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"Sattvik: Traditional Food & Nutrition Festival 2023: December 23 to 26, 2023, Sola Bhagwat Temple, Ahmedabad
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"Thrumming chatter and the fragrance of fresh foods warmed the air at the 21st Sattvik Traditional Food and Nutrition Festival, organized by SRISTI and the Honey Bee Network in collaboration with GIAN and many other HBN volunteers. Each stall presented a unique take on innovation and tradition, demonstrating the diversity in farm produce, formulations, and flavours from various regions of the country. The Festival was inaugurated by Dr Shamsher Singh (IPS) DGP (Law & Order), Gujarat Police, and gave a platform to about 100 farmers and stallholders to present a wide array of organic products. It was a resounding success with about 55,000 visitors feeding their creativity by learning of new nutritious ingredients, savouring a range of innovative recipes, and reconnecting with traditional foods.
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"The 21st Sattvik Traditional Food and Nutrition Festival, as is its annual custom, sought to revive the joys of heritage cuisine, and bolster a grassroots movement championing organic farming, traditional varieties, and local produce.
Prof. Anil Gupta, founder of HBN, urged universities to expand research into soil health, and translate this into dietary improvements. This year as well, the Festival brought focus to grains from drought-prone areas, and continued the mission to popularize diverse millets. HBN has been advocating for the prioritization of such grains in the public procurement and distribution system, and for consumers to use them as staples. Not only would this increase the income of disadvantaged populations, but it would also help them benefit from a healthier diet.
Recipe Competition
A recipe competition was held on December 19 at the SRISTI premises; 41 participants presented around 110 dishes. The thought put into each dish was evident from the nutrient-dense and flavourful fare. While several dishes catered to both the need for wholesome nutrition and the younger generation’s taste for “trendy foods”, many contestants saw this opportunity to share their culinary legacy, and presented their own twist on a recipe taught by their grandmother, mother, or mother-in-law. They were evaluated on six parameters, including nutritional value and diversity, by judges Sangeeta Jani, a chef, and Shukanyaben Pondugala of the FSSAI.
The following five winners were announced and honoured after the inaugural ceremony of Sattvik.
Palak Seth: A young home cook with a popular online cooking channel. She delighted with her beetroot hummus, green hummus, ragi lavash, pearl millet bites, corn green agmaggio, gulab jamun, and sev kheer.
Tarulataben Panchal: Having already won the competition five times, her creativity shone again through herbal corn silk tea, kadamba flower (Neolamarckia cadamba (Roxb.) Bosser) pickle, hot fenugreek seed coffee, and potato skin chips.
Jayashree Chauhan: Also a Sattvik veteran, she presented chiba dhokli, and saptarangi pudla. Her multi-coloured pudlas brought a fresh look to culinary creativity (her recipe is featured on the next page.)
Vibha Champaneri: A home cook who shares her recipes on many online fora, her recipes allow for guilt-free indulgence of one’s sweet tooth. She made kangvo (finger millet sweet), and sorghum flour malpua with ragi-date rabri.
Dr. Maheshkumar Panchal: A Ph.D. in Sanskrit, he travels to teach children at many villages, picking up new recipes along the way. He made over twelve unique dishes, including drumstick flower and rose laddoos, papaya curry, fennel leaf curry, panfuti (Kalanchoe pinnata (Lam.) Pers.) curry, banyan shoot curry, and hibiscus and neem leaf curry.
Several other interesting recipes added to the fray of flavours, such as stuffed purple yam cakes, green turmeric kheer, quinoa kheer, Ardisia solanacea leaf fritters, damrut (a traditional Tamil halwa), carom leaf and tulsi chutney, vegetable ragi soup, bitter gourd-ragi pancakes, bitter gourd cream rolls, horse gram soup, butterfly pea tea, moringa and sweet potato soup, and many more.
Organic from Fields to Meals
For the past two decades, Sattvik has helped organic farmers expand their markets, and directly sell high quality produce to the growing class of conscious urban consumers. Farmers from drought-prone areas are given priority. Prior to the Festival, SRISTI conducts on-farm verification to ascertain that each participating farmer is following the best organic practices.
Over 90 farmers had set up shop at the Khedut Haat (Farmer’s Market), alongside a few artisans and wellness practitioners. The market square in the middle of the grounds was brimming with visitors who eagerly await the annual Festival to purchase bulk provisions for staples like grains, legumes, oil, jaggery, dry fruits and nuts, and spices, among others.
The Khedut Haat simplifies the process of introducing diversity to one’s diet by offering a very wide range even among simple, everyday foods. Several customers were interested in the wild honey from Himachal Pradesh, based on the species of bee, season, and source of pollen or nectar. Many also flocked to the stalls featuring handmade items such as Hariyali Handi - non-toxic nonstick ware, funky cow dung art, toothbrushes made of wood, bronze items, and sparrow nests among many other products. For those who missed buying their requirement of organic products, SRISTI organizes the Haat thrice a week, and would help connect with the innovative farmers and artisans.
Hunger for Learning
Not only did families delight in the festive spirit of the season, they also engaged with the learning experiences that the Festival offered. The Creativity Corner saw about 2,500 students pursue their curiosity and engage each other through carpentry, broom-making, step ladder making, painting, quizzes, folk songs, paper crafts, and robotics. The traditional copper and brass ware exhibit paid tribute to designs reminiscent of one’s grandparents’ dinner table. The display was a hotspot for selfies, with the novelty of these antiques fascinating the younger crowds.
Posters on innovation, and other displays explaining the activities of the Honey Bee Network were around every corner. This being the very first Sattvik with stalls for the Honey Bee Network, volunteers spoke with several visitors to bring about greater awareness and excitement for grassroots innovation. The Festival was also a stage where unsung heroes among grassroots innovators were honoured.
The “Millet Man of Sikkim”, Tshering Lepcha, has conserved several varieties of millets and brought samples to show visitors while explaining their benefits. Farmers might also prefer these grains that generally give high nutrition for less input, and can be cultivated sustainably. Millets found a place on every stall owner’s menu. While some served traditional dishes like khichdo and rotlo, there were quite a few eye-catching innovations such as millet kebabs with drumstick leaf chutney, ragi smoothie, and millets kimbap (a Korean seaweed roll).
A ‘Kavi Sammelan’ (poets’ meet) on the last day of the festival featured renowned Gujarati poets like Anil Chavda, Tejas Dave, Madhusudan Patel, Vipul Parmar, Bhavin Gopani, and Krunal Shah. Their compositions highlighted the beauty in folk culture, while touching upon current issues.
While the Festival may have concluded, the spirit of Sattvik remains. SRISTI hosts the Khedut Haat thrice a week in Ahmedabad (Sundays – SRISTI campus, Sola Bhagwat, Navjivan Press, Palodia) and concrete plans are in the works to engage with the innovative home cooks throughout the year.
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| Volume No. |
Honey Bee, 35(2)17-19, 2024 |
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