From crispy 'parathas' to flavourful 'qormas': Debunking the many myths of Mughlai cuisine

The misconception and the truths of Mughlai kitchens By Anirban Bora.

A morning conversation with my foodie friend Suprapto (name changed for my own safety) suddenly brought back memories of Kolkata Mughlai delights.

Bengalis love Mughlai food like Murg Musallam, Biryani, Mughlai Parota, Rezala etc. At this time, with an honest appetite for food and knowledge, I was going through some Mughlal recipe books and the Islamic influence on Indian kitchens, when suddenly, my mind was bombarded by questions. But can all these delicacies actually be called Mughlai?

Mughlai Paratha
The crispy paratha parcel with a filling of egg and minced meat is enjoyed with potato sabji and salad or with meat. In Bengal it is a very popular street food.

There is a popular story of how Emperor Jahangir was behind the invention of the great Parantha and how he rewarded the cook generously. That same parantha became known during the British era but it is believed that cooks from present day Dhaka were behind the dish which became hugely popular as a Calcutta street food.

The Turk-Afghan influence in Bengal goes back to 1205 AD with military general Bakhtiyar Khalji of Delhi Sultanate. 300 years before Jahangir(1569-1627) the Turks were present and Gözleme, the delicious Turkish street food is very similar to Mughlai Parantha.

Rezala, the light yogurt based flavourful dish is said to have Awadhi origin but in Kolkata it gets a distinct taste altogether and Murg Musallam was also very much present in Delhi Sultanate. Much of Northern India was under the Turkish, Afghan and middle Asian rule (Slave Dynasty, Khaljis, Tughlaqs, Saytids and Lodis) by 1225 and these rulers all kept a scrumptious kitchen. Ibn Botutta spoke of Royal Banquet with roasts, sweets and dough cakes while meat cooked with ghee, onion and green ginger, halwa, sambusaak and khichri was had for breakfast.

Noted academic and food historian Dr. Pushpesh Pant pointed out. "Spices like pepper, galangal, saffron and pounded almonds were very much present in central Asian and Delhi Sultanate food practices. Suspect Britishers were behind the term ‘Mughlai’. They ousted the Mughals and promoted the myth to appear like the true successors of Mughals and today in the West ‘Mughlai’ has become synonymous with all Indian food. The talented baburchis after the fall of Delhi in 1857, took refuge in small states and with their new masters also sold the ‘Mughlai’ myths which is actually a mixed milage of Turko-Afghan food."

So today we see red qormas with chilli and gravy with garlic and oil and ghee-infused Biryani in the so called authentic shops which if true, could make Shahjahan’s life span significantly shorter. And I stumbled upon the much celebrated book of food historian Salma Yusuf Husain, The Mughal Feast, transcreation of Nuskha-e-Shahjahani, a Persian recipe book depicting Shah Jahan’s kitchen. Mughlai cuisine was shaped by all kinds of influences (Turkish, Afghani and Persian) mixed with Kashmiri, Punjabi and a touch of Deccan. The Mughals hardly put chilly and garlic in their food and their temperate use of mild spices like black cumin, dhania, ginger and black pepper the food cooked was actually very mild and delicious. With the passage of time, cooking styles became more Indianised and ingredients like Kashmiri Vadi, sandalwood powder, suhaga betel leaf and white gourd entered the Mughal kitchen. Pulao in the hands of the Mughals found refinement .. we hear of exotic pulao like Moti pulao, narangi pulao, mutanjan pulao and muressrh pulao. Each grain of pulao was coated with silver warq which aided digestion and acted as an aphrodisiac.

During this time Portuguese came with foreign fruits and vegetables. Abu’l Fazl noted that each pineapple were sold for the price of 10 mangos. Many fruits were imported. However from Jahangir’s time much of the Central Asian’s fruits started to be grown in Kashmir. During his Gujarat campaign, Jahangir was introduced to Khichri and enjoyed it . He was also much known for his love for fish and once gifted a village to a good fish cook. Nuskha-e-Shahjahani records the names of the grand dishes of Shahjahan’s table. Qaliya & Do-piyajah and Kofta Bharta, Biryani & Pulao, Kabab, shiriniha and other delicacies. When Aurangzeb imprisoned his father, he allowed him only one ingredient of his choice. Shahjahan chose chickpeas. Even today Shahjahani dal (chickpeas cooked in a gravy of cream) lives in all its glory.

And our story ends with lack of space and me being hungry. Stay tuned because we will return to the subject soon.