The camouflaged menu

The cuisine of Lucknow is not just about food, as in taste, but also context. Lucknow is the city of ‘nawabs and kebabs’, royal extravagance and vibrant street life; of the aristocrat’s intricate and playful haute cuisine, and the affordable yet equally satisfying street food and how the two intertwine.

Lucknow believes in quality and not quantity. It is considered uncultured to eat large quantities. They believe that the food eaten should be rich and nutritious.

An interesting incident as told by old city dwellers about a well-known wrestler who was invited to lunch by Hakeem Banday Mehndi, a connoisseur of good food, and was offered just a small plate of pulao. The wrestler, whose daily diet included about 12 kilos of meat, an equal quantity of milk and three kilos of dried fruits, was taken aback and felt insulted.

He quietly ate the small quantity. A little later, an elaborate ‘dastarkhwan’ was spread before him and other guests but the wrestler could not eat another morsel. The little plate of ‘pulao’ had satisfied him completely. The following day, he came to his host and said he never felt so fit before!

The Lucknow aristocracy derived great pleasure in extending invitations to friends to elaborate meals where a couple of items on the menu would be camouflaged. The discomfiture of the guests at not recognizing the dish would give great satisfaction to the host. It was taken as a proclamation of the host’s culinary expertise.

Author Abdul Halim Sharar, in his book ‘The Last Phase of Oriental Culture’, has described an interesting incident: “At a ‘daawat’ (banquet) by Wajid Ali Shah for Mirza Asman Qadar, a Mughal prince from Delhi, a dish was served which looked like a ‘morabba’ (a spicy conserve of vegetables) but was a ‘qorma’. Even the prince who was a discerning gourmet was fooled. The king was very pleased, but not for long. Very soon, Prince Asman Qadar invited His Majesty for a meal. The king was extremely cautious, there were bound to be camouflaged dishes. His expert eyes surveyed the ‘dastarkhwan’, but only found a magnificent spread of ‘qormas’, ‘pulao’, ‘kebabs’, ‘sheermals’, and a variety of ‘salan’ and ‘kheer’. But behold! Every item on the ‘dastarkhwan’, ‘qorma’, ‘pulao’, ‘ratoras’ (little bowls) and spoons were made of caramelized sugar!”

To be continued...

MEN’S DRESSING IS SYNONYMOUS TO THE FIT, STYLE AND PICKING THE RIGHT COLOURS, SAYS EXPERT