About Awadhi Cuisine
AWADHI CUISINE
Awadhi Cuisine is from the city of Lucknow is the capital of the state of Uttar Pradesh in Central-South Asia and Northern India.
The cuisine consists of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes.
Awadh has been greatly influenced by Mughal cooking techniques.
The cuisine of Lucknow bears similarities to those of Persia, Kashmir, Punjab and Hyderabad.
The city is famous for its Nawabi foods.
The bawarchis and rakabdars of Awadh gave birth to the dum style of cooking or the art of cooking over a slow fire.
The richness of Awadh cuisine lies not only in the variety of cuisine but also in the ingredients used like mutton, paneer, and rich spices including cardamom and saffron.
Dastarkhwan, a Persian term, literally means a laid-out ceremonial dining spread. It is customary in Awadh to sit around and share the Dastarkhwan.
The Chefs of Awadhi transformed the traditional dastarkhwan with elaborate dishes like kababs, kormas, kaliya, nahari-kulchas, zarda, sheermal, roomali rotis and parathas.
During Ramzan, the month of fasting, the cooks and the ladies of the house are busy throughout the day preparing the iftari (the meal eaten at the end of the day’s fast), not only for the family but for the friends and the poor.
Id is celebrated with varieties of siwaiyan (vermicelli) – Muzzaffar is a favourite in Lucknow.
Sheermals were invented by mamdoo bawarchi more than one and a half century ago. They are saffron covered parathas made from a dough of flour mixed with milk and ghee and baked in iron tandoors.
The Awadhi/Lucknow dastarkhwan would not be complete unless it had the following dishes.
.Qorma (braised meat in thick gravy),
.Salan (a gravy dish of meat or vegetable),
.Qeema (minced meat),
.Kababs (pounded meat fried or roasted over a charcoal fire)
.Pasinda (fried slivers of very tender meat, usually kid, in gravy)
.Rice is cooked with meat in the form in the form of a
Pulao,
.Chulao (fried rice) or
Served plain.
There would also be a variety of rotis.
Desserts comprise
Kheer (milk sweetened and boiled with whole rice to a thick consistency),
Halwa,
Phirni
Kebab
Lucknow is proud of its Kebabs. The Kakori Kebabs, Galawat ke Kebabs, Shami Kebabs, Boti Kebabs, Patili-ke-Kebabs, Ghutwa Kebabs and Seekh Kebabs are among the known varieties.
Seekh Kebab : It was originally prepared from beef mince on skewers and cooked on charcoal fire. Now lamb mince is preferred for its soft texture.
Kakori kabab : The mince for the kabab is to be obtained from no other part but the raan ki machhli (tendon of the leg of mutton) other ingredients include khoya, white pepper and a mix of powdered spices which remains a closely guarded secret adds to the perfect blend.
Shami Kabab : Made from mince meat, with chopped onion and coriander and green chillies usually added to the mixture, the kebabs are round patties filled with spicy surprises and the tangy raw green mango.
Galawat kabab : A variant made without any admixture or binding agents and comprising just the minced meat and the spices is the Galawat kabab.
Pasanda Kebab : Piccata (thin flattened chunk) of lamb marinated (red chiili powder, ginger & garlic paste, papaya and garam masala) and then sautéed on a griddle.
Boti kebab : Boti kebab is lamb marinated in yoghurt and skewered, then well cooked. Traditionally, Boti Kebab (Lamb) is cooked in a clay oven called a tandoor.
Vegetarian kebabs include Dalcha Kebab, Kathal ke Kebab, Arbi ke Kebab, Rajma Galoti Kebab (kidney bean kebab cooked with aromatic herbs), Zamikand ke Kebab (Lucknowi yam kebabs), etc.
Curry preparations
Korma
Korma is actually the Indian name for the technique of braising meat. It originated in the lavish Moghul cuisine wherein lamb or chicken was braised in velvety, spiced sauces, enriched with ground nuts, cream and butter. While kormas are rich, they are also mild, containing little or no cayenne or chillies.
Ther are both vegetarian(navratan korma) and non-vegetarian(chicken, lamb, beef & fish korma) varieties of korma. Murgh Awadhi Korma is a classic from Lucknow.
Kaliya is a mutton preparation with gravy along with the compulsory inclusion of turmeric or saffron.
Rice preparations
Biryani derived from the Persian word 'Birian',which means 'roasted before cooking', biryani is a mixture of rice(basmati), meat/vegetables, yogurt and spices.
Lucknow Biryani or Awadh Biryani is a form of Pukki Biryani. Pukki means 'cooked'. Both the meat and rice are cooked separately and then layered and baked. The process also lives up to the name Biryani in Persian meaning 'fry before cooking'
It basically has three steps. First, the meat is seared in ghee and cooked in water with warm aromatic spices till meat is tender. The meat broth is drained out. Second, the rice is lightly fried in Ghee, and cooked in the meat broth from the previous step. Third, cooked meat and cooked rice are layered in a Handi. Sweet flavors are added. The Handi is sealed and cooked over low heat. The result is a perfectly cooked meat, rice, and a homogenous flavor of aromatic meat broth, aromatic spices and sweet flavors.
The difference between biryani and pullao is that while pullao is made by cooking the meat in ghee with warm aromatic spices and cooking it in water till the meat is tender, then adding the rice in the meat broth along with meat which is then sealed and cooked over low heat till it's done, whereas biryani, the rice is boiled or parboiled separately in spiced water and then layered with meat curry or marinade, depending on the type of biryani being cooked, which is then sealed and cooked over low heat till it's done.
