Importance of food.
Food is one of the fundamental necessities of mankind. Not only is food one of the greatest human requirements because it is a must for social existence but also because its varied effects appear in every department of our lives. It is the food that determines the social behavior of a being. It is food that controls the development of life strategies and fixes the sites of battles against diseases. It is the food that gives its framework to all-natural development and nourishment for a breathing body.
Hence, it is almost the definition of a healthy food to say that it has a considerable amount of fuel to run the engine of life efficiently. This description is refined and, as far as it goes, accurate.
Indeed, our moods, our mental health, our abilities, and our behavior are greatly affected by what is on our plates. Apart from these, the food we eat also influences our daily actions, like anger, exhaustion, sadness, happiness, and many other things. But the question is,
- Do people intake the right kind of food?
- What food is required for our good health?
- Who knows?
With the passage of time, our food has been updated wherever it has been felt necessary.
Our ancestors had a different diet compared to ours. But unfortunately, the food we eat today has a better taste and smell, but it is less healthy. Our ancestors were strong and stout as compared to us. Nowadays, people are ready to eat food that is only good for taste. No one cares about its side effects.
So, I would love to talk about some of the healthy food that is cooked around Gilgit Baltistan. Gilgit is a land of a great variety of dishes, some of them occasional and some of them casual or common. In short, we will discuss some of the well-known dishes, their recipes, and the occasions on which they are cooked.
Following are the dishes cooked around Gilgit Baltistan:
MAKOOTI (maah-koo-ti)
What a loaded word, isn’t it? Makooti is one of the most famous dishes of the northern areas. It is a dish rich in carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. It is an occasional dish cooked in different areas on different occasions with different styles, but it is mainly cooked on a very special day of the year called Nawroz (New Day). After bearing dead throughout the winters when the frozen land bears fresh grass and new seeding, the people of Gilgit Baltistan celebrate Nawroz with much gratitude to welcome the spring. Makooti is sweet in taste and blackish brown in colour, just like molten chocolate. It requires much time and effort to cook, and an expert chef is needed to bake it.
To cook Makooti, we need Makook (a special type of flour for Makooti), grinded apricot seed, or walnut as a source of oil. Moreover, grinded seeds are cooked in the oil and water is added, and after some time, when the oil and water form two separate layers, Makook is added and cooked for about one and a half hours with continuous stirring.
Here is a list of different forms of Makuti.
- TARBAT: Makook, Water, and Animal Fat
- Makook Paqoo: Makook + Water + Butter
- Shooshkali: Makook + Water + Desi Ghee
These are all types of Makooti, having different tastes and ingredients, but they all have Makook in common.
DOW DOW
Oh my God, it is a super yummy dish around Gilgit Baltistan. It is a casual dish cooked in the winter. It is a traditional dish as well as one that represents our culture.
At first, cooking oil is heated, and thinly chopped onions are added. When the onions turn dark brown, tomato paste is added with spice. Then water is added, and the mixture is allowed to boil. After that, Quroot (a sour cultural thing made from milk) is added. Then Papah (bread) is chopped like noodles and complemented with the mixture. After twenty to thirty-five minutes, Dow Dow is ready to be served.
Apart from these things, we can add or mix different types of vegetables, such as potatoes, cabbage, peas, celery, spinach, etc., and if we add small pieces of meat, that will do a great job.
LAJEK (laa-jekh)
It is a traditional dish cooked on many occasions, and it is eaten in our country with much interest. It is cooked at marriage ceremonies, but it is mainly cooked at religious festivals like Eid-ul-Azha.
For making Lajek, first we have to boil wheat grains in water for about an hour with continuous stirring, adding common flour, salt, and tiny pieces of meat. After about an hour of cooking, Lajek is ready to be served.
MOOL
Mool is a very plain dish, and we can cook it any time we want. It is highly carbohydrate-rich and a good dish for the winter. Mool is easy to cook, and to cook it, fewer ingredients are needed. In addition, Mool requires less time, less effort, and a simple way. Flour (either wheat or maize) is complemented by boiling water, and salt is added to it. We have to add flour slowly to the boiling water and stir it continuously with a stirrer. After one of the stirring hours, the Mool is ready to be served, but do not forget to pour milk or butter (molten) on it when it is tossed to the plate.
SHARBAT(sharr-bath)
The second eminent dish in our area is Sharbat. Sharbat is also an occasional dish, but unlike Makooti, it is cooked on two different occasions. It is cooked as a marriage dish as well as on various festivals. It is creamy white in appearance and is a rich source of fat. As compared to Makooti, it consumes less time and requires less effort to cook.
To cook Sharbat, first of all, we have to add a considerable amount of butter to the water, providing heat, and when the water is boiled, we have to add Cherr (a special kind of flour for Sharbat). Though Cherr is made from ordinary wheat, its particles are larger than the usual flour. Then we have to let the mixture cook by slow heating; salt is added accordingly, and after one and a half hours, Sharbat is ready to be served.
