if!!
