Tuppa Anna tavvi uppinakai (lemon pickle) / Varan Bhaat Toop Loncha (lemon pickle)

 

Tuppa Anna tavvi uppinakai (lemon pickle) / Varan Bhaat Toop Loncha (lemon pickle)

Send a North Kannadiga or Maharashtrian on a culinary holiday around the world. Let both of them indulge in Italian Pasta or Pizza in Rome, world-class Japanese sushi, a quintessential American cheeseburger topped off with a Michelin star meal, Delhi’s butter chicken or  Kolkata’s macher jhol.They will invariably come back home and demand some hot Tuppa Anna Tavvi Uppinakai  / varan bhaat toop Loncha limbu (dal, rice, homemade ghee, pickle and lemon) or even curd rice with mango pickle. They will then pat their tummy, heave a sigh of relief, and say “Atta kuthe jevlya sarkha watala / Eega oota madidnga aat nodpa (Now that’s what I call a meal).”

In North Karnataka (Bijapur, Belgaum,Dharwad districts) and Maharashtrian Karnataka households, the humble Tavvi Anna Tuppa  / varan bhaat toop  is as versatile and ubiquitous as Naomi Campbell on oxygen channel or Radhika Apte’s appearances on Netflix. Sometimes it is a complete meal on its own, sometimes it is the final course of another meal. Sometimes it is plain simple comfort food, at other times it is part of an elaborate naivadya (offering) to Ganpati Bappa. Sometimes it is the quick something thrown together when a travel-weary guest turns up unexpectedly. Sometimes it is the detox fix of the glutton with a tummy bug. It is the weaning food of a baby and the strengthening potion of the elderly.

Varan bhaat toop / Anna Tavvi Tuppa is therefore not just a meal. It is an institution. It brings to mind mothers, grandmothers, and aunts. It reminds you of summers spent with cousins, hearty meals of said TATU / VBT paired with freshly pickled mango. It is the very identity of Maharashtrians/North Karnataka. This combo meal is to us what the paithani/Ilkal saree is to our weddings and Laxmikant Berde/Dwarkeesh is to our comedy films in Marathi and Kannada – quintessential to our existence.

Come to think of it, we North Kannadigas / Maharashtrians are a simple people with simple tastes. When we go on a holiday, it is not to the Maldives or Korea, but to our mama’s house or our kuldaivat (family deity) in the village. When we shop, we don’t head to designer showrooms in Juhu but saree shops in Hindmata. Our weddings are also simple affairs, not held in five-stars but at a budget banquet hall and school playgrounds. The food is not lavish, it’s vegetarian fare that starts with puri and ends with varan bhaat toop served on a banana leaf. Not for us the rich elaborate Makhanwalas of North India or the spicy chicken Chettinads of the South. On a regular day, we are just as happy with a bowl of shikhran (roughly mashed banana + milk + sugar, served with chapati) as we are with ukdiche modak (sweet steamed dumplings). Our songs sing the praises of dahi-bhaat-limbu and shikhran poli, as if they were the finest Beluga caviar. Like us, varan bhaat toop is simple too. Just three ingredients, economical enough to be affordable to the masses, and luscious enough to be relished by a king. It is completely unpretentious, yet something you want to come home to at the end of the day.

In my earliest memories of food, I was the pickiest of picky eaters, but VBT was part of my staple diet. It was something I’d never refuse.

One incident, when I visited Tokyo Japan during 2008, I was told by many friends the food there will not suit me, and u need to have good backup in case you don’t get anything suitable. That time it clicked me that I need to get into a hotel apartment which will provide a small utensil and a microwave then I can some how make this VBT / TATU.

 
Today, varan bhaat toop has become a luxury for many. The cook in my house fails at making varan every single day. Sometimes it is a thick mush, capable of supporting a standing spoon. Sometimes it is a suspension of thick dal legumes at the bottom, and a mile of water floating above. Remember when I said the recipe was deceptively simple? Varan bhaat toop is like making poached eggs. It is seemingly simple to cook and yet notoriously difficult to get right. In fact, if I had to judge someone’s cooking, I’d ask them to make me some good old VBT. The secret is getting the right amount of turmeric. Or maybe it is the asafoetida. Or is it the fragrant homemade ghee?

If you like this article re try making and eating this.

 

BON APPETIT!!