What rajma in the hills tastes like

It all began with apples tonnes of them At Tons Valley a remote Himalayan stretch in the far northwestern region of Uttarakhand this fruit is found growing on trees outside every home all through July and August At any other point in time locals would have packed their producemdashand those of their neighbours as wellmdashin boxes and travelled nearly 175 km to the local mandis in Dehradun a few hours drive away The income was never great but just about enough for the selfsustained agricultural households During the lockdown everything came to a grinding haltA home in the valleyIn a first families were staring at an agricultural crisis Social entrepreneur Anand Sankar who has been working in the valley for nearly seven years was aware of the plight of the local farmers His wife writerfilmmaker and food researcher Shubhra Chatterji who otherwise shuttles between Mumbai Dehradun and Tons Valley and was homebound in the north remembers how distraught the villagers were ldquoThe only two means of livelihood for the locals is tourism or selling whatever little they are growingrdquo she says While the former had taken a big hit due to the lockdown the villagers could no longer travel down to the market either because they would risk exposing themselves to the virusAnand Sankar and Shubhra Chatterji launched Tons Valley Shop in October 2020ldquoHow could we help themrdquo Thatrsquos the question which kept gnawing at the couple By May when the situation started getting worse Sankar on a whim posted about the ldquodeliciously sweet apples from Tons Valleyrdquo on Facebook ldquoWe asked friends if they were willing to book and pay for the apple boxes immediately and promised to deliver the fruits during the harvest season a few months later in July It was just an experiment and we didnrsquot really put any thought into itrdquo recalls Chatterji But when the harvest season arrived and the apples were delivered the initiative just blew up ldquoThose who had received the apples raved about it on social media or went and told their friends So the orders just kept coming inrdquo By the end of it they had sold nearly 25500 kg of the fruit ldquoAnand and two locals sourced the apples packed them and transported them to Dehradun from where theyrsquod be couriered across the countryrdquoThe success of that initiative led the couple to start the Tons Valley Shop a platform that aggregates and finds a fair market for products produced by local communities Itrsquos actually the locals who inspired the decision says Chatterji ldquoAfter success with the apples sale a lot of villagers reached out to us asking if we could find a market for their produce We realised that we were in the perfect position to be an inbetween for the for the villagers and customers across the countryrdquoThe long white harshil is considered the tastiest by the local communityUntil 2019 Internet was still alien in Tons Valley Even today once you enter the area phone networks go down Itrsquos here back in 2013 that Sankar launched the Kalap Trust named after one of the villages in the Upper Tons Valley ldquoThe nonprofit was started as an lsquoafterschoolrsquo that equipped children with English language and basic life skillsrdquo says ChatterjiSankar even opened a tiny hospital to serve the 37 villages in the region as the nearest healthcare centre was as far as Dehradun In order to boost revenue Kalap Trust started a tourism company Tons Trails and villagers were trained as guides and also encouraged to open their homes to be used as homestays The new online food shop says Chatterji is yet another attempt to help the locals However the shop is a seasonal enterprise ldquoWhenever it is harvesting season and the locals have something extra to sell they reach out to usrdquo says Chatterji who runs the popular Instagram handle historwali ldquoThatrsquos why our stock doesnrsquot last through the yearrdquoTo buy httpstonsvalleyshopIn October when they launched the couple started by selling organic walnuts Rs 475 a kg including the wild variety that you find in jungles The valley has nearly a hundred walnut trees many of which are endemic and some plantedThe rajma of which there are over seven varietiesmdashlong red capsule long red chitra long white harshil and small red capsule to name a fewmdashand which is staple food grain of the valley has also been a big hit The website comprises details of each varietymdashyou can buy them separately or as a mixed combo pack Of these the long white harshil R587 for 2 kg is considered the tastiest by the local community because itrsquos easy to cook and forms a delicious gravy ldquoI am learning so much in the process of running the shop I never knew that there were so many varieties of rajma alone Whatrsquos interesting is that this grain is grown by women who are basically subsistence farmers After growing enough to last the family a year they usually have about 20 to 40 kg to spare This is the produce that is now available on the shoprdquoTons Valley boasts of seven varieties of rajmaThe locals says Chatterji use little or no fertilisers ldquoJust because of where they live in the hills it is impossible for them to procure any pesticides or fertilisers They mostly rely on cow dung or mulching technique to farmrdquoThe shop recently got an FSSAI licence encouraging the couple to explore diversify and include more interesting produce from the region They have started selling the Himalayan shepherd rajma seasoning Rs 263 for 250 gm locally known as choramdashthe goto ingredient for shepherds in the summer This is the season when shepherds take their flock of sheep and goats to the highaltitude Himalayan pastures In that harsh environment rajma is a favourite because it is dense and rich in proteins Since it is impossible to carry too many ingredients to make the rajma they use a simple recipemdashtwo spoons of mustard oil garlic red chillies salt chora and rajma The rajma is usually left to slowcook allday and the soupy dish is enjoyed with either roti or riceThe Himalayan shepherd rajma seasoning locally known as chora is the goto ingredient for shepherds to prepare rajma gravy in the summerWith the rhododendron harvesting season approaching the couple is planning to sell the juice and squash made from the flower next month ldquoBy April we also plan to sell pahadi onion and garlic saltsrdquo says ChatterjiThe duo recently moved into a home in Tons Valley and though Chatterji continues to spend a significant time in Mumbai where she helms food shows she says the new store is keeping her busy ldquoHaving a website has made our lives easier I remember when we were selling the apple boxes it had become chaotic because we were doing everything over WhatsApp Sometimes wersquod get texts in the middle of nightrdquo she says adding that the challenge now is to master logistics ldquoThere is nothing around Tons Valley Even the packaging has to be procured from the Dehradun markets Once thatrsquos done the orders have to be again brought down to the city and couriered from thereRecently there was a snow storm and everything got delayed So yes it does take us a while to process the orders Itrsquos not easy and can sometimes be exhausting But our customers have been very understandingrdquo25KVolume in kilos that the couple sold of their first lot of apples to urban consumers during lockdown