This food experience in Vasai will highlight East Indian wedding day delicacies

Judge a man by his actions a friend by his loyalty and an Indian wedding by its feast When motherdaughter duo Natasha and Veera Almeida invite us to a wedding in Vasairsquos Giriz Village this weekend it comes with a delicious twist mdash itrsquos all the food without the actual wedding Igoreyaa the duorsquos new experiential food venture will make Jao Shiker a 1947established bungalow in the village their home for a day this weekend to give us a taste of their cultureChichavni with riceldquoCooking for an East Indian wedding used to be a community event before catering services took over Women of the community would congregate and share their skills and knowledge to churn out large quantities of delicious fugiyas sorpotel and chichavni The actual process would be short but it would be purposefully drawn out to make time for bondingrdquo shares Natasha The new venture brings back this tradition and allows participants to get a close look at this practiceNatasha Almeida and Veera AlmeidaThe Almeidas have hit two nails on the head by reopening the doors to Jao Shiker after decades ldquoThe home like many other bungalows here yearns for a dweller Their original inhabitants have unfortunately or fortunately found home in better developed cities offering better employment opportunities These bungalows stand out from the Portugueseinspired residences you might spot elsewhere in Mumbai owing to their local influences in design marked by intricately carved teakwood workrdquo she reveals Ten per cent of the proceeds from the event to that end will go towards the maintenance of these structuresSundried papris on a netWhile the host will share a brief history of East Indian wedding traditions mdash how the lugra gave way to wedding gowns for instance mdash the focus is on igoreyaa the dishes Chichavni a warm hug in the form of a tamarind stew promises to be a favourite ldquoItrsquos not extravagant or complex The recipe calls for tamarind spring onions and spoonfuls of bottle masala There are few things a hot bowl of chichavni canrsquot fixrdquo she laughs Ask her for a personal favourite and the 27yearold picks her motherrsquos humble pork indyal with bhokache wadeBhokache wadeWe bid farewell to the hosts after all they have one big fat East Indian wedding to plan and then a Christmas feast right after in December Honestly wersquore fatigued merely thinking about it The Almeidas arenrsquot mdash their goal is to revive at least eight such bungalows in Vasai to put the village on the map ldquoPlanning and financing these monthly revival efforts is a mammoth task with rewards that come slowly But if this is what it takes to keep our heritage alive we must do itrdquo she signs offParticipants join a traditional dance at last monthrsquos session right a woman prepares grated coconut for a dish ahead of the eventON November 23 11 amAT Jao Shiker Lahan Giriz village Vasai WestLOG ON TO igoreyaa on InstagramENTRY Revealed on enquiry