Rivaayat, a royal Awadhi food experience at Saffron, Trident, Gurgaon

Awadhi food is close to my heart as I have spent a major chunk of my growing up years in Banaras and even the vegetarian food there has the Mughlai Awadhi influence. Probably it was the geographical region that influenced the Awadhi Mughlai and made it richer with milk products, ghee and nuts making the spicing milder and more aromatic together. The origin of all Mughlai cuisine offshoots spread across the country is Persia as Dr. Izzat Hussain says, adding that the essence of Mughlai cuisine was preserved best in Awadh region. I think it was also because of the climatic and geographical attributes of this region where milk, khoya and ghee were used abundantly since time immemorial.

I met Dr. Izzat Hussain at Trident, Gurgaon last week where he is training and showcasing his own rendition of Awadhi Mughlai cuisine that he has developed over the years with his knowledge of Unani medicine combined with the love for food. We went there for dinner and Dr. Hussain greeted us with his trademark cheeky smile, then we settled down with some pineapple juice with ginger and talked about spices and herbs, condiments, cooking oils, ghee and everything that has a possible connection with food. He believes in using only as much spice and herbs in a recipe as is required for good health and digestion and that was the essence of everyday cooking in older days too.

My choice of pineapple and ginger juice mix was an effort to be prepared for a heavy meal.

Recently The Oberoi Group conducted an Indian culinary conclave by the name of Rivaayat and invited noted food historians, food critics and culinary experts to educate and train 32 senior most Chefs working with the group flown in from all over India. This is a great effort to preserve a culinary legacy and make a richer repertoire keeping the authenticity intact. Dr. Izzat Hussain's contribution to the Rivaayat is quite a wide range of kababs, kormas, rotis and biryanis and a few fine techniques that Chef Sandeep (from Saffron) finds useful. Many of these recipes will be included in the menu of Saffron, an eclectic Indian restaurant at Trident Gurgaon glowing with vibrant red and golden hues, massive Doric pillars and live instrumental Hindustani music.

As we sampled Galouti kabab and Kakori kabab, both cooked excellently. I asked Dr, Hussain about the origin of kakori kababs and he mentioned the place called Kakori closer to Lucknow. A cook named Golu miyan used to make kababs and to prevent the kababs from falling off the seekh, he tried a coating of egg whites that binds the soft and delicate kabab so well that it sticks to the seekh till cooked. The uncoated version is tied with thread and is called dora kabab.

Dr. Hussain has created a few vegetarian kababs too and they were good. I liked the paneer seekh, the mixed vegetable kabab enclosed in rice dough and bhuna aloo. I found the chutneys interesting as he introduced thoum and olive and coriander greens chutney. Thoum (or Toum) was made less pungent by adding cream and olive coriander was made almost like pesto.

I had never seen olives being used in Awadhi cuisine but Dr. Hussain revealed that the Nawabs of Awadh always had access to the finest olives, zereshk berries, dates and spices imported from Iran and Persia and their use was common in royal kitchens. Something we never find in the street foods we eat at Tundey's or Dastrakhwan in Lucknow.

The platter that came for mains was huge with both vegetarian and non vegetarian options for tasting. I loved the Saffron special daal (a specialty of Saffron), which is a light masoor ki daal garnished with cream and saffron. The best non vegetarian curry I liked was malai boti kabab (curried) which was delicately flavoured and cooked really soft. I liked the shahi nihari as well.

Nihari is eaten with gilafi kulcha in Lucknow and it was made well. The Baqarkhani roti was also made really well but I cannot eat breads so just took one bite from each. But I ate a good portion of Izzat ki roti which is a specialty of Dr. Hussain and it is really good multi grain roti.

The only grudge I have with this meal is the use of refined soybean oil for cooking. It is sacrilege for all traditional Indian cooking and health wise too. Ghee and mustard oil and other traditionally used cold pressed oils make so much difference in the final taste and healing properties of food as well.

A vegetarian kaju biryani was light and delicate, although just like a pulao. The gosht biryani had familiar aromatic flavours while the murgh tursh pulao was a bit tart but interesting. I would have liked the biryanis if served as a meal and not as a part of this huge spread. I was definitely full by then.

The desserts had the typical awadh signature. Tar halwa is a semolina halwa that is drowned in ghee, cooked with only milk and nuts this halwa is quite rich but somehow not my favourite. I liked the chhena kheer which was done really well and the shahi tukda that had raisins and nuts in the dense bread that is baked specially for this shahi tukda.

Mallika Gowda ( Manage communications) joined us for the dinner as well and introduced us to the whole concept of Rivaayat and how Oberoi group is taking it forward with their properties all over India so the signature recipes remain the same all over.

Chef Sandeep's rich fudge like chocolate cookies were the parting gift that came with an instruction to be microwaved for a few seconds before eating. I agree, rich chocolate is best enjoyed slightly warm.

I am sharing the recipe of Izzat ki roti that Dr. Hussain shared with me so graciously. It is a multi grain roti cooked with a few seasonal herbs and light spices and served with curries and kormas.

ingredients...

a mix of oats, ragi, gram, corn and whole wheat flours 500 gm
season fresh herbs like dhaniya-pudina 25 gm chopped fine
green chilli to taste
minced ginger and garlic 10 gm each
kalonji, ajwain and saunf 3 gm each
salt to taste
oil (ghee for me) 1 tbsp
warm water to knead the dough

procedure...

Mix the flours, the herbs, the spices and the ghee and salt. Mix well by rubbing together and knead a firm dough using warm water. Let it rest for half an hour and then make flat breads as you like.

Smear ghee or butter as per liking and serve as required.

Dawat-e-Awadh ; some comforting flavours from the fine cuisine

When one talks about Dawat-e-Awadh, be assured it is mostly about non vegetarian food. Awadhi cuisine is either mughlai which is quintessentially non vegetarian or it is Bramhin cuisine which includes loads of milk products, vegetables, lentils and desserts and can include or exclude onion and garlic. You would find a vast variety of koftas, pasandas, kormas and pulaos in bramhin vegetarian cuisine that has a clear influence of mughal food of Awadh. But then there is some more variety like Tahiri and khichdi, daal and rice, pooris and kachoris, curries like nimona and tawa fries, miloni subzi,  gatte, kheer and a wide array of mithais etc that are essentially the vegetarian food of the Gangetic plains. 

There is a whole word of Bramhin vegetarian food from Awadh but today I am talking about the royal mughlai food that is so synonymous with Awadh and is considered the root stock of all mughlai cuisine offshoots around India. Mughlai food is very very different in these regions of India and Awadhi is subtle, aromatic and rich with milk products and nuts along with saffron and flower essences, supposedly an influence the Mughals took from the Bramhins of the Gangetic plains, not sure about the influences but the result is history.

We got to taste some good Awadhi food at Cafe Uno, Shangri-La's Hotel here in New Delhi. We liked a few dishes there and the taste still lingers on.

The best thing was the Nawabi Tangdi. A drumstick of chicken stuffed with chopped nuts and khoya and then grilled in tandoor, wrapped with foil. Chef Anwar Ahmed and Chef Abhinandan Singh told us that they have created flavours that are essentially Awadhi but have used modern cooking techniques and presentation to suit the requirements. The result was good as I witnessed. I would definitely be trying the flavours of this stuffed tangdi in my own kitchen. 

Khoya is a favourite ingredient of the region and lends a nice sweetness to a dish and this Nawabi Tangdi was a good example of how Awadhi cooks meld the flavours of spices and milk products along with nuts to create magic.

We liked the Mahi Tikka Chutney wala and it was really good too. A river fish grilled with a smear of green chutney. The Awadh ka Malai Murgh was succulent and soft as the name suggests and was really creamy too. Tender boneless thigh pieces done right.

What stumped me among starters was a nice Vegetarian Galaouti Kabab. Who would think a vegetarian galouti kabab can be nice tasting. It had the right texture and a really nice taste too. I finished the one on my plate unexpectedly. 

Alu nazakat was avoidable, vegetarians might like it. Khumbi pyaz was nice but nothing notable. But vegetarians have a really good option in Mirchon Wala Paneer.

This is something very intriguing, a paneer dish cooked with pickled stuffed red chillies. I loved it. But the addition of bell peppers was unnecessary. I would get rid of them when I try this recipe in my own kitchen. Yes I am doing that very soon.

Nargisi kofta was nicely done. The flavors of seekh kababs that we get in Delhi more than awadhi I would say, but really a nice kofta curry.

This Murgh Shameena looks beautiful on the table. With soft iceberg like egg white poached meringues floating in a white creamy gravy, this dish may become a conversation point. The chicken and the gravy are nice too. 

I liked the flaky crisp parathas too, tandoor baked rightly and very good accompaniment to everything we tasted. We did not have any space for desserts, they have some phirni, kheer and kulfi etc on the menu and we decided to share a paan kulfi. Their paan kulfi comes from Kuremal in purani dilli and it is as good as it can be. We did end up having a few bites even after being stuffed to the gills.

I have seen some nice dehydrated paan at Rupak stores and might be one of the first kulfis to be tried this summer. I wouldn't mind some nice paan kulfi even now. It has been some time since I had a nice paan, some kulfi might work fine.

Awadhi mutton biryani made simple ....

Biryani can be simple but not quick to tell you the truth. The meat needs it's own cooking time and then you have to cook the biryani on dum (in a sealed pot) so the flavors become one. All the spices and meat and the fragrant basmati rice get a new identity in a biryani as they all meld into each other. Yes, you should be able to taste the meat in the rice and the rice aroma should seep into the meat. It sounds difficult but the cooking technique ensures it is done nicely and effectively. This post would introduce you with the cooking procedure required to cook a brilliant biryani. The spices can always be optimised to your own taste.

You can always choose your spice blends if you don't like some strong robust flavors in your biryani or add some fragrant flavors like mint or an overdoes of green cardamom if you wish, but take care to treat the spices and herbs in a way that the aromatics are not destroyed in the cooking process. You want them all to get imbibed into the rice and meat if you are looking for a biryani.

Awadhi biryani starts with making a 'yakhni' of the meat. Yakhni is a stock that includes some spices along with mutton pieces to be boiled with water for about 1.5 hours or more. This slow boiling allows the stock to be rich in flavors. I prefer adding a piece of fat to this simmering stock so the flavors get intensified. Using bony pieces of mutton is advised for making biryani, you would like to add a few bones to the broth/stock/yakhni if you planning to cook a biryani with boneless mutton pieces for convenience in eating.

So there are three steps in making a biryani, the first involves making of the yakhni, practically the first in the procedure as it takes the longest time and you can do other prep work while this is being cooked. 

Then comes the cooking of rice with a few aromatic spices and the cooked yakhni. It is actually cooked into the meat stock and only till 3/4th done.

The next step is to flash fry the cooked mutton pieces along with another fresh batch of spices and ginger etc and then layering the cooked meat with 3/4 cooked rice with a sprinkling of saffron and herbs if you wish. This layered arrangement is cooked on dum, that is in a sealed pot on very low heat for about half an hour or more. Depending on the quantity.

I cook biryanis in large amounts most of the times when I have to entertain guests and that is the reason why I have never been able to click decent pictures. This time I cooked it for just the two of us, actually for 2 servings as small quantity of biryani is not worth doing. I clicked pictures as soon as I opened the dum pot, the wafting aromas making me weak in the knee, I actually tasted the biryani right then. Later I proceeded to make the raita and salad to serve with it and forgot again to click pictures of the serving plates. The mint raita and a tomato-onion kachumber salad is missing in these pictures. A well made biryani does that to you.

Nicely separated, well cooked, well soaked rice and succulent pieces of meat, aromas to make you hungrier than ever, you would know when you cook this.

ingredients...
(2-4 servings | 2 hours cooking time)

mutton pieces on bone 500 gm
basmati rice 1 cup

spices for the yakhni...
black cardamom 1
green cardamoms 2
cloves 5-6
tejpatta 5-6
black pepper corns 20

spices for the boiling rice..
cloves 2
green cardamom 2
cinnamon stick one inch long
tejpatta 2

spices and other ingredients for the stir frying of boiled mutton pieces..
cumin seeds 2 tsp
pepper corns 20
black cardamom 1
shahi jeera 1 tsp
cinnamon 2 one inch sticks
dry red chillies 5-6 (broken)
fresh ginger root chopped into thin julienne 3 tbsp
ghee or mutton fat scummed from the broth 2 tbsp
some people add turmeric powder at this stage to get a golden yellow color on the biryani, I skip this, use 1/2 tsp turmeric powder if you wish

spices and other ingredients required during layering of biryani..
nutmeg freshly grated a pinch
saffron strands 2 pinches
mint leaves (optional, I didn't use, a mint raita served with it is a better option I say)
fried onion slices (optional, I didn't use this time)

procedure...

Add the mutton pieces to about half a liter of water and give it a quick boil. Drain the water immediately, fill the pot with 3-4 cups of water again and add the spices mentioned in the list for yakhni. Let the broth simmer for 90 minutes.

Fish out the meat pieces from the yakhni once it is cooked. Strain the yakhni and discard all the whole spices. Add 2 cups of this yakhni to the washed and drained rice with the required spices and cook on low flame till 3/4 done. It takes about 25 minutes if done on absolutely low flame for this quantity.

Meanwhile, heat ghee in a pan which you would use for dum cooking also. I use my heavy cast iron kadhai when the quantity is less, basically any pot that has a heavy base and a tight fitting lid would do.
Add all the ingredients together into the hot ghee and fry till the spices get aromatic. Add the boiled mutton pieces and flash fry just for 3-4 minutes. You might like to add 2-3 pinches of a strong garam masala if you wish at this point. Do not fry the mutton pieces more than 3-4 minutes else they become dehydrated. Wait till the rice is cooked (only 3/4th done stage).

Now layer the meat pieces with the cooked rice in the same pot. For a small quantity you can just fold them all together, do not mix thoroughly. Sprinkle the freshly grated nutmeg, mint and fried onion if using and the saffron too. Place the lid to seal and cook on very low flame for another 30 minutes.

You can use dough to seal your pot if are not sure of sealing it properly. Remove the dum pot from heat after 30 minutes and serve immediately. This biryani can be served after 2-3 hours after reheating in the same pot or into the microwave. The flavors get better after a while but the aromatic experience of opening the sealed pot at the dining table comes when you have it right away.

 A cooling raita and a tomato and onion salsa/kachumber  type salad is what we like with our biryani.

You can have it as part of a lavish spread but a raita and a roughly chopped and mixed, preferably dressed salad is a must in my opinion. I know some people who can have biryani on it's own and even for breakfast.

Very soon I am going to bake a nice biryani in an Earthen pot I bought from Trade fair, seasoning the pot is falling prey to my habit of procrastination. Enjoy this biryani till then.

parwal ki bhujia or aaloo parwal ki lehsuni bhujia..

This is a very simple stir fry vegetable which is called bhujia in UP. Parwal or parval is pointed gourd, also known as patal or potol. This small gourd looks like a miniature snake guard and is considered cooling and detoxifying according to  Ayurveda.

This sukhi sabzi can be a side dish with daal chawal lunch or it can be a main accompaniment to roti or paratha. I remember carrying this bhujia to school in my lunch box, with tikona parathas of course.

This is one of the few recipes I make in exactly the same way as my mom used to make it. I usually keep experimenting and improving my recipes on the ground of health and nutrition, but this bhujia is the best representation of healthy, tasty and easy everyday Indian food and keeps repeating in my kitchen every summer.

Parval comes only during summers, I have tried growing parval many times but haven't been successful yet.

ingredients
(2 large servings)

250 gm parvals
100 gms potatoes with skin
5-6 fat cloves of garlic or a few more if you like
dry red chillies or green chillies to taste
salt to taste
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1.5 tbsp mustard oil
1/4 tsp methi and cumin seeds each

procedure

Just scrape the parvals using a paring knife, cut the parwals lengthwise in four pieces or six and some potatoes too in thin wedges.

Heat mustard oil in a pan, throw in a tsp of methi and jeera seeds each and when they crackle put the parwals first.

Stir fry till they are pinkish and then add the potato wedges and fry till they are pinkish too. Add salt to taste and turmeric powder is added along with a generous amount of garlic and green chilly paste. This paste is the main taste maker in this bhujia and it is always made in mustard oil.

After adding all these, stir fry and slow cook  till the aroma of cooked garlic is predominant and the bhujia is ready.

I make this bhujia in minimum oil. Just about 1.5 to 2 tbsp for 250 gm parwal and 100 gm potatoes, unpeeled new potatoes taste best.

It is easier to make it in more oil as it fries well but when using less oil you just have to be patient with the frying. A heavy bottomed pan and low heat works best for low oil version. Taste is the same for both the versions.

I prefer serving this bhujia with daal chawal for our lunch. It makes a healthy lunch with daal and boiled rice, plain curds and papad goes well with it but I like just this bhujia with my daal chawal for the rich garlic pleasure, nothing else is required between my dal chawal and bhujia.

I like the crunchy methi seeds in this bhujia too, if you don't like the slight bitter crunch of methi seeds, you can omit that and use only cumin seeds for tempering.

I am telling you one of my hack for this recipe too. Sometimes I use a past of garlic powder, chilli powder and turmeric powder mixed together with a little water to make this recipe too and it has never disappointed me. Slow cooking is the key in this recipe, keep the gas on low flame, keep stirring every couple of minutes and this bhujia will cook perfectly.

Do let me know of you try this recipe. It gives me immense pleasure to introduce the recipes from my homeland and the pleasure multiplied when you all find the recipes useful...

kele ke kofte | green plantain fried dumplings in a spicy curry sauce...

Kele ke kofte is one recipe that gets repeated often and is remembered a lot by almost all my relatives. There is a story behind it.

Let me tell you that Kachhe Kele ke kofte is a fried dumpling made using green plantains and is curried into a spicy gravy. This is one of those UP recipes inspired by Mughlai keema koftas.

I remember once when it was my sisters engagement ceremony and the cook disappeared at the last moment. There was utter chaos and my parents were at a loss of words. There was no option but to cook it all by ourselves but there was no one else apart from me and being the eldest in the family I had to take responsibility even though I wasn't too confident to cook for a huge crowd like that.

I had to cook for around 50 people and the only helping hand was that of my sister's friend Parmita. She helped me in the preparations but all the actual cooking was dome by your's truly. That day I made this kele ka kofta and it turned out so good that most relatives and cousins still remember that and ask me the recipe again and again whenever they get to meet me at some or the other family get together.

I also remember, I had made a LOT of kofte that day, and that there was a lot was leftover too. Everybody from our side of the extended family asked for the leftovers as well the next day and not a single ball of kofta was wasted, huge wastage of such stuff is otherwise so common when you cook things for a large party.

I still feel proud about that cooking marathon as I had cooked many other dishes apart from this kofte, and that cooking experience made me confident forever. I could cook for large gathering without thinking twice about how would I go about it, you do less mistakes when you are confident and your eyeballing the ingredients works well.

I still make these kofte in large amounts most of the times, to last three days at least and the remaining 2 portions of dry kofte is frozen for later use.

It becomes a lot more easier when you have a bhuna masala in the fridge and some dry kofte in the freezer. Just mix the two, add water and simmer till soft.

ingredients for the kofta balls
(makes 3 batches serving 4 people each)
raw plantain 6-8 nos.
onions chopped finely 1 cup
ginger garlic paste 3 tbsp
green chilies chopped 1 tbsp
red chilly powder 1 tsp
garam masala powder 1 tsp (freshly made )
chickpea flour or besan 3-4 tbsp ....or just enough to bind the mixture
salt to taste
oil to deep fry, I use mustard oil

to proceed...........

Do not peel the bananas, just remove the stalk, remove any blackened skin, cut in slices and boil in a pressure cooker with a little salt up to 1 whistle......let it cool to proceed.

You need to mash the boiled and cooled plantain completely and it is a bit difficult with the skin on, so just mince the boiled slices and then mash them with hands or any other appliance you find convenient, it should not be completely creamed, small bits of peel makes it spongy in gravy.....

You can always use a food processor or chopper for mashing this boiled plantain.

Chop the onions and then the ginger garlic n green chilies in the same chopper one by one.

Mix in other ingredients except oil and make a pliable dough like mixture.

Divide into balls and deep fry in hot oil. Note that if they break into hot oil it means they need a bit more of besan added. So correct the consistency before you fry all of them. Fry all the kofta balls and keep the extra in the freezer if that is the case.

Read on for making the gravy...

ingredients for the gravy
(for 4 servings)

onions chopped 1/2 cup
tomatoes chopped and pureed 1/2 cup
ginger garlic paste 2 tbsp
red chilly powder 2 tsp
turmeric powder 1 tsp
coriander, cumin, blac kpepper powders 1 tbsp each
garam masala 1 tbsp
green coriander for garnishing
salt to taste
mustard oil 3 tbsp
cumin seeds 1 tsp

to proceed ...

Heat oil in a pan and throw in the cumin seeds. When it splutters add the chopped onions and fry it till golden brown. Add the ginger garlic paste and fry till oil separates. Throw in all the powder masala, salt and tomato puree and mix well.

Cook covered till oil comes on top, mixing in between. Add about 1 cup of water and give it a boil. Sslip in the kofte (1/3rd of the above stated quantity for this much gravy) and switch the flame off.

Do not disturb the kofte till they absorb water and grow bigger in size. Garnish with coriander leave, transfer carefully in to a serving dish (the kofte can break while doing this) and serve immediately with roti, paratha, naan or any rice preparation, we had it with plain rice in the below picture.

And with some daal and roti in the above pictures...

To prevent these kofte from breaking after putting them into gravy just arrange all the kele ke kofte into a casserole dish. Pour the gravy over it and microwave for 2 minutes. Serve immediately after this.

Add fresh cream in the last step if it has to be served for a party For the two of us I avoid adding cream.