Just Walking Around

Chivda Gully --- Spice of Life

It’s a custom in most Marathi household to offer some snacks along with the afternoon tea if any visitor drops in. Even otherwise we normally have some biscuits or light snack while drinking tea. The fastest and best dry snack to offer is the “Chivda” made of lightly fried or roasted poha or puffed rice. Each region in Maharashtra has its special recipe , be it the Laxmi Narayan Chivda of Pune or Kondaji Chivda of Nashik or Namdev Chivda of Solapur. Each with its unique taste and a special recipe handed down through the generations.

A trending household name since 1935, Laxminarayan Chiwda is famous among Punekars for producing savories such as peanuts, rice flakes and authentic spices. Mr Laxminarayan Datta, the founder of Laxminarayan Chiwda started his journey towards establishing a business by using a handcart selling snacks. But it was his sole creation of making chiwda using a blend of rich ingredients. Fried Poha chiwda spiced with Indian spices and condiments, laced with a rich dose of dryfruits make this Chiwda special. These fresh crispy chiwdas are a perfect accompaniment to piping hot tea. Now Laxminarayan Chiwdas are not limited to Pune city, you can get it anywhere in India.

The specialty of Kondaji Chivad is its unique taste of fried / caramelized onions mixed with the usual garlic, nuts and poha along with the right amount of spices which creates a mouth watering flavor and tantalizes your taste buds. You can enjoy its hot and sweet taste for every occasion.

Another famous Chivada is Namdev Chivda of Solapur which has a history of 140 years . Made from the finest spices and poha , its taste lingers on in your mouth even after the tea you have used to wash it down.

All these talk of Chivda makes me go down the memory lane of visiting Lalbaug market for picking up dried red chillies and some garam masala at the legendary spice stores of Khamkar’s . There are 3 stores P.B Khamkar , G W Khamkar and Ashok Khamkar all belonging to the Khamkar family legendary for their spices and sourcing of dried red chilies and rice from Konkan and beyond. On orders of my mom just before the onset of monsoon , I used to go to either of these 3 stores to pick up 2-3 kgs of Bedgi or Byadgi mirchi that special flavoured dried red chilly from Karnataka. It is a famous variety of chilli mainly grown in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is named after the town of Byadgi which is located in the Haveri district of Karnataka.The business involving Byadagi chillis has the second largest turnover among all chilli varieties of India. Did you know an oil, oleoresin extracted from these chillies is used in the preparation of nail polish and lipsticks. That’s why the women who use the red nail polish and deep red lipsticks  look so hot and spicy I guess . 

Byadagi chilli is also known for its deep red colour and is less spicy and is used in many food preparations of South India. Byadagi chilli has also been accorded Geographical Indication (GI) in February 2011

Another option was to pick up the Sankeshwari Chillies . This spicy chilli is what gives a lot of regional cuisine, including Konkani food, its unique flavour, spicy zing and red colour. Used in the powdered form in fish preparations, assorted gravies and sambhar, this chilli is popularly used by the Konkani community. 

After picking up the chilies I used to tread the small by-lanes of Lalbaug just behind the shops .

The most conspicuous thing in the market are stacks and stacks of red chillies. Several varieties are on sale. There were women sitting behind the chilly sacks, sorting the chillies by size. Another popular item sold in this market is dried copra. Coconut trees are plentiful in the coastal areas of Maharashtra, so it is used in both fresh as well as dried forms. Copra is ground along with garlic and red chillies to make lasun chutney, a local favourite.

For those who wish to make their own masalas, the stalls offer a range of spices. From kalajira (nigella), methi (fenugreek), dhania (coriander), jeera (cumin), rai of two types (mustard), saunf (fennel), safed til (white sesame), and ajwain (carom),(anasphal) star anise, two more jeera boxes (cumin), jaiphal (nutmeg), kalimiri (pepper), lavang (clove), dalchini (cinnamon), tirphal (Sichuan pepper) and dagadphool (stone-flower, a lichen) and tamaalpatra (bayleaf). While most of the spices above are familiar to all Indians, tirphal (Sichuan pepper) is not. It is something you see only in Konkani cooking especially in Fish curry. As Tirphal grows in and around Goa.

The people who shop in this area are typically Marathi-speaking communities (erstwhile mill-worker families). Although most of the mills are no more, the area continues to remain home to the workers, who have now moved to other occupations. There are also Gujarati-speaking women, but fewer in number.

Once you buy the spices, you can bring them to the grinding mill if you want your own customised spices

In Chiwda Galli, there are several shops selling different types of Chivda and farsan. You can also see the workshops where the farsan is made and packed.

Here you will be engulfed by the wafts of spicy , tangy and sweet smell of the numerous shops selling Chivda’s. The shops started decades ago to cater to the hunger pangs of the mill workers living in the area. Slowly, similar shops selling variety of chiwda mushroomed all over the lane and before long the lane started to be called the ‘Chivada Gally’ also known as Chiwda Galli. The shop owners prefer to make the traditional chiwda and farsan in large quantity. Today, there are over 12 chiwda shops in the lane selling the snack.According to the shop owners, the Maharashtrian population living in Lalbaug and nearby areas like Cotton Green, Currey Road, Parel prefer to buy traditional chiwda rather than the several new varieties. Over 7 tonnes of chiwda and farsan is sold by most of the shops every month.

Earlier this area was where most of the mill workers lived. Chiwda was the kind of evening snack they preferred after their working hours. Even while celebrating a festival or during any kind of family function, the mill workers preferred distributing chiwda and farsan in their neighbourhood since it was light on the pockets. Looking at the trend, many shops selling chiwda started sprouting on this lane which became popular as Chiwda Galli.

The oldest chiwda shop in the lane is tasty chiwda which opened in the year 1965.

The poha chiwda made of rice flakes, farsan, batata chiwda made of potato, makka chiwda made of corn flakes and potato chips were the items relished by the mill workers. Festival season like Diwali, Gudi Padwa and Holi are the peak season for sale. People come to buy the snack in large quantities. Over 300 kg of chiwda and farsan is made every day during this time. People usually get freshly made products since it is made in the shops itself. Workers start making the items from early morning.”

As the choices of the shoppers began changing, the shop owners began stocking more items. Looking at the demand of buyers and the preference of children they have started selling products like schezwan chakli, soya chakali, tomato chakali, kadak ladoo. This helps them to keep their business stable and the customers happy. Only the residents living nearby the area prefer to buy the traditional chiwda. These days people rarely distribute chiwda during family functions, which is very sad. A tradition is lost and the demand for the chivda is dwindling down.

So next time you are having a cuppa of piping tea or coffee and want to have a light snack open that packet of Chivda pour it in a plate ,,add some diced onions, sprinkle some lemon juice on top and  pick up a handful and eat it with a flick of your palms that’s the real way of eating it not the civilized way using spoons.

Isme maja hi kuch aur hai…

Enjoy the sweet and spicy concoction as they say spice is the essence of life.

Happy Reading….