Engineer Give up Job to Revive Himachali Dham with a Distinctive Eatery

Himanshu Sud, an engineer from Kangra in Himachal Pradesh, says it was an “existential thought course of” that compelled him to decide on between a profession in engineering and staying again in India. 

After working within the discipline for a yr, in 2009, he give up his job and had two choices — a Grasp’s diploma within the US or staying again in India.

Ultimately, he selected the latter, as he believed there was “lots of that means in being dwelling and persevering with the legacy of the tradition that [he] was introduced up in”. 

“Via the years, I’ve discovered that there’s a worth in having the luxurious of time,” he tells The Higher India, including that on reflection, he feels this determination has held him in good stead. 

At the moment, Himanshu’s enterprise Himachali Rasoi is an area the place individuals can expertise the “true genuine delicacies of the hills” and the a lot acclaimed conventional historic ‘dham’. 

However Himachali Rasoi wasn’t the engineer’s first culinary enterprise. 

He additionally runs ‘Wake and Bake Cafe’, which he says was “one of many first cafes in Shimla”. The idea behind this was to carry a few change. 

“Shimla is understood for its formal eating eateries however the cafe was a distinct setting,” says Himanshu, including that the cafe continues to get crowd, each from the locals in addition to from vacationers. 

However while the cafe was a hit, Himanshu observed a spot. “There was a misrepresentation of Himachal meals right here,” he says.  “Being the capital, one would count on Shimla to have extra eating places that represented the ‘true tradition’ of Himachal, however there weren’t many. It was stunning.” 

This thought finally led him to start out the Himachali Rasoi in 2015 as an try at reviving and preserving Himachal’s conventional delicacies. 

A wealthy and complicated historical past 

What stands out in regards to the eatery is the dham that folks journey from far and huge to expertise. 

“Being from Kangra, my roots with custom and tradition are very robust,” explains Himanshu, including that he wished to take this ahead and revive the traditional custom of the ‘dham’,  which matches again a number of generations. 

The dham is predicated on mythology. The legend goes that Lord Ram’s son, who was a sage, got here to the mountains, the place he was recognised to be of royal blood. He known as upon a conglomeration of khansumas from throughout Himachal Pradesh and demanded that they fulfil a peculiar request — to have the ability to provide every part within the kingdom on one plate to the goddess. 

This platter of dishes got here to be generally known as the ‘dham’ — wealthy, full, and complicated in the way in which it was ready. 

“It mirrored consciousness and tradition. From being a meal eaten on an on a regular basis foundation, it slowly grew to become raj bhog, which was solely eaten at weddings and through festive instances,” Himanshu explains. 

Nonetheless, the legacy of dham goes a bit of past this. 

“There’s a group the place Brahmin cooks generally known as botis would go on the information of cooking the dham from one technology to the subsequent,” he says. 

Having heard these tales proper from his younger days, Himanshu determined to recreate the magic that had been misplaced in time. 

‘I spent six months with the botis to know the intricacy of the dham.’ 

In 2014, a yr earlier than he opened Himachali Rasoi, Himanshu travelled to the villages throughout Himachal to work carefully with botis to know the method of making ready the dham. “Once they have been known as to weddings and feasts, I might accompany them,” he recollects. This expertise, he says, taught him quite a few issues. 

“Earlier, the dham was once particular, as each dwelling would follow the genuine model. However with globalisation, individuals have been uncovered to totally different cultures and the idea of buffets has turn into common.” 

This, he says, has led to a change within the thought of what’s “unique”, as individuals have merely began replicating what they assume matches the definition. “Because of this, the botis‘ positions as stalwarts in making ready the dham has decreased by way of the years. Moreover, their kids don’t need to proceed this custom.”  

In order that they have been shocked that he was so intent on studying with them and taking the tradition of the area so severely. 

A day at Himachali Rasoi 

Making ready the dham is a tedious course of, says Himanshu.

“The prep work begins the night time earlier than — soaking the lentils, making ready the masalas, and mixing the spices. We start cooking the meal at 8.30 the subsequent morning and it goes round until midday,” says Himanshu. 

He provides that doing this daily requires intense ardour and dedication. 

“Every thing needs to be properly timed,” he says. “It’s essential to get the flavours and proportions proper as historically the meal shouldn’t be tasted earlier than it’s provided to the Goddess. We solely alter the salt, that’s it.” 

Ultimately, Himanshu started educating apprentices to arrange the dham. “This did take time, as I wished the flavours to be proper,” he notes. 

At Himachali Rasoi, visitors can have their fill of two dhams — the Kangri Dham and the Mandyali Dham. Alongside, they serve sidu, which is a steamed wheat bun; babroo, which is a fried wheat bread; and patande, or wheat pancakes. 

“The meals has been curated retaining in thoughts the tradition of the area and the diet necessities. Individuals can have the meals on the menu with ghee within the mornings after which head to the fields for a day of labor,” says Himanshu.

Himachali Rasoi sees round 100 visitors daily and the engineer-turned-chef couldn’t be extra proud. At the moment, as he appears to be like again on the years which have unfolded, he says he’s pleased with his selection to remain again in India. 

“If I had chosen in any other case, I might be simply one other cog within the machine.”

Edited by Divya Sethu