Bastar's Unique Food Traditions

Bastar's Unique Food Tradition

Southern part of the state of Chhattisgarh is called Bastar. It's 60% area is covered by dense forest. Gond,Batra,Halba,Dorla are the main native tribes of Bastar.

Bastar (Charama to Konta)

Though Bastar is part of Chhattisgarh, but it has its own individual cultural identity and food tradition. The people from Bastar inherit the most pure form of food culture and culinary methods. Here,the tribes are highly dependent on the wild forest . Their food preparation,methods are raw and still for some tribes, cooking is not the mandatory process.  

Grains, Millets, Vegetables, fruits, small animals, roots, legumes, lentils, plant beverages , dried vegetables, nuts,seeds are some common category of food culture ,which is consumed by locals in raw, processed or cooked form. 

Through out the year with different seasons ,different products come from the forest. Like Mahua comes in spring ,Tendu comes in Summer , Bamboo shoots come out in Mansoon ,Pembeeja comes in autumn.

Bamboo Shoots

Grains and Millets 

Though paddy is a main crop in Chhattisharh , but people and tribes from Bastar consume millets like Kodo, Kutki, Kulthi, Ragi or Madiya as well as they cultivate Masoor, Maize, Arhar.Jwar, Bajra, Makka are used as main ingredients in their food. Pej the semi liquid water from grain,millets is main staple food for the locals.  

Pej-water from cooked grains or millets

The food habit of people from Bastar are very close to the nature. In their cultivation process the use of pesticides are very less. Now days major of the locals do settled farming but tradition of shift or migrate farming still exist among some of the tribes community. 

Leaves

Leaves are an important portion  in Chhattisgarh's food plate. The consumption of different leafy vegetables is very  popular food habbit in whole Chhattisgarh including Bastar. Amaranth, Koliaribhaji,Kanatabhaji,Khatabhaji, Sarsonbhaji, Bhathua, Charota, Mlakangni (black oil tree, swarnalata, jyotismati),Silyari bhaji(phul bhaji),safed musali (Karauli /Chlorophytum arundinaceum),Munda saag (Gokharu),Guma (Dronapushpi),Bhawarmal

Khatta Bhaji

Most of the varieties of leaves are having medicinal properties and commonly used in Ayurveda.

Forest Products

Some of the super food like Boda, Futu, Yum, Bamboo, Bamboo shoots and Colacasia directly come from Bastar's dense forest. These wild food products required minimum process before consumption.

Mushroom

Mahua, Imli ,Tamarind, Aamla, Banana, Mangoes are the main products, which are taken directly from the forest and consumed for personal and commercial purposes.

Aamla-Gooseberry

Drinks and liquors

With Mahua, Sulfi, Tadi, Landa(made from fermented rice) are few different alcohol based drinks, which are extracted and made by natural resources like fruits and crops. Ceenda is a stimulator drink like coffee made from seeds of Ceenda (coffeweed/kasunda/Caisiya Odeedentialis).

Commercial Food and products from Bastar

Mahua, Imali (Indian Dates), Tendu patta, Sarai are cash by products from the Bastar forest, as it gives revenue to the local people. Local markets,Madai ,Haat are the commercial places for the locals to sale their products collected from the Forest.

Mahua Tree -Madhuca Longifolia

Mahua (Madhuca Longifolia) is a trademark for Bastar tribal culture and economy. Every part of this tree is useful. The bark off the tree, flowers, fruits are useful and keep a demand in the market. The Bark has a medicinal value. Seed is used for extracting mahua oil which can be used for food preparation, cosmetic uses. Mahua flowers are collected and dried to make liquor out of it. Almost all traditional rituals are incomplete without using mahua in Bastar.

Chironji is other cash product which has high value in the market .It is considered as dry fruit.

Imali and Imali seeds (Tamarind and Tamarind seeds) is one of the major forest products ,which gives sustainability for livelihood. Jagdalpur is Asia's biggest market for Imali (Tamarind) and influence the price of Tamarind across India.Imali seeds are very useful for medicinal purposes.

Dried Mango seeds collected by locals gives great opportunity for creating Dried Mango Powder market of India.

Dried Mango-Amchur

Yum/tapioca/Ban aloo or Karu Kanda is commonly find and extracted from the Jungle and process to make chips from it . 

The Raw Turmeric is heavily consumed by local tribes since years in their food preparation and which is considered one of the reasons behind their good health immunity.

Kacchi Haldi- Raw Turmeric

Nonvegetarian food habits :

Non vegetarian food has influence on Bastar's food culture.Different types of  fish, lobster are very common is regular food habbits. They keep dried fish for the summers. Other than fish, Chicken,Goat are consumed by locals.

Chapda Chatni which is specialty of Bastar region made with red ants. Local consider it as medicinal and rich in nutrients. 

Aamat is kind of sambar made in Bastar with the use of different kind of vegetables including Bamboo Shoot .

The special preparation of rice are sweet vada, nariyal mithi which is prepared by coconut, gudiya khaja ,Mahua laddoo which is prepared by Mahua, are used as some of the traditional sweets.

The use of pumpkin red and white, papaya, tuma, Lauki are used to make Badiyan.

Rakhiya Badi

Cashew (Kaju) in Bastar :  

In 1970 Bastar's tropical weather was found suitable for the Cashew farming. Since then cashew saplings where planted in large number in different parts of  Bastar region. Now the production of cashew has been increased many fold ,which is also generating income for locals.

The food tradition of Bastar is unique in different parameters .The dense forest, tribes and weather creates a combination,which is raw, healthy, close to nature. Bastar's Unique Tradition is still untasted and unexplored by the rest of the world . 

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