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What started out as a suggestion from a friend to learn how to make Indian snacks became so much more than I could ever imagine. The women of Dream Village are like another family to me and the memories we shared, stamped forever in my story.
It was my first time travelling by myself, on the train in Delhi, to find Dream Village, it isn't marked on Google maps so I just followed the location I was given and hoped I'd get there.
The location was on a busy road in Noida. I got to the entrance which is a small bridge over a drainage canal, being that it was previously a wedding venue, the sides of the bridge were pure white, the shape resembled that of old stone walls purposely built to resemble something that belonged within the grounds of a palace. Luckily, so I was sure I was in the right place there was a banter, "Dream village, each letter in different colours.
I walked into the gate and saw a group of women huddled together, the didis(sisters), I had arrived during a meeting and was graciously welcomed to join in. I sat there quietly, not understanding the proceedings, until someone translated for me, throughout the many conversations I have been a part of at Dream Village, I was always brought up to date in some way or another. I came to know they were having an open day, it saddened me that I had naively shown up expecting to get taught how to make snacks that day only, the woman showed me their packaged products, let me taste them, and of course, with chai. Getting caught up in the moment and quickly figuring out my India schedule, I said as long as their open day did not fall during the wedding, I would return to help cater for it.
Raabta
I arrived in Noida in the evening and arrived at my hotel, only to be told they did not accept foreign passports, the company I had booked through was struggling to find me alternative accommodation, I ended up calling some people at Dream village and telling them my predicament, the answer that was given "well that's what Dream village is for".
I started the next morning bright and early, I had no idea what exactly I was walking into and what was expected of me. What I wanted to do was showcase their products and also because cake was a hot topic, I wanted to do some baking.
The kitchen at Dream Village is huge, it spans over two big rooms, with all sorts of equipment from donations, unfortunately, no oven, but a microwave. Inspired by Maharashtrian pappa(dum) that I had eaten in Haridwar, I made a salsa, onions, tomato, cucumber to go on their Mathri and baked brownies in clay ramekins. Although, I had every intention to teach the Didis(sisters) there just wasn't time in the preparation of Raabta. There was cleaning to be done on the large grounds, decorations to be put up and placement of the designated areas, the stage for performances with chairs and cushions for the audience, the stalls area for both food and other organisations that were there supporting and also showcasing themselves, there was art stalls, even finger tattoos, I was very tempted. https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cmbk5jwjicc/
To be a part of something so special, took my breath away, for the first time in my life, I felt close to my purpose. I met the most incredible people, founders of NGOs, volunteers, the Didis themselves. There was no way I wasn't coming back to give them cooking lessons, I just had to get back to Perth for another Wedding,
Cooking Lessons at Dream Village
Cooking Lessons
Cooking Lessons
I finally found a week where I could make it back to teach the Didis to do some serious cooking with them, I had prepared myself by buying a few pieces of equipment, thanks to some friends and work colleagues. We had previously discussed what they were interested in learning how to cook, soups, cakes, Manchurian sauce, something I'd never made before and wasn't quite a fan of it, the fusion of soy sauce and Indian spices. I prepared a recipe book in Hindi only to find out some Didis couldn't read and if they did not Hindi. I had asked Shiv to joined me to be my interpreter so I was excited to hang with him again.
Day 1 - started with Shiv doing a huge shop for me at the market, I was blown away by the kg and kg of vege we got for $50aud. It was also surprising to find out that green capsicum is was 40inr per kg and red and yellow were 120inr. Garlic segments were tiny. As much as the Didis were excited to see me, I knew my timing was a tad of, one of them had unfortunately lost a child and it had shaken them all. I became somewhat of a distraction.
I had to think on my feet when it came to what equipment I used, I couldn't expect the same food safety procedures, drinking water used for washing vegetables was delivered on certain days. They were more comfortable working on the floor and used smaller knives and also a food processor, pressure cookers are used rather then leaving a pot to cook for longer periods of time. I had only used them at TAFE.
We made tomato soup and some pitta bread, I gave Manchurian an attempt, the Didis were impressed, the only thing was, it was all bout having the right sauces and I had no idea where they could get it from besides the big supermarket I had shopped at the fancy mall down the road, a place I came to later find out, the Didis had not stepped a foot in.
I started to feel like they weren't interested in what I was teaching them so we huddled and had a chat. I also wanted to discuss how their products were going and found out due to inconsistencies of product, business was mediocre, well I can work with that, consistency is huge in the industry so we had a discussion around that. It was a great feeling to finally speak with the Didis, hear their thoughts and t share the knowledge I had.
Eventually we found that these mother's wanted to be able make cake for their kids, it just happened to be on that day, we had a few Didis visiting Dream Village, they too wanted to learn how to make so that's what we did for the rest of my time there. We iced them and I even made some DVs out of chocolate. We first made cupcakes in the microwave then after some researched we moved to the pressure cooker. The joy I experienced from these mothers' faces, knowing they are now capable of making cake for their children, filled my heart, to know I was a part of that, filled my soul.
For my farewell, Priya (program manager for the bridging school) and I had talked about how she had been wanting to take the Didis out for a meal so that is what we did. At the fancy mall, I had talked about previously, 12 of us made out way there, the Didis marvelled at the shopping mall, like children arriving at Disneyland, the excitement grew as we needed to go upstairs on the escalators, the restaurant was packed and luckily there was a small wait for one of the larger tables. I ordered dishes we could share and some were hits and some misses, all in all everyone enjoyed their meals and not long after we arrived back at Dream Village, it was time for me to leave.