Cooking has been regarded as one of the greatest arts right from the time of Julius Caesar. Although elements of the art of cooking are easy to define, I have discovered over the years that the tastes which still linger on my tongue are the tastes that mattered. In that respect, my nanny still remains unbeatable as the greatest cook in my life. We called her ‘nannabhai’ derived from the Bengali word ‘ranna’ for cooking. Be it a simple Hilsa egg fry or peas pulao or stuffed chicken or quail (bater) roast, mutton, or chicken stew the food always used to be a gastronomical delight. My mother inherited some of her skills and tickled our senses with dishes like Tomato fish, Mutton kofta curry, and Pudding. Now it's my wife who has mastered the art of tickling my senses. Her talent for improvisation has created a new type of Shammi Kebab which is a fusion of Lucknow Shammi Kebab and Tunda Kebab. The effort has paid her – like the saying goes a man’s heart is through his stomach.
‘TUCK SHOP’, La Martiniere College, Lucknow
Tucked away in the extreme corner of the left flank of the majestic Constantia building, at the other extreme of ‘Lat’ was our school canteen known as ‘Tuck Shop’. During our lunchtime, there used to be a beeline and flurry for ‘puri sabzi rolled out by the Tuck shop. Simple but delicious is what endeared it amongst us those days.
‘BENBOWS’, Hazratgunj, Lucknow
Way back in the sixties, this confectionery had become an important landmark in Lucknow. Whenever I got my tooth extracted my father used to take me there for an Ice Cream treat. Wow! the flavor of the vanilla slab with a wafer dipped in or Tutti Fruity served in a tall glass was simply heavenly. With mushrooming of so many Ice Cream vendors and confectioners I am yet to discover that flavor.
‘RANJANA’, Hazratgunj, Lucknow
Adjacent to the twin cinema halls Filmistan / Prince, it is remembered for its unique Mutton Dosa.
‘CHOWDHARY SWEET HOUSE’, Hazratgunj, Lucknow
A very popular joint for veggies the taste of its vegetable keema curry still lingers.
'Quality', Mayfair Cinema, Hazratgunj, Lucknow
This used to be my favorite joint. The dish I enjoyed most was Mutton Jhalfrezy with naan. I also remember the mobile van outside Christ Church School which used to make delicious Shammi kebab of ‘geeli’ type and roomali roti in the evenings. And last but not least was a shop near the park facing CDRI(Chattar Manjil), Lucknow. I enjoyed their Shammi kebab and mutton biryani.
Biryani originated in Persia, and Lucknow Biryani which is also known as ‘Dum’ Biryani because of its cooking process made its mark when the Nawab of Oudh introduced the cuisine meant for the Royal family to the common man by arranging to serve it to gatherings in the premises of Imambara. In 1856 the Biryani moved to Calcutta from Lucknow along with Nawab Wazid Ali Shah who was deposed by the British. It entered Calcutta since the cooks also moved with the Nawab. In Calcutta, it also entered the poorer homes which could not afford meat every day, and so the meat was replaced by potatoes. Today if you order for a chicken or mutton Biryani in any of Calcutta’s popular restaurants like Aminia, Shiraj, or Shabir's you will find that they have stuck to the tradition of including potatoes in the Biryani. Tastes a little different but is quite close to the taste of Lucknow Biryani. My recommendation for food lovers includes Pasinda Kebab of Aminia, mutton Rezala of Shabir's, and beef roll of Nizams. But the true palate pleasers I experienced in Calcutta are ‘Kasha Mangsho (mutton)’ at Friends, Gariahat or Golbari at Shambazar 5-point crossing; Dal Kachori of Shree Hari, Bhowanipur, Mixed Fried Rice at Jimmy’s Kitchen, Theater Road, Fish Grille at Indian Coffee House, College Street., Sausage roll and Darjeeling tea at Flury's and apple tart and plum cakes at Nahoum and De Gama. At this point, I must admit that I am an avid tea lover., and that has turned me into a connoisseur over the years. Be it tea from Darjeeling, Assam, or Nilgiris I feel proud to claim that I can tell the difference - it is like whiskey, the difference between malt, blended, scotch, or single malt. Like Scotland, a country in Europe that earned fame and name by producing the world's best whiskeys, a much tinier Himalayan region of Bengal 'Darjeeling' boasts of producing the finest of the world's tea. I also never believed it is so famous till I saw a huge board at the concourse of Amsterdam Central Station saying ' DARJEELING TEA AVAILABLE HERE'.
Like the Mughals left their footprints in Lucknow and the Eastern part of India, Delhi can boast of being the originator and hub of some of the most tantalizingly delicious and appealing Mughals cuisines. The symphony of taste, aroma, and colors which Mughals left for us can be found in the Jama Masjid and Nizamuddin areas of Delhi. Notable, both historically (as it was started in Red Fort) and also for maintaining the tradition for over a century is ‘Kareem's’. But if one wants to get a quick taste of good Biryani (reminiscent of Lucknow Biryani) one has to eat standing on the narrow lane of Ballimaran, close to Mirza Ghalib’s Haveli. Ghalib is regarded as the greatest lyric poet during the times of Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal Emperor who himself was a profound writer on Sufism. I would also like to include in my favorite list Peshawari at Daryagunj where I have had the tastiest of chicken preparations and Kake de Hotel at Connaught Place, although I have not been to these joints for years. Amongst the restaurants closer to my house where I prefer to eat out are Embassy, United Coffee House, Connaught, Gola Sizzler, Pind Baluchi, and Drift at Epicenter.
Yeh hai Mumbai Yeh hai Mumbai Yeh hai Mumbai meri jaan
The above line is from a very popular oldie which aptly paints the image of Bombay. And once upon a time in Mumbai, there were many Iranian restaurants owned by the Parsi community of Bombay. The Eateries were presentable with well laid comfortable wooden chairs and tables neatly decorated. In other words, newcomers to Bombay had an urge to try out one of these typical-looking joints which lent a unique character and look to the city. It happened to me when I first landed in Bombay with a job in the late seventies. During my stay there as a bachelor, I tried many out of which the one on Hill Road opposite the Talkies where I used to have Pudding –it tasted great; mutton chop and keema masala rice at the one adjoining Purohit outside Churchgate station; prawn curry rice in the Fort area and keema curry rice near Wadala station need special mention. While frequenting these joints I came across a few celebrities like Maqbool Fida Hussain, Shahir Ludhianvi, and young Sanjay Dutt who was yet to make a mark in Hindi movies. Although I remember the location, the surroundings, and the food for their unique taste, I don’t remember the names of these restaurants because they all had typical and almost similar names like ‘Light of Asia’, etc. It is only after the terror attack of 26/11 which started off in Leopold Cafe at Colaba, did I remember that I sometimes used to have evening refreshments there while walking down from Churchgate to Cuffe Parade where I was staying during the first six months of my stay in Bombay. Then there are some small and big Maharashtrian eateries where one can enjoy a combination of Ussal Pao and Sira—a very delicious combination which you would love to have repeatedly once you taste it. I remember the name of only one such eatery due to its immense popularity ------ Mama Kane just outside Dadar station on the Western side.
Most food columnists keep their liking confined to restaurants located in five-star hotels. By doing so they tend to promote professional chefs who are well versed on ingredients and the measure required for a particular recipe. There is nothing wrong as the approach adopted by most chefs is scientific in nature. But the foods I have tasted at most of the five-star hotels have really not appealed to my senses. Believe me or not I don’t even remember any of the palates I had taken at any of these hotels. That is why I believe that cooking is an art. That cooking is an art known since the days of Homer and Horace who sang of its virtues and its pleasures. A good cuisine tickles your senses and stays embedded during one's lifetime. When you try to recall a taste, cooking no longer sees a commonplace. Remember the food has to be tantalizingly delicious and appealing to win your heart. In other words, one should express with a great spontaneous feeling of satisfaction like Narain Ganguly's Tenida who could step out straight from the pages of his book exclaiming --- ‘De La Grande Mephistopheles!!!’
Some Gastronomic Delights !!!
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| Payesh - prepared by Ruby |
'Payesh' prepared from milk and rice with a sprinkling of raisins and bay leaves is one of my most favorite sweet dishes. A delicious sweet dish from Bengal is generally not available in bistros. Normally prepared in Bengali houses on festive occasions like birthdays, bhai phota, annaprasan, etc. it is also regarded highly auspicious. It is served chilled or hot and its taste can pin down any of its counterparts like firni or pudding or ice cream. Simple to make but it calls for a magic hand to maintain the right proportion of milk (cow's milk), good quality rice, almonds, raisins, and sugar to bring out the yummy flavor in it.
The processes consist of boiling the milk and when it thickens add rice (Bengalis use Gobindo Bhog rice for its characteristic aroma). Also smear little ghee on the rice to enhance the taste Stir continuously and add sugar when rice gets 3 quarters boiled. One has to keep medium flame till rice is cooked. By that time milk also thickens. Sprinkle dry fruits before serving. Some houses also add jaggery and cardamoms to give it a different flavor but to me, no other variety can beat the taste of simple white 'chaaler payesh'. The above image is of Payesh prepared by my wife on my birthday.
What still remains a mystery to me is why this culinary delight has not been able to find a place amongst the globally popular Indian cuisines.
Apple cake from Mandakini's bakery tastes superb. No exaggeration though it can beat hollow likes you get at Delhi's oldest confectioner Wegners at Connaught Place.
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| Home made Shammi Kebab. Creator: Ruby to suit Rana's taste |
A unique combination of Lucknow Shammi Kebab and Tunda Kebab is my wife Ruby's creation. From her repertoire of creations.
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| Sizzler |
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| Homemade Fish Sizzler |
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| Salad with Honey Mustard |
- A truly delicious and wholesome food, which at the time serving makes a hissing sound and emanates smoke as of something frying. I came to know more about sizzler after my marriage to Ruby. We got married on the 7th of May 1980. Sizzler makes me look back to very special eating out the episode with Ruby way back in the early eighties. We had gone to see an evening show at Bandra Talkies in Bombay. After the show, we decided to dine out at Gazebo on Linking Road Bandra. Ruby wanted to have a sizzler but I suggested that we have something gentler instead. All the noise and smoke a sizzler belched out while being served always gave rise to an embarrassing feeling that the attentions of all diners get directed to your table. I don’t remember what we ordered out that night but I could somehow convince Ruby to go for something else in place of sizzler. Coincidentally someone else had ordered for a sizzler and when it was brought in with all noise, fumes, and whiffs of aroma it drew everyone’s attention to it and I could sense the embarrassment those diners were going through of being stared by others. Perhaps that was because very few people ordered for sizzler those days. Times changed and if I remember correctly my wife had her first sizzler almost after a decade at Kwality on Park Street Calcutta as sizzler had gained popularity by then and no one really bothered about being stared down when it was being served. Not only she got her long-cherished desire fulfilled, but she also broke the ice that day for me. The love for sizzler I acquired after that made us frequent Gola Sizzler at Connaught Place Delhi, which happens to be one of the oldest sizzler restaurant specializing in sizzler and serving a wide variety of sizzlers. Nowadays she prepares it herself in the house also after having bought a sizzler tray in a wooden container. The main ingredients she uses are cabbage for wrapping the vegetable mix, fish, prawn, or meat which are stir-fried; butter, water, and sauce to produce the sizzling effect. The pic shows my wife bringing the sizzler to the dining table.
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'SHORSHE ILISH'-Hilsa prepared with a paste of mustard seeds. Ilish (in Bengali) is an exquisitely delicious fish that titillate the palates of most Bengalis, particularly the 'Bangals'. Cook: Ruby
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Bangals as distinguished from 'Ghotis' (locals of West Bengal)are immigrants from East Bengal before and after Partition. Although I was born and brought up in places like Benaras and Lucknow I am considered a 'Bangal' by virtue of my forefathers' connection with East Bengal even though they had crossed the border to India much before Partition. Bangals possess a different style of cooking in contrast to Ghotis. Any Bangal, young or old, can easily make out whether the host is a Ghoti or a Bangal. In other words, Bangals are both great cooks and great foodies. Ilish has always played a major role in the lives of all Bengalis. It is prepared on all auspicious occasions and also whenever Calcutta's major football club East Bengal emerges victorious. Ilish is an oily fish rich in omega 3 fatty acids and available in abundance in the lower Ganges (Padma) and lower Brahmaputra (Meghna). Since both these rivers are located in East Bengal Ilish has been given the status of National Fish of Bangladesh. Partly because of its natural beauty and partly because of Padma Ilish a visit to Bangladesh was always my cherished desire since my childhood. Finally, my dream came true in 1987 almost 16 years after a new nation Bangladesh emerged after breaking out from the shackles of East Pakistan. Since I went by road on my first visit, our bus had to be ferried on a huge ship like barge across river Padma before entering Dhaka city. The crossing took over an hour and during the course of that journey, I was awed by the waves and magnitude of Padma. I was convinced as to why so many proses, poems, and folk songs have been woven around the Padma. I remember it was a winter night and reflection of the moon on the waters of Padma sent strange romantic ripples through my timbers- a feeling which remains indescribable. At Dhaka, we had Ilish curry and rice, not at Gulshan but in the busy lane of Sakharipara. The pieces were small but the fish tasted out of the world. Perhaps this is the only fish that has its own characteristic taste. That is why one has to have an eye for the right selection while buying Ilish from the market. I always feel that if one tastes the roe of Ilish he or she will never go back to caviar which is considered the costliest delicacy all over the world. Because of its characteristic taste and free from any fishy smell an Ilish is a frienno e mannammo - frying and eating - affair (as simple as that).
Hilsa Fish in mustard sauce
4 Ilish pieces;50 gm hung curd;4 green chilies;1 tbsp ground mustard;1/2 tsp turmeric powder.1/2 tsp cashmere mirch powder 2 tbsp mustard oil, salt to taste.2 pinches of sugar 1/2 cup water
Mix all the ingredients together with Ilish pieces in a kadhai. Cover with a lid and slow cook in medium flame for 10 minutes, give 10 minutes standing time. Serve hot with rice & gandharaj lebu( a special aromatic lemon available in Bengal in abundance) on the banana leaf. Caution: Do not fry the fish pieces.
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Mutton Kofta curry and Aloor Dum - Dum Aloo Cook: Ruby
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Recipe of Mutton Kofta Curry:
1/2 kg finely minced meat;200g hung curd;1 tsp finely chopped onion;2 green chilies chopped to small pieces;1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves; salt to taste.
For the gravy
250gm onion paste.25 gm ginger paste, 10 garlic pod paste.200gm hung curd.
Mix all the ingredients with minced meat with 200gm hung curd and marinate for one hour. Heat oil and then add 1 tsp sugar for caramelization, 2 pcs cloves, 2 pcs cardamom.1pc cinnamon Then adds garlic, onion and ginger paste and sauté in a pan till onions turn brown. Add 200g curd and keep stirring. Add water and salt to taste. When the curry starts boiling, make medium-sized meatballs manually and add them in the gravy one by one. Cook in low flame for 15 minutes. Give standing time 15 minutes. Serve hot.
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VANILLA PUDDING Pamper-er: Ruby
Photographs: Arundhati Sengupta (Ruby)
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Comments
Kudos......excellent job. Loved the recipes and the travel stories. Keep up the good work!!!!
I can well understand that man's love for wife goes through the tummy
Loved reading your nostalgic journey starting from Lucknow and ending in Delhi memories seems to be fresh again