चंडीगढ़ में उत्तराखंड की पहाड़ी दुकानों का अपना स्वाद।
Chandigarh looks up at the Shivaliks every day, but the hills on its horizon lead into Himachal, and the shops of Garhwal and Kumaon are further off. Hill food from Uttarakhand has a different character from what you find in the Himachali markets nearby: jakhiya instead of cumin, pisyu loon, gahat and bhatt, and buransh from the Kumaon forests.
This site brings those shops to the Tricity. Choose from family shops across Uttarakhand, and each one packs your order and hands it to the courier. Hill woollens, Pahadi topis and Kumaoni sweets are here too, for gifts and the cold months. Cash on delivery is available where the shop has turned it on.
Chandigarh celebrates Lohri on 13 January, with bonfires, rewri, gajak and peanuts, and Makar Sankranti follows. In Kumaon that day is Ghughutiya, when ghughute are fried from flour and jaggery and strung into garlands for the children. Jaggery runs through both festivals, and a plate of ghughute sits well beside the rewri.
Chandigarh winters are cold enough to set ghee hard and to crystallise honey within weeks. Both are normal; keep them in the kitchen rather than a cold room, and stand honey in warm water if it sets. Summers are hot and dry, so keep pickles and spices out of direct sun.