Where else can you find death and closure existing smack in the middle of everyday hurly burly, urchins playing, washing drying on the banks of the river, worship, rituals and tourist-hungry touts all together in a state of chaotic co-existence ?
Not to forget the all pervasive filth, stink, flies, pot-holed roads, and the dirty, dirty polluted river which makes one want to cry…
The Assi ghaat, where I stayed, is the first ghaat right at the southern most tip of the river as it enters Varanasi..this is one of the three ghaat’s where Ganga –ji is worshipped every evening with a ritualistic “aarti”…The river here flows North and thus the city acquires special significance because of this…
It is home to a lot of Western backpackers…who have found themselves shelter in the numerous guest-houses..in the houses by the riverside, for weeks on end to soak in and learn about Indian culture be it music, yoga, spiritualism or just to unwind in this quaintly exotic land of ours…
Needless to say, a river view is much sought after and commands a premium and if there is an AC thrown in so much the better…so one can see the holy river from the confines of cool comfort…
The food in Varanasi is all about the famous “tamaatar ki chaat” and assorted forms of street food.…but my culinary experiences were some what of a different sort…
My first meal in Varanasi was breakfast at the “Shiva Cafe - German Bakery" - which turned out to be at quite a distance - at Narad Ghat right next to Dashashwamedh.
When one finally reached the restaurant, winding through the bylanes of Narad
Ghat, it turned out to be choked with “gorAs.”
Me and my friend shared a table under a fan which didn’t work, with a short-cropped blonde German woman. It turned out that she was on a six month vacation from a hospital in Luebeck - with her husband - and they had been to Bombay, Goa, Pushkar, Diu, etc, and were in Varanasi for six weeks. She described Varanasi as “magical”
The menu was customised to Western tastes with different types of breakfasts – Continental, Israeli et.al. I chose the Cheese breakfast. Food was slow in coming but since it was cooked fresh – there was not much to complain about and any way the cheese toast was good…
The beauty of all the food that I ate in Varanasi was that it was always but always freshly cooked post our order. It was worth waiting for the extra time and I never fell sick.
I struck up a conversation with a young boy with light blue eyes and an earring who appeared to be the owner. Turned out he is. And he has learnt cuisines and the tricks of the trade from the Germans who came visiting…he started his career as a dish washer and now he has this place of his own…he has a multitude of cakes for sale but we pass.. he must obviously be doing something right – he comes highly recommended in “Lonely Planet"
Being in the vicinity of Westerners, it was obvious that food was mostly going to be as per their tastes… A few places which grace the pages of “Lonely Planet”… “Haifa”, for instance which claims to be Mediterranean but lacks character in terms of appearance and atmosphere…with its sunmica topped tables and Panchkuian road showroom type dining chairs…
The surprise was “Hayat” which was recommended by Rakesh ..the affable owner of the Harmony Bookstore close to Assi ghaat. A brief walk away from the river and set in a quiet locality ..”Hayat” which I think means “beautiful life ” in Arabic is owned by an affable and extremely friendly pair of brothers from Jordan …Tehsin and Mohammed Ainbosi, who have relocated and settled in India and one has even married an Indian girl…
Me and my companion were greeted with a smiling “namaskaar” from them as we walked in to the mud plastered courtyard dotted with cane chairs and tables…but what we made a beeline for was the section at the far end with whirring fans and low lying bed style seating complete with bolsters …once settled in with feet up, a glance at the menu promised Mediterranean as well as Western and Indian delights.
A serving boy hurrying past with two tall, frosted, lemon slice garnished glasses filled with an exotic, vivid green liquid caught my eye and I pounced …and demanded of him…get me what ever that is !!
A tentative sip – and I was transported.
A delightful tingle of mint, merged smoothly with the edge of lemon, in a setting that was cold yet sweet - without being cloyingly so.
I had just made the discovery of my trip…the nAnA.. is a ubiquitous essential on all the menus of the restaurants here. I guzzled a minimum of four ..yes four glasses per meal. And not once did I feel bloated or full…
Apart from nAnA’s at Hayat, we also had it at Phoolwari at Chowk..which is a restaurant set in the courtyard of a Kali temple with an entrance that opens out on the madness which is Chowk or the main market district of Varanasi…crowded with humanity and rickshaws… and sundry commercial dreams.
The name comes from the fact that mint in Arabic is called nAnA.
The recipe is so simple that I am surprised that no one ever thought of it before !!!
Of course individual ingredients can be customised to taste depending upon one ‘s taste which I am sure you will find out by trial and error !! A high-speed blender is necessary to put together this glassful of divinity but…
“nAnA” a la Varanasi
Ingredients ( makes one single glass) :
Half a handful of mint leaves – washed
Juice of half a lemon – can add less or more depending upon taste
Sugar – 1 ½ tablespoons
Ice cubes
Water or soda to top up
Method :
Whip the ingredients together in the blender for a few minutes till frothy.
Strain if you wish and transfer in to a tall glass. Garnish with a slice of lime and mint sprigs. Enjoy !!
We had both the strained and unstrained versions of the nAnA and found them both to be equally refreshing and enjoyable.
Each of the restaurant owners claimed to have invented and propagated the nAnA…
For an extra bite, add half a green chilli minus the seeds when you blend the drink. Or you can rim your glass with lime juice and dip it in rock salt for a nice twist !!
The food we ate for the rest of the trip was mostly Mediterranean – the platter at Hayat had a selection of pita bread with dips – tahini, hummus, baba ghanoush and labana served with salad, falafel and fries ( don’t know what they called that last thing in their lingo !! ) , the salad was a mix of cucumber, tomato, spring onions , feta cheese and black olives tossed in a lemony dressing that was yummy, light and filling without going too heavy on the tummy…
And of course not to forget the famous laddoos which were picked up as Prasad at the Sankat Mochan temple dedicated to Lord Hanuman made lately famous by the Big B and family…made of gur and ghee they are reputed to stay fresh for months on end .
And the “matthaa” which was being dished out at a subsidised cost of one rupee a glass outside a well known departmental store called “Jalan’s” – essentially whey water with rock salt stirred in – supposed to keep you cool in summer. Despite my hesitation I shared a good part of the five glasses we polished off together.
And then lived to tell this tale….
