Chew On This

Recipes that go back half a century are being kept alive by a group of grandmothers in Mumbai, reports Sahil Jaswal

- Sahil Jaswal

Who doesn’t have fond memories of gorging on their grandmother’s food, flavours only she could whip up, and only some of which made it to her prized recipe book? Forty-one year-old Bhavi Jhaveri is bringing back that old and flavourful tradition with Nanee’s Flavours, a small business that retails traditional snacks made by four grandmothers.

Available in 14 stores across Mumbai and sold among friends and family, these mouth-watering snacks were initially based on the recipes inherited by Jhaveri’s mother-in-law Nayana, 77, and her sister Yamini, 65. But it wasn’t long before Jhaveri’s own mother Harshada, 65, and her friend from Jabalpur, 70 year-old Saroj joined the group, with Harshada’s mother’s secret concoctions adding to the delicious mix.