Renaissance of cuisine in Lucknow

The real work on ‘kebabs’ began in the times of Shujauddaulah’s heir apparent Nawab Asaf ud Daula, an emperor known for his generous nature, architectural masterpieces and his love for food and innovation..

By the time he came to power, the British had taken over the reins of kingdom, leaving him to concentrate on what he considered to be his life’s two big ambitions – building architectural masterpieces and evolving Awadhi cuisine.

Dishes like ‘parind puri’ (a live bird inside a ‘poori’), ‘patili kebab’, ‘moti palao’ and ‘arvi ka salan’ were created during this times, which the culinary historians often refer to as the “renaissance of cuisine.”

It is said that the Nawab was so fond of ‘kebabs’ that he had specialised ‘rakabdars’ to create a new dish every day. Even vegetarian ‘kebabs’ made of ‘arbi’, jackfruit and bottlegourd had to taste different.

This obsession grew manifold during and after the construction of Bara Imambara. It is said in ‘Qadeem Lucknow ki akhri bahar’ by Mirza Jafar Husain that every night the Nawab would ask a few of his servants to break whatever was constructed.

Labourers worked during the day and those of higher classes during the night so their shame was shrouded. By royal decree, too, arrangements were made to provide food. Enormous containers were filled with rice, meat, vegetables, spices and sealed.

Hot charcoal was placed on top and fires lit underneath while slow cooking ensured that food was available day and night. The result was extraordinary, for when the vessels were unsealed, the splendid aromas attracted royal attention and ‘dum pukht’ as a Nawabi cuisine was born.

This childish act had two purposes – to keep workers busy during the great famine of 1783 so that they could earn a living and to keep his ‘rakabdars’ busy creating newer versions of ‘kebabs’ that were soft and juicy. It kept him puzzled to find out the special ingredient used in it. Innovation became the key to survival for ‘rakabdar’ as they devised newer ways of slow cooking, smoke flavouring and use of exotic ingredients like sandalwood, juniper berries, rosebuds, rose, red ginseng, to outdo each other.

Incidentally, the first successful iteration of ‘galwati kebab’ had all the above mentioned ingredients along with real pearl and gold and some guarded aphrodisiacs, which was suggested by the ‘hakim’ in an attempt to egg the Nawab to do some activity.

Did it have the famed 160 spices? With no records available, there is no way of finding it out but surviving ‘khansamas’ believe it wasn’t the case. (The writer is author, architect & heritage activist)

To be continued...

IT IS SAID THAT THE NAWAB WAS SO FOND OF ‘KEBABS’ THAT HE HAD SPECIALISED ‘RAKABD-ARS’ TO CREATE A NEW DISH EVERY DAY.

Nawab Asaf ud Daula