Chaumasa is a four-month period when Jains abstain from eating root and green vegetables, among other ingredients. Here’s our list of tasty alternatives prepared by enterprising women
Jigna Shah invented a secret cocoa cream for her famous Jain chocolate cakes
No maida, no problem
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Forty-seven-year-old Jigna Shah’s Jain cakes with no maida are a chaumasa-favourite among her Jain patrons. This writer is particularly in love with her Jain chocolate cake, and continues to order it on other days of the year, too. “I started learning how to bake out of curiosity,” Shah shares, adding that she was not even sure of what cakes were before she signed up for a workshop by an acquaintance 13 years ago. “I don’t use what I learnt in the workshop at all. I didn’t like the taste or the texture of the cake they taught, but that is where my journey began. I began experimenting on recipes by myself. Initially, I’d make cakes only for friends on demand. But gradually, word spread, and people started to place orders with me.”
Shah, who works without any help, still prefers to be referred to as a homemaker who does baking only for passion. She begins baking at 6 am everyday and tries to wrap up by 3 pm, while also juggling household chores. She takes pride in her chaumasa special — no maida, no butter or vanilla essence chocolate and caramel cake. “I don’t use chocolate in my Jain chocolate cake. Most people avoid it during chaumasa. I have invented my own cocoa cream, which I assure you, nobody else can replicate,” she beams.
Cost: Jain cakes (no maida) start from Rs 1,000 per kg; plain cakes (70 percent wheat, 30 percent maida) start from Rs 1,200
Call: 9892650646
Delivery: Across Mumbai
Women for women
Rupa Jhaveri began her search for a yeast-free bread following her own upadhana. Pics/ANURAG AHIRE
“After my upadhana (a religious practice in which you live like a Jain monk for 45 days), I stopped eating commercially-prepared bread because it consists of yeast. But I loved its taste, so I decided to learn how to make an alternative by myself,” shared Rupa Jhaveri, one of the most sought-after Jain bakers. Even after watching several YouTube videos and practising for over six months, success seemed far away. “I reached out to my father’s friend, who had been in the baking business for over 40 years for help. He told me the problem was in my oven. It took a professional oven of 4,500 vaults to achieve the softness and the right texture of the bread. After training under him, I started out my bakery with a team of 12 women.”
Jhaveri bakes more than 200 packets of breads every day
Jhaveri came across a centre that supported lesser-privileged women from her community. “I wanted them to become self-reliant, and so I trained them, and a few other boys for deliveries. Today, we have doubled in size and have two outlets, one in Marine Lines and the second in Jogeshwari. Our breads are sold across the city and beyond.” The kitchen sells various kinds of breads, sauces, snacks and dry powders.
At: Rupaben’s Kitchen, Sonapur Gully, Marine Lines.
Call: 7208118363
Snacking the Jain way
Sarika Savna with her Jain samosa. Pics courtesy/Rushant Jain
Girgaum’s Royal Bite (below) is a favourite snacking destination for the city’s Jain community, especially during these four months. With options ranging from vada pav and samosa, to Jain wafers and sweets, 48-year-old owner Sarika Savna has made arrangements for everyone.
“Many customers who are not Jains, including policemen, stop by often for our vada pav. They cannot believe that we don’t add potato for something like vada pav, and it still tastes good,” Savna shares. She has also recently started a cloud kitchen for Jain food.
At: Royal Bite, Shop No 3, Khotachi Wadi, Girgaum.
Call: 9920799407
Passion above all else
Bijal Shah making pesto paneer cigars. Pics/SAMEER MARKANDE
“I have always loved cooking,” says Bijal Shah. Her journey started with an app, Holachef, for which she delivered a certain quantity of homemade food every day. “I wanted to do hotel management, but that required a lot of non-vegetarian cooking. So, I dropped out. By 2016, my children had grown up, and I also wanted to contribute to our household financially.
I returned to my passion and started cooking classes, where I would teach vegetarian fare, especially Jain food. I also take party orders,” she adds. Shah is a self-taught cook, who relied on cookbooks, online videos, her intuition and her children’s reviews to perfect the art. She prepares different cuisines including Asian, Chinese, Italian, Punjabi, Gujarati and Mexican.
At: Bijal’s Food Creations, 17/4, Phiroza Mansion, Grant Road East.
Cost: Rs 2,500 onwards (one-day course of 10 to 12 dishes)
Call: 8369824942 (for orders or workshop enquiries)
Also try
>> Jain tiffin (lunch and dinner)
Call: 8779388092 (Usha Ambawat tiffin service)
>> Jain cookies and biscuits
Call: 8000053341
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