Kangra Fort- home of oldest royals?

spreet1 — Wed, 27 May 2015 20:16:34 GMT

I traveled quite often to make a documentary on Tibetan film and music industry to Dharamsala , India, which is headquarters to Tibetan government in exile and home to many Tibetans. I traveled by bus with an overnight journey from New Delhi to Dharamsala. One day I woke up early and saw something that aroused my interest. Camouflaged between the mountains was a fort. I was sure next time I will go here.

Next time I hired a cab from Dharamsala. The fort is called Kangra Fort. It is around 20 kilometers from the town of Dharamsala in town of Kangra. It was built by Hindu rulers of India. I researched about it that day on my phone as the driver took me there with my friends.

It is the largest fort in the Himalayas and probably the oldest dated fort in India. My research told me - Fort was built by the royal Rajput family of Kangra -the Katoch dynasty, which traces its origins to the ancient Trigarta Kingdom, mentioned in the Mahabharata epic. Katoch is the name of a Rajput clan belonging to the Chandravanshi lineage.The Katoch dynasty is considered to be the oldest surviving royal dynasty in the world. They have been mentioned in the Hindu epics Ramayana and Mahabharata and the second mention is in the recorded history of Alexander the Great's war records. Even the fort finds a mention there.

After an hours drive I finally reached. A huge door welcomed me . As I climbed up the stairs I realized that it was also used for the elephants to travel up. The size of the stairs was big, the height of each step was less. As I looked at the statues made on the walls their heads and faces had been cut. Perhaps by the Muslim rulers who had come here later. Then came a temple on the first floor. The temple had beautiful inlay work and carvings on the wall. Then came a "hamam" , bathing place for royals. You could see that perhaps the water used to come from this lion headed fountain.On the topmost floor was a breathtaking view. You could see the entire town.

After that we wentto Maharaja Sansar Chand Katoch Museum run by the Royal Family of Kangra. If you do more research you will find that relatives of this family live till today. How real the claim is no one can be sure of. Perhaps the only reality are the walls of Kangra Fort- which was first under Rajputs then Mughals then Britishers who ruled in India. Many rulers came and went , and fort of Kangra speaks of the the stories -known , unknown and told , untold.

Photos: Passport & Plate - "Mushrooming" Tibetan dish in India

spreet1 — Sat, 1 Mar 2014 23:01:00 GMT

Ingredients
Its a Tibetan dish called -"mushrooms with vegetables"

Tibetans use "Tse Sesha" mushrooms. They are only available in Tibet used as replacement for meat. Else where the mushrooms that come close to Sesha mushrooms are Shiitake mushrooms that can be dry or fresh. Avoid button mushrooms. Beauty of the dish is it can be had by people of all age groups and you can replace mushrooms with chicken or cheese.

Shiitake mushrooms (5-6/ 200 grams)
Carrots (1-2)
Bell peppers and capsicum (2)
Broccoli, cut into florets (1)
1 Red Chilli
garlic cloves (5-6)
black pepper (1tsp)
lettuce (few leaves with any other salad leaves)
sesame seeds (optional)
salt to taste
oil

How to prepare this recipe
"Shiitake" mushrooms with vegetables and Tibetan butter tea

It's a Tibetan dish you can make quickly anywhere and anyone can have it. Beauty of the dish is it can be had by people of all age groups and you can replace mushrooms with chicken or cheese. It is healthy too.

Tibetans use "Tse Sesha" mushrooms. They are only available in Tibet used as replacement for meat. Else where the mushrooms that come close to Sesha mushrooms are Shiitake mushrooms that can be dry or fresh. Avoid button mushrooms.

In case you buy dry mushrooms, boil them before you start cooking. If you buy fresh mushrooms, just wash them gently.

Cut carrots, bell peppers, capsicum, lettuce, broccoli, 1 big red chili. Put them in warm water to soften them.

Take two spoons of olive oil and put 2 cloves of crushed garlic and 1 tsp crushed black pepper in hot oil. Do not let the garlic turn brown. Just after few seconds put mushrooms. Now stir on medium flame till mushrooms turn brown.

In another pan put olive oil and when the oil is hot put crushed 2 garlic cloves along with cut pieces of red chili. After few seconds put the vegetables with salt to taste, stir fry and cover with lid. After 5 minutes put mushrooms, put powdered red chili, stir and cover with lid.

In case you want to put water, do put half a cup water to soften vegetables.Serve with rice.

After this you can have Tibetan milk tea, if you want. Just boil few tea laves in hot water then put milk and sugar and churn till you get white color.

The story behind this recipe
In 2008, we went to Dharamsala in hills of North India which is the seat of Tibetan government in exile. We were making film on Tibetan music and movie industry. In the breaks, we rested at Tibetan restaurants and hence were introduced to Tibetan food. We tasted a lot- Tibetan eggplant chips, potato dimsums (momos) and the one that I really liked was this dish -mushrooms with vegetables.

That day, it was time for sunset. We were tired after film's shooting. So we rested at this small restaurant. The name was written in Tibetan, room was full of prayer flags and it was run by an old Tibetan couple. He apparently loved having us over. He gladly talked to us. He told us that Tibet is cold region where meat is loved,vegetables are scarce and meat is high in proteins. You can replace it with mushrooms.Tibetans use "Tse Sesha" mushrooms. They are largely available in Tibet. Infact the food is usually stir fried and roasted as its difficult to boil water there as the temperature is low. He told us how food has lots of garlic and black pepper and I could agree no more with him as I munched that dish. He even made us help him prepare Tibetan tea. Soon it was time to say good bi. But it was a lovely evening.

I came home in Delhi.I researched on net about Tse Sesha mushrooms. The mushrooms that come close to it are Shiitake. I'm sure Tse Sesha mushrooms might be available else where in world but I was not able to find it here. I also found this strange Indian connection. I searched for meaning of Sesha and there is a strange Indian connection. In India "Adi Sesha" means king of nagas, snake like demi gods that is loyal guardian of Lord Vishnu, preserver deity of Hindu Trinity. This mushroom when sliced looks like snake with its fangs.

I tried making it and it was easy to make. Every time I make it I go back into time. We have also gone to that same restaurant twice and relived the memories. .

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Kangra Fort- home of oldest royals?

Photos: Passport & Plate - "Mushrooming" Tibetan dish in India