When one hears of Awadhi cuisine, it instantly conjures up images of handi biryani and melt in the mouth kebabs. But there’s more to explore beyond this, and discover the not-so-known traditions and methods of cooking and presentation that were refined to a fine art in the regal kitchens of erstwhile Lucknowi nawabs.
Food connoisseur Rajkumari Alka Rani Singh, who hails from Pratapgarh taluqadari in Awadh and got married in Marwatiya, zamindari estate, Uttar Pradesh takes us through a royal culinary trail, where she discusses the fine balance of spices and condiments that can make or break a dish, the art of serving paan, hookah traditions and more.
Culinary heritage
“Both my mom and dad took keen interest in food, and I have grown up hearing elaborate stories of food in our family. Cooking used to be an elaborate affair in the earlier days. During my childhood, there’d be no less than 4-5 dishes and a dessert served during lunch or dinner. There were special cooking utensils like a cooking pot with silver lining for adding tadka to a special Asharfi dal, huge degchis for making pulao, etc.
Food was mostly served in kanse or tambe ki thali or silver plates depending on the tastes and standards of different households,” says Alka Rani, who is highly inspired by her father Late Raja Abhai Pratap Singh, an experimental cook himself. “He loved supervising the kitchens of our household. At times, he would experiment with dishes like chicken soaked in wine or beer and gradually it became the patent dish of our family, and everytime guests would come, they would be served these dishes,” she recalls.
All royal families had closely guarded culinary secrets of their kitchens. In Alka Rani’s family, it was kachche keeme ka kebab. “It is an elaborate dish made using minced mutton mixed with at least 12-13 aromatic spices that are added to perfection. This secret dish is prepared using the galawat (marination) technique of cooking,” she shares.
Marriage of spices
Spices and condiments play an integral part in Awadhi cuisine. “It is an art to attain the perfect combination of a handful of spices. No masala should be so prominent in a dish that it totally ruins it. A perfect Awadhi dish is that which has a very balanced palette, and to achieve that one can put the spices in a muslin cloth or a potli to evenly infuse the flavours,” says Alka Rani.
Hookah culture
Hookahs in all shapes, forms and beautiful designs originated during the reign of nawabs in Lucknow. They often used to indulge in hookah sessions over long conversations pertaining to states or important family matters. “Ladies from royal families were taught how to smoke hookah, and because it became fashionable to smoke them, all forms of adaptations emerged — they used to be made with intricate silver work, bidri work (silver on metal), Ganga Jamuni (silver with gold coverings) or even terracotta hookahs were popular among the lower class,” she shares.
Paan serving as an art
Chewing tobacco or eating paan was considered a part of aristocratic culture. “Ladies from royal families were taught how to prepare and serve paan. It was a tedious process that involved not only careful selection of ingredients like silver or flavoured elaichi, etc. but also included neatly cutting the wedges of betel nuts or supari. Preparing paan was an elaborate affair and even making kattha and chuna invol-ved multiple steps. The nuts used to be soaked in rose water or saffron, so that they didn’t cut into one’s cheeks. The betel nuts were also boiled in milk to soften them.”
She adds, “Qivaan was another elaborate and one of the most expensive processes of preparing chewing tobacco. The tobacco leaves and stalks were boiled thoroughly until reduced to a paste, and then exotic ingredients like musk, rose water and other perfumes were added for fragrance and a distinct royal touch. Just a drop of this morsel acted as a mouth freshner.”
Storing and serving paan was also done with special care. “A traditional paandaan had divisions for lime, kattha, elaichi and kati supari or dali. In the earlier days, there used to be varieties of special paan boxes called nagardan, aramdan, husndan that varied in their designs and compartments,” reminisces Alka Rani.
Lehasuni bhindi
Ingredients
Bhindi, 500 gm
Garlic, peeled, 40 gm
Dry red chilli, 6
White vinegar, 2 tbsp
Salt to tase
Sugar, ½ tsp
Oil for frying
Water as required
Coriander for garnish
Method
Wash bhindi and cut into ½ inch pieces and fry in a kadhai.
Grind the garlic and red chillies, make a paste and keep aside.
In a kadhai, add the chilli garlic paste and the remaining ingredients along with very little water. Cook on slow fire for five minutes.
Add fried bhindi to the cooked masala and mix well. Garnish with coriander.
Chaman Aloo
Ingredients
Potatoes, medium sized, 6
Curd, ½ cup
Ginger, chopped, ½ inch
Garlic, peeled and chopped, 3 tbsp
Green chillies, sliced lengthwise, 4
Cumin seeds, 1½ tsp
Turmeric powder, 1 tsp
Hing, ½ tsp
Red chilli powder, ½ tsp
White sesame seeds, 2 tbsp
Salt to tase
Cooking oil
Method
Boil the potatoes. Peel and cut into medium sized dices.
Whisk curd with a fork and keep aside.
Heat oil in a kadhai and add red chilli powder and cumin seeds. Add garlic, ginger and green chillies.
Add salt, turmeric powder and hing. Stir well. Add potatoes and cook for five to seven minutes.
Add the curd with a little water.
Cook on low flame for 10 minutes.
Roast and grind sesame seeds and sprinkle on top of the gravy. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.
