In a kitchen that is housed in a structure that’s around 150 years old, Pannuli Devi enjoys cooking in copper and brass utensils that she inherited from her in-laws and received as wedding gifts.

As the winter sun reaches its peak, Pannuli Devi and her daughter Pushpa serve us nimbu saan and lai ke pakode, a staple evening snack up in the mountains of Uttarakhand. We wash it down with a steaming pot of chai, and watch the sun go down on the Nanda Devi in the backdrop. Pannuli’s home kitchen in Virkhan is housed inside a structure which dates back 150 years. Her teal-coloured kitchen was lovingly built by her husband Puran Lal, she tells us, and it feeds their family of ten everyday.

 

Virkhan is a small village of less than 100 people, a two-hour drive from Nainital. A typical Kumaoni household kitchen here is often designed with simplicity and functionality, using centuries-old knowledge of the native mountain people of Uttarakhand. Coming from families that practise agriculture, many of them have built their homes and kitchens adjacent to their farms.

It’s common to see homes in the region adorned with Aipan—ritualistic folk motifs drawn using a paste made of rice flour. Borders of red and white earth pigments decorate the walls of their homes to bring good fortune, and keep evil spirits at bay.
The kitchen is considered one of the most auspicious parts of village homes, the place where wholesome meals are cooked with produce from their own till. Pannuli’s favourite part of the kitchen is the chulha (wood-fired stove), especially because Puran Lal, a stone mason, built it for the family. In this photo, Pannuli Devi is cooking along with her daughter Pushpa.
As per custom, the chulha is the most respected space within a kitchen, and is plastered with mud every day for two reasons—to keep the sacred space clean, and free of black soot that is emitted from cooking over an open wood fire. Pannuli, in her mid fifties, enjoys her daily chore of mud-plastering the chulha with fresh, clay paste that smells of the earth. It brings her a sense of calm and cool.
Wood, as a material, finds its way into many parts of this kitchen. The fire is lit with a chilka (resin-laced pine wood), and then placed over pine or oak wood to fuel the cooking process. THE PErson cooking sits on a chauk (a wooden stool) in front of the fire, and most utensils and food items are placed within arm’s reach. Wooden containers called theki are usually used to make curd, or store common items like salt.
The sil batta—generally a large stone with tiny crevices and a smaller stone for grinding—is another item found in homes, usually self-made, and passed down through generations. The foods ground on stone use low friction and low heat, thereby keeping a lot of the delicate flavours of the ingredients intact. Ask any local, and they will say that nothing compares to the taste of a stone-ground paste.
Pannuli along with her sister-in-law Mamta Devi.
Mamta Devi separating husks from grains.
Ukhli

Harder items like grains and pulses are pounded on an ukhli or okhli—a pounding area created outside kitchens—by making a crevice in the ground. A tall wooden stick is used to pound items, while a small broom made with a local grass called jhaas pushes the contents back into the ground. Soop (woven bamboo trays) are used to separate husks from grains by tossing it up and down, and letting the wind do its job. In this photo, Pannuli can be seen at work along with Mamta Devi, her sister-in-law.

Pannuli enjoys cooking in copper and brass utensils that she has inherited from her in-laws, and that she received as gifts during her wedding. She feels that the nutrition and flavour of slow-cooking in these vessels are hard to match with present-day utensils, mostly designed for convenience. She is amused at the fact that a utensil like the pressure cooker is prevalent these days.
A kasera (a heavy-bottomed copper utensil) is generally used to slow-cook meals.
Traditional copper and brass utensils passed down through generations.

Usually passed down through generations, heirlooms and traditional copper and brass utensils are generally reserved for special occasions and festivals. Heavy-bottomed to accommodate the intensity of the wood fire, these vessels are perfect to cook dals and protein-rich foods which take time to break down.  a Kasera (a heavy-bottomed copper utensil) is generally used to slow-cook meals.

 

As someone who has used this kitchen for decades, we ask Pannuli what her favourite thing to cook in this kitchen is. And, what does she like to eat? Pannuli’s favourite thing to eat is aloo ke gutke, a dry aloo preparation, along with ragi roti which she flattens and shapes using just her hands, unlike rotis made with a belan (rolling pin) and chakli (rolling board). She makes them the best in her house, she tells us, adding that even her daughter-in-laws prefer it if she made them everyday. She also loves green leafy vegetables, linguda (fiddlehead ferns), and jhangore ka khichdi (barnyard millet). But her husband’s bitter gourd subzi is her most favourite. Her husband helps out whenever he can, but mostly only after he returns home from a long day of work.

 

So, is there anything that Pannuli would change about her teal kitchen? She says that she loves her kitchen just as it is. Having had countless memories in there, feeding her seven children and husband, she wouldn’t change it for anything! She especially holds close the memories of her husband—“a cheerful and entertaining man”—cooking meat (a rare treat) for the entire family while singing old Hindi songs.

 

Avanti Kumar is a chef who left her big city life for a quiet, slow paced life in the mountains of Uttarakhand. Her days are spent farming, foraging, cooking, and creating a sustainable lifestyle in the Himalayas. Dushyant Vashisht is an entrepreneur, tech enthusiast and photographer. Together, they host guests through their AirBnb ‘Bir Terraces’ in Virkhan where guests can experience utopia in the hills.