So here I am, as promised, trying to bridge the gap between Sindhi Language and cuisine, with a series of posts, sharing a Sindhi Alphabet and a corresponding Sindhi dish!
Firstly some interesting facts about Sindhi Script:
To begin with, there is no consensus about the origin of Sindhi language. While some authorities believe that the language may have its roots in Pre Sanskrit era, in one of the most ancient civilizations known to us, the Indus Valley Civilization, others believe it to be originating from Prakrit. The carved stone seals excavated from Mohen Jo Daro (the place and era that Sindhis believe that their ancestors to be from ) are yet to be properly deciphered but many claim it to be Proto Dravidian. I am in in touch with some experts in Sindhi Language and trying to gain as much information as possible and I will make sure to share it with those who are interested.
As mentioned in my previous post, the Persian-Arabic Sindhi script (that I will be following for # Alif Be), is one of the many scripts that were used by Sindhis in bygone era and it was imposed on Sindhis under British rule in 1853 as a result of which other scripts started vanishing.
Unlike many popular scripts of the world, Arabic Sindhi is written from Right-to-left which means that the first letter of a word is on the right edge and we start writing from the last page of the notebook, moving towards the front pages as we progress! Interesting, no?
Arabic Sindhi Alphabets or the Varnmala, also known as Alif Be is a set of 52 consonants and thus it is difficult to transliterate Sindhi words or alphabets in Hindi or English since Hindi script consists of 33 (or 35) consonants while in English there are just 26 letters!
Sindhi language is so phonetically rich that the Arabic script used as a base for writing Sindhi was heavily modified. The 28 letters of Arabic script were modified by adding or arranging dots to the existing consonants to do justice to the Sindhi Language.
Devanagiri and Roman Sindhi are currently used as alternative scripts to write Sindhi.
Sindhi consonants in Alif Be can be divided into 16 groups depending on their shapes. The base structure of consonants in a particular group is same but the position of dots (or absence of any dots in some cases) is a differentiating factor when it comes to identifying a consonant.
Shall share many other facts, interesting insights and other details of the language and script and may also rope in well known linguists to share their knowledge. So stay tuned!
Coming to the Alif Be…‘ا’ -Alif is the first letter of Sindhi Alphabet and is pronounced as A in Affection, and in Sindhi it is taught as “Alaf/Alif Ambh (Ambh is Mango in Sindhi)
Since new beginnings must always begin on a sweet note, let us start Alif Be series with a sweet dish.
So #AlifBE with Sindhi Food~1 is ا – Atte Ja ladoon.
To understand the construction/ formation of letters in a better way, hubby dear helped in creating a small video explaining the same.
Please do check the video:
Atte Ja ladoon are shared with near and dear ones on happy occasions like marriage, birth of a child, housewarming, baby shower etc. In olden days when a child would pass school exams with flying colors, ladoo were distributed in the neighborhood.
Coming to the Recipe of Atte Ja Ladoon:
Ingredients:
2 cups of Whole wheat flour (Coarse)
1 cup of Sugar
1 cup of melted ghee
4-5 green cardamons pounded
3/4 cup Chopped nuts (optional)
A handful of raisins (optional)
Method:
Dry roast flour on medium to low flame in a heavy bottom kadai till faintly aromatic.
Gradually add melted ghee and keep stirring to assure that lumps are broken. Add pounded cardamoms. You can use cardamom powder if you wish (1/4 tsp or more, depending on the quality of powder)
Once the flour is nicely roasted i.e the color appears to be nice brown and the aroma is more pronounced, switch off the gas.
Add sugar immediately (you can use powdered sugar if you wish).
Add raisins and chopped nuts ( I prefer almonds and pistachios) and mix well.
Let the mix cool down till it is tolerable to work with. Make ladoon of preferred size.
Cool and store in airtight container.
