Forest Vegetables (Raan Bhaaji) Festival in Mumbai
Exactly a year ago,my friend Bimba and I saw an announcement about foraging in the forest with locals and then having a meal with them.This was about three hours away from Mumbai and we were pretty excited by the whole concept.The mountain air,the lush vegetation and the thrill of discovering something new,all seemed to beckon.Unfortunately it rained very,very heavily and the thought of poor network connectivity in such a situation made us give up our adventure. When I saw the announcement for "Wild Foods Festival" by BAIF and OOO Farms,few days ago,my joy knew no bounds.The mountain had arrived in Mumbai! Inspite of the ongoing Ganpati festival,the Rotary Centre hall at Juhu was packed with people of all ages.At first we saw a video on forest foraging and how the locals cooked.I know I want to do this someday.Whether in the forests in Coorg (of which Megha Deokule spoke of at the Archaeobroma (Archaeology of Food) conference some months ago) or Maharashtra,I do...