The last alphabet of AlifBe, the Sindhi alphabet is ي in Arabic Sindhi, य in Devanagari and ‘Y’ is Roman Sindhi.
It is also used as a vowel and could be pronounced as /e/ (even long /eee/).
No Sindhi dish starts with the letter Y.
Hence for the last alphabet in this series I have picked ‘Viyam Ja khaada’ .
Viyam /Vyam/Vi-am means Delivery (Child birth) and Khaada means food/dishes.
So basically it means the food that is supposed to be consumed by new mothers, particularly for the first 40 days after child birth.
Traditionally, the new mother is supposed to consume nutrient dense, freshly cooked, home made food, following dietary restrictions.
The food is cooked without onions, garlic, garam masala, coriander seeds, turmeric etc . Refined oils are strictly avoided and meals are cooked in Ghee only.
No pungent ingredients are used to cook meals for the lactating mothers for the first forty days.
Cruciferous vegetables, beans, pulses are also avoided for initial few weeks.
Cold food, cold drinks, ice creams, fried food etc are also avoided.
Cumin seeds are generously added to almost every dish. Chillies are avoided and only black pepper powder is used to make food for the new moms.
Vegetables like bitter melons, Sponge gourds, Ridge gourds, bottle gourds, drumsticks etc are to be consumed. These vegetables are cooked in tomato based curries, flavored with green cardamoms and black pepper. Fenugreek leaves, drumstick flowers, dried tender drumsticks (Suhandhro) are most commonly had by the lactating mothers in the first few weeks after delivery.
Steamed rice, pulav, biryani etc are avoided for first 40 days. Khichdi cooked in Ghee with pepper corns and green cardamoms is generally had in the lunch along with Methi or gourd’s curry.
The rotis are made with whole wheat flour with loads of cumin, pepper and Ghee added to it. Lolo i.e roti sweetened with jaggery is mandatory to have and so are the home made sweets like Khorak, Majun, Khoyo, Magaz Ja ladoo etc, enriched with dry fruits, nuts, Khaun (Gum/Gond). A special mix of digestive herbs and nuts, called Fakki, is made for the new mothers.
Broken wheat, Jowar or millet porridge could be had for the breakfast.
A special sweet beverage is made, known as Tring/Ting by roasting whole wheat flour in ghee and is flavored with cumin and peppercorns.
The above Thali represents the food that could be consumed by a new mom, not necessarily in a single meal.
Starting from carrots, in a clockwise direction the dishes are as follows:
1) Carrots
2) Chehro Phulko (Cumin, salt, pepper flavored roti)
3) Methi (Fenugreek leaves)
4) Singyun Tamate mein (Drumsticks cooked in tomato gravy)
5) Tooryun (Sponge gourds)
6) Phote mein Karela (Bitter gourds cooked in Cardamom flavored curry)
7) Lolo (in the centre of the Thali). Check the recipe of lolo here!
8) Rajgira ladoo (Not home made)
9) Tring (placed out of the Thali)
Since most of the times, food is exclusively cooked for the new mother, I am sharing recipes for smaller portions (1-2 people max.)
Chehro Phulko:
Just add salt, pepper powder and cumin seeds to the whole wheat flour dough and make a thicker roti. Use ghee liberally to cook the roti.
Methi:
In a kadai (Preferably an iron wok), heat a tbsp of ghee and add a tbsp of cumin seeds (optional). Add two cups of fenugreek leaves and saute on high heat. Add a large tomato, finely chopped and salt as per the taste. Cook covered till tomatoes are mushy and the excess of moisture evaporates.
Singyun Tamate mein:
In a pressure cooker, heat 1 tbsp of ghee. Add 1 heaped tbsp of cumin seeds, 2 green cardamoms and then add two grated/blended tomatoes.
Add salt and cook on high heat. Ginger is optional. Some do add it while others skip.
When tomatoes are cooked (ghee leaves the sides) add drumsticks (7-8 pieces) that are scrapped and cut into 2 inch pieces, each. Mix and add around 1 glass of water, if you want it soupy or else add around 3/4 th glass of water.
Sprinkle around 1/4th tbsp of back pepper and cover the cooker with the lid.
Wait for one whistle and then lower the heat. Switch off the heat after 3-4 minutes.
Can garnish with coriander leaves (optional) and pounded black pepper.
Tooryun:
Peel and chop 2-3 sponge gourds/ridge gourds.
In a pan, heat 1 tbsp of Ghee and add 1 tbsp of cumin seeds.
When the seeds crackle add 2 green cardamoms and 1 large tomato, chopped or blended.
Add salt and around 1/4th – 1/2 tbsp of black pepper powder.
Cook covered, for 8-10 minutes. Can add few spoons of water if the gourd is not cooked well by now.
Garnish with some more black pepper powder while serving.
Photey mein Karela:
Bitter melons could be cooked in tomato gravy (Refer the Drumsticks curry recipe shared above) or could be made in watery gravy.
The Photey mein karela that I made were without tomatoes.
Peel, slit and smear salt inside the slits of gourds.
After 2-3 hours, rinse the gourds (2 large or 3, if smaller in size) with water, multiple times and squeeze well.
Heat 2 tsp of ghee in a pan/kadai/cooker and saute the salted gourds. Add 2-4 green cardamoms.
Cook for 2 minutes on high heat and then lower the flame.
Keep stirring frequently.
After 5 minutes, add around 2 glasses of water, some salt and black pepper powder.
Allow the gourds to cook, covered. In a pan it make take 15-20 minutes. If cooking in a pressure cooker, cook for 2-3 whistles.
Garnish with more black pepper powder while eating.
Tring:
Recipe by Ms Neetu Matani!
Video Recipe of Tring:
In a pan, heat 1 tbsp of ghee. Add 1 tbsp of whole wheat flour.
Roast on low heat. Add more ghee if needed.
When aromatic, add 1 and half glass of water.
Stir vigorously to avoid lumps. Use a whisker to break lumps, if any.
Add 2-3 green cardamoms and 1 heaped spoon of jaggery (or more if you wish) and mix well.
Allow it to simmer till it thickens a bit (3-5 minutes).
Add 1/2 tbsp cumin seeds, 4-5 whole pepper corns and mix well.
Simmer for 2-3 minutes or till the consistency is soup like.
Transfer to a bowl and garnish with dried fruits/nuts.
Some do add a little of poppy seeds and dried coconut powder too.
Serve warm, preferably for the breakfast.
And here is the last tutorial explaining the formation of Sindhi alphabet ي!
