Enterprising women share a list of tasty alternatives for chaumasa

No maida no problemFortysevenyearold Jigna Shahrsquos Jain cakes with no maida are a chaumasafavourite among her Jain patrons This writer is particularly in love with her Jain chocolate cake and continues to order it on other days of the year too ldquoI started learning how to bake out of curiosityrdquo Shah shares adding that she was not even sure of what cakes were before she signed up for a workshop by an acquaintance 13 years ago ldquoI donrsquot use what I learnt in the workshop at all I didnrsquot like the taste or the texture of the cake they taught but that is where my journey began I began experimenting on recipes by myself Initially Irsquod make cakes only for friends on demand But gradually word spread and people started to place orders with merdquoShah who works without any help still prefers to be referred to as a homemaker who does baking only for passion She begins baking at 6 am everyday and tries to wrap up by 3 pm while also juggling household chores She takes pride in her chaumasa special mdash no maida no butter or vanilla essence chocolate and caramel cake ldquoI donrsquot use chocolate in my Jain chocolate cake Most people avoid it during chaumasa I have invented my own cocoa cream which I assure you nobody else can replicaterdquo she beamsCost Jain cakes no maida start from Rs 1000 per kg plain cakes 70 percent wheat 30 percent maida start from Rs 1200Call 9892650646Delivery Across MumbaiWomen for womenRupa Jhaveri began her search for a yeastfree bread following her own upadhana PicsANURAG AHIREldquoAfter my upadhana a religious practice in which you live like a Jain monk for 45 days I stopped eating commerciallyprepared bread because it consists of yeast But I loved its taste so I decided to learn how to make an alternative by myselfrdquo shared Rupa Jhaveri one of the most soughtafter Jain bakers Even after watching several YouTube videos and practising for over six months success seemed far away ldquoI reached out to my fatherrsquos friend who had been in the baking business for over 40 years for help He told me the problem was in my oven It took a professional oven of 4500 vaults to achieve the softness and the right texture of the bread After training under him I started out my bakery with a team of 12 womenrdquoJhaveri bakes more than 200 packets of breads every dayJhaveri came across a centre that supported lesserprivileged women from her community ldquoI wanted them to become selfreliant and so I trained them and a few other boys for deliveries Today we have doubled in size and have two outlets one in Marine Lines and the second in Jogeshwari Our breads are sold across the city and beyondrdquo The kitchen sells various kinds of breads sauces snacks and dry powdersAt Rupabenrsquos Kitchen Sonapur Gully Marine LinesCall 7208118363Snacking the Jain waySarika Savna with her Jain samosa Pics courtesyRushant JainGirgaumrsquos Royal Bite below is a favourite snacking destination for the cityrsquos Jain community especially during these four months With options ranging from vada pav and samosa to Jain wafers and sweets 48yearold owner Sarika Savna has made arrangements for everyoneldquoMany customers who are not Jains including policemen stop by often for our vada pav They cannot believe that we donrsquot add potato for something like vada pav and it still tastes goodrdquo Savna shares She has also recently started a cloud kitchen for Jain foodAt Royal Bite Shop No 3 Khotachi Wadi GirgaumCall 9920799407Passion above all elseBijal Shah making pesto paneer cigars PicsSAMEER MARKANDEldquoI have always loved cookingrdquo says Bijal Shah Her journey started with an app Holachef for which she delivered a certain quantity of homemade food every day ldquoI wanted to do hotel management but that required a lot of nonvegetarian cooking So I dropped out By 2016 my children had grown up and I also wanted to contribute to our household financiallyI returned to my passion and started cooking classes where I would teach vegetarian fare especially Jain food I also take party ordersrdquo she adds Shah is a selftaught cook who relied on cookbooks online videos her intuition and her childrenrsquos reviews to perfect the art She prepares different cuisines including Asian Chinese Italian Punjabi Gujarati and MexicanAt Bijalrsquos Food Creations 174 Phiroza Mansion Grant Road EastCost Rs 2500 onwards oneday course of 10 to 12 dishesCall 8369824942 for orders or workshop enquiriesAlso trygtgt Jain tiffin lunch and dinnerCall 8779388092 Usha Ambawat tiffin servicegtgt Jain cookies and biscuitsCall 8000053341