Many classic cuisines in India are gradually fading away and just one such delicacies belongs to the Muslims of the Karavali coastline of Karnataka. Known as the Nawayaths, they are generally settled in the towns of Bhatkal, Byndoor, Malpe, Gangolli, Shiroor, Tonse and Murdeshwar.
The origin story: The Nawayaths hail from the Arabian Peninsula, and the Persian Gulf. They used to operate as businessmen, merchants and mariners there. Concerning the 8th and 15th hundreds of years, they migrated from Yemen, Iran and Turkey to the coast of Karnataka for trade. The time period ‘Nawayath’ loosely interprets to “newly arrived” or “newcomers”. The community speaks ‘Nawayathi’, a language that is a combine of Konkani, Arabic, and Persian.
Shaad Hassan Damudi, co-owner of Alibaba Café and Cafe, which serves up Nawayathi and Arabic meals in Frazer Town, points out why this is going on. “Our conventional food stuff is laborous and time-consuming. We are living in a speedy-paced planet and no one particular definitely has the time to make any of these dishes on a common foundation.” Damudi has shut down the outlet quickly, because of the pandemic.
Earlier, people today would remain in joint people and divide work and time to whip up these dishes. “But for individuals being in nuclear households, it can get nearly a working day to make standard foods like ‘Mudkoley’ (steamed rice dumplings cooked in an aromatic coconut stew with prawns or rooster),” he provides.
Uzma Mavad from Byndoor, who’s currently staying in Bengaluru, urges customers of her neighborhood to make these dishes irrespective of their fast paced schedules. Otherwise, the foreseeable future technology will reduce contact with this foodstuff heritage of theirs. Children have by now neglected ‘Guliyan Godan’ (a sweet pudding produced from maida and coconut milk), ‘Ghaawan’ (sweet crepes manufactured with coconut milk and topped with ghee and sugar) and ‘Chonge’ (a dense rice cake), she states.
Chatting about the anatomy of the Nawayathi cuisine, it is rich for the reason that it will make use of coconut solutions but it is light on spices when in contrast to other foodstuff in the South. The Arabic aspects in the meals have come down over the several years when Konkani influences like the use of the Byadagi purple chillies have crept in.
Seafood is central to the Nawayathi cuisine. Fish, prawns, mussels and oysters, readily available in a great deal along the Konkan coastline, are put together with local spices to make the incredibly umami ‘Mhawra Lonmiri’ (fish cooked in a salt-pink chilli paste) and the ‘Watwa Nhewri’ (steamed mussels stuffed with a spicy combine of rice and coconut).
‘Bhatkally Biryani’ is another staple. It would make use of greatly steamed and marinated mutton pieces topped with mounds of velvety saffron rice and protected with birista (fried onions).
Vegetables do make an appearance on the Nawayathi menu just about every when in a although. ‘Sakhuche’ (a spicy, tangy mixed vegetable stew created with a sprint of coconut milk) is a lunch favourite. The group is also fond of Breadfruit. A misnomer, it’s a vegetable that is domestically known as ‘Dewfanas’.
But not every person is losing hope about the future of Nawayathi food. Based mostly in Bhatkal, Zahura Gouhar operates a YouTube channel and Instagram web site (Gouhar’s Kitchen area), wherever she posts tutorials on how to make the traditional Nawayathi food items.
Photos by: Nazeef Khaleel
She is supplying a present day spin to her foodstuff to catch the attention of the young technology. “One of our most popular puddings is the ‘Khubusa Poli’ (a abundant bread and egg pudding). I’ve tweaked the recipe and produced my have model. It has turn into a crowd favourite,” says Gouhar.
Her YouTube channel has been little by little escalating in recognition. “As people today had free of charge time through the lockdowns, we saw an raise in the variety of youthful persons getting curiosity in studying our dishes. The channel has develop into a favourite amongst the newly-married Nawayathi girls,” says Nazeef Khaleel, her son.
A resident of HBR Layout, Saaqib Musba is hoping to popularise the Nawayathi food stuff by his small business, Significant Daddy’s Kitchen area, given that past year.
Using Instagram and Facebook, he has been selling the ‘Haldi Paana Nhewri’ (steamed rice cakes crammed with coconut and jaggery or coconut and hen, wrapped in turmeric leaves), ‘Saath Padara Nhewri’ (a sweet dish very similar to bebinca), and ‘Shaiyan Biryani’ (biryani made with nearby vermicelli noodles instead of rice) amid other dishes. He has specified English names to these dishes to make them relatable.
“Bengalureans have been incredibly welcoming. I get a whole lot of orders from non-Nawayathi men and women who are enthusiastic to test this delicacies they have not listened to of ahead of,” he claims.