From JAPANI with love

By mid-September, as autumn knocks on the doors of the Kullu Valley, a fruit called Persimmon quietly replaces the ubiquitous apple and Manali fruit stalls acquire a distinct orange-y hue. This fruit is called Persimmon Kaki in Japan and so, according the erstwhile world power due credit, Manali calls this round-and-tucked-in-around-the-sides-and-base orange-coloured fruit "Japani".

If ever a papaya (claiming descent from the mango family) fell in love with a guava (who was an apple from the mother's side), Japani is what their progeny would look and taste like. The shell boasts a waxy sheen and encases a just-right, not-too-ripe-not-too-soft pulp that tastes like (as just mentioned) a mango+a papaya+an apple+a guava rolled into one not-so-tiny fruit bursting with flavour.

For all its claims of a Japanese connect, though, its highly likely that the Japani fruit available in Manali is an Israeli variety called the Sharon Fruit. Israeli tourists have till recently made up the highest number of foreign visitors to Manali. Who knows which one of the Zohan-lookalikes brought along a few seeds/saplings and transplanted them in the Kullu Valley?! Whoever it was, Toedahrahbah, My Friend!

Japani or Persimmon Kaki a.k.a. Sharon Fruit sells for about Rs 80 per kg in Manali Bazaar

HOW TO LIGHT A 'TANDOOR' -- LOCAL MANALI WOOD-FIRED OVEN

A Manali tandoor is a wood-fired, metal oven used for cooking and heating
during winters, when the electricity is erratic and the cold bone-chilling

A tandoor is a very Manali-specific thing. It appears to have no parallels anywhere in the world. I've may be caught a fleeting glimpse of a 'tandoor-like object' in northern Syria on TV. Apart from that, despite an extensive online search and re-search, I came across nothing that resembles a Manali 'tandoor'.

So, what exactly is a tandoor? It is a metal oven (the metal is iron, the thicker the iron sheet the better) that can be used both indoors and outdoors for the purpose of heating your house and cooking your food in the punishing cold winters, when the minimum temperatures can touch -20C. 

The tandoor (most foreign tourists can't pronounce it right and call it 'tandoori'! may be after having many tandoori rotis on their India sojourn) comes in many shapes -- oval, square, rectangular, sizes -- small, medium, large (depending on the size of the house/room to heat) and price ranges -- from very reasonable Rs 1600 to an astronomical Rs 50,000!

Most local families in Manali and increasingly, the growing population of settlers from Punjab and other states, use the tandoor extensively during the winter months -- November to March, when the electricity is erratic and the cold is so extreme that only a made-in-Manali tandoor can keep it at bay.

Most old families in settlements around Manali town -- Old Manali, Vashisht, Burua, Shanag, Goshal, Prini, Shuru, Jagatsukh, Kanyal, Simsa and many others -- use the tandoor through the year, mostly for cooking and usually, out of habit. While settlers dismantle this wood-fired contraption once the bitter winters are over, the old families are inseparable from the tandoor. It occupies the pride of place in these homes and is almost like the centrepiece in a house. The entire household is drawn to its warmth and familiarity and their daily chores revolve around the glowing tandoor.

On a winter day, with the sky packing up and a snowstorm just a few minutes away, a typical Manali household is usually gathered around the tandoor emanating gentle, welcome warmth, the aluminium kettle filled with tea simmering away on the metal oven and the crackle of groundnuts roasting in its pit. In Manali, "Home is (truly) where the tandoor is"....  

 HOW TO LIGHT A 'TANDOOR'

 A tandoor has three main components

1. The base --  Made of heat-repelling materials like bricks, stones or sand

2. The main surface -- Made of iron, with one or more burners, used for cooking/heating

3. The exhaust -- Made of tin pipes, either in a single piece or with an attachment, to direct the smoke out of the house/room

A tandoor has a tin pipe attached to the main oven, which carries the
smoke out of the room. It can have 2-3-4 burners, along with lids, depending on its size 

Any dry wood works just fine in getting the tandoor going.
Here are some branches trimmed off apple trees. These serve as the base for the fire. 



Some larger pieces of wood can then be used to make a neat pile 

Place the thinner, easier-to-light wood at the bottom and thicker wood over it.
Pour some oil over the wood or use some tinder to get the fire going.

The water's on the boil! Use aluminium utensils, preferably.
Keep the burner lid on or place the utensil directly on the flame.

Once the tandoor begins warming up, the smoke from the exit
end of the tin pipe will appear something like this -- dense, black

As the fire picks up and the metal surface of the oven heats up, the smoke will look like this -- translucent, barely-there. That's when you know the tandoor is well on its way to fire (and brimstone!)

The triangular cuts at the door of the tandoor ensure enough air goes in to keep the fire alive.
The fire's going and the smoking kettle is such a welcome sight!

Top view. Most people wipe the tandoor with a wet cloth
once it's cooled down and then oil it, for longevity and 'good looks'. 

Good Luck..!