Keeping Kosher in Mumbai

In November 2008 an unforgettable horrific terror attack took place in Mumbai, India. Of the 164 people killed, Rabbi Gavriel and Rivkah Holtzberg hy’’d were murdered as well. It was a time of extreme darkness and unimaginable sorrow for the Jewish nation. Yet, once again, the Jewish spirit withstood and emerged stronger than ever. The Gechtman family courageously moved to Mumbai to continue the work the Holtzbergs began. In this issue, Rebbetzin Gechtman shares her personal tale with us in “Keeping Kosher in Mumbai, India.” Even in Mumbai, India, food remains a powerful medium that unites people from all walks of life. It is around meals that memories form and relationships are established.

By Leiky Gechtman – Bitayavon Magazine

Mumbai, India—a city with an area of ​​233 square miles and a population of approximately 20 million people. Density in Mumbai is about 10000 people per square mile!

Walking through the streets of India, one experiences a sensory overload. It is 38 degrees Celsius with high humidity. The streets are mostly narrow alleys, in which traders attempt to force you to buy their wares while random animals skitter back and forth. On every street corner there are stalls selling Indian snacks like “samosas,” “budgie,” “g’albis,” and nuts and fruit that are in season. Everything is flavored and fried on the spot, and when the smells mix together with the steamy air it can be very overpowering. Every local resident stops at least once during his or her shopping for a snack.

Local eating and culture is very different from what we are accustomed to in America. When I prepared myself to move to Mumbai I read about the city, the population, the mentality, but I didn’t prepare myself for the food, or the hordes of people that surround the food. Lunchtime was also something new that I never experienced before. During lunch, there are no business meetings or interferences; you cannot reach anyone between the hours of 1 and 2:30 p.m.

After a few days of living in Mumbai and adjusting slightly to the very different culture of the city, I decided to visit the 3×12 kitchen in which I would need to cook meals for an average of 50 people every Shabbat. I went to meet the kitchen employees during “lunchtime” and found a group of workers sitting on the floor with plates full of rice and dal (lentil stew), scooping the rice and gravy with their hands and putting it in their mouths. In surprise, I turned to them from the kitchen and asked if they wanted a fork. Everyone raised their eyebrows quizzically, as if they felt sorry for me.

We only have a fleishig kitchen. Getting fish is not easy, as the beaches of Mumbai are not clean, and there is little fish available. In Hindu culture, the cow is sacred and for many people the only option is chicken! Every six months we shecht several thousand chickens and freeze them in a warehouse. The chickens are the main source of protein for our family and the community at large. Dairy is almost impossible to get, which is why we only have a fleishig kitchen. We also only get dairy and wine when we have visitors from overseas. When guests come many of them bring us various ‘treats,’ such as milk and sweets. The remaining ingredients that I truly need—like basic spices, sauces and meat—I bring with me when I come back from a visit abroad. We learned to make do with what is available and what we can prepare at home. Fast food is not even in our vocabulary! Everything we eat from bread to dessert is basic and fresh.

One of our main roles as Chabad emissaries in Mumbai is hosting the many businessmen, tourists, backpackers and families that come to visit. Many visitors are looking for a “warm place,” a familiar language and a feeling of, “hey, I have family in Mumbai.” We serve as an island of sanity among all the chaos of Mumbai. As a result, our Shabbat/holiday table is very diverse. Backpackers that have been hiking around India for over a year, sleeping and eating in places that cost about $3 or $4 a night, sit around the table with influential businessmen with the feeling that they are all equal. Accommodating all different kinds of guests at a Shabbat meal can be a challenge. On the one hand the meal needs to be respectable enough that the businessmen feel comfortable, and on the other hand it needs to be open and warm so the backpackers and tourists feel at home.

This past Shmini Atzeres, among our many other guests, there were a group of Israeli backpackers that came out of nowhere. This usually happens, and I always cook a lot of extra food. Six of them arrived in time to light candles and pray with the minyan, but two more girls were supposed to be on their way and arrived 2 hours later in tears. They had been looking for our home and got lost going around in circles in the confusing streets and alleys. At the end of the meal the girls came to me and told me: “This day was one of the worst days of our lives, but thanks to you, and the delicious Yom Tov meal, we felt at home and forgot everything!”
Last Saturday two representatives of a large company also told me: “We did not imagine that in Mumbai there would be such a delicious elegant meal and such a feeling of unity with other Jews.”

Recently, there was also a lady who specialized in software development staying in Mumbai for three weeks, and she joined us for Shabbat. A few weeks after she left a co-worker told us she decided to keep Shabbat with her family in Israel. There is a saying: “The cholent of the Rebbetzin is more effective than the words of Torah of the Rabbi.” It is rewarding and beautiful to see how in India, a land of self-discovery, people have found that kosher food is high in quality, tasty, healthy and hygienic.

I am sure most of you probably visited an Indian restaurant at some time or another. I have not, because I cannot tolerate spicy food (I even have difficulty with barbecue and smoky foods), and spice is the basic foundation of many Indian dishes. Some say Indian food is heavily spiced to preserve the food in the intense Indian heat. Due to my aversion to spice, one of the basic rules in our kitchen is that we do not cook Indian food. This is something, however, that many of our visitors enjoy. Many visitors, who also eat in the local restaurants and food carts, come to the Chabad House to “soothe their palate” after all the spicy food they consumed.

I remember one of our first Shabbatot in Mumbai. It was an especially large Shabbat. Every year there is a famous diamond exhibition in Mumbai and Jewish diamond dealers come from around the world. We were thrilled and planned on making an extraordinary Shabbat. Starting on Thursday we made challah, salads, matbucha, tahina, eggplant dips, beet salad, zucchini salad and carrot salad for the first course. There was no fish—we don’t buy fish in monsoon season because of the heavy pollution that can be dangerous. For the second and third courses we made soup with matzo balls, honey chicken, meatballs, rice, potatoes, several kinds of pies, green beans, and even roast that was brought in from New York. By the time we lit candles I was exhausted, but satisfied and excited with the wonderful dinner we were going to have.

When Friday night dinner came around everything was going great. I first served the salads and the soup. There was also a wonderful atmosphere from the singing and the words of Torah. But when I went to serve the next course I discover the roast had spoiled! Anyone who has hosted guests before understands the terrible feeling I felt. I stood in the doorway of the kitchen, took a deep breath and walked out with a smile all the while feeling stressed and disappointed about the spoiled meat. Of course, no one noticed that anything was missing. Everybody was happy, satisfied and well fed.

I didn’t come to Mumbai an accomplished chef. And even now, I am not the type who loves to spend time cooking complicated recipes with lengthy explanations. But cooking for those who visit and for the community in Mumbai is a continuation of an important mission. My family and I moved here to maintain and strengthen Judaism and bring light to this far away land, despite the terrible tragedy that claimed the lives of the Shluchim Gabi and Rivki Holtzberg HY”D. We are Jews, and Jews do not surrender!

Leiky can be reached at mumbaichabad@gmail.com and at +91 9769060840. You can visit http://www.chabadindia.org/ for more information about Chabad of Mumbai.

Bitayavon magazine celebrates kosher in a modern, revolutionary way with easy to prepare, gourmet recipes and professionally shot photographs. In addition to many original never before printed recipes, Bitayavon is full of tips and articles such as Keeping kosher in Mumbai, Ask the Rav, Seasonal Salads, The New Superfood and more. There is sure to be something for every type of cook and every palate as well.