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| The Spread (representative selection of dishes) |
If you are part of the food
world and up to speed with food trends and happenings, chances are you have
heard the name Osama Jalali. (If not, then which cloche have you been hiding
under?) Bad jokes aside, if you don't know of Osama Jalali I am about to tell
you. With the happy news, that you have a chance to meet him and the Jalali
family. And taste their cooking at the ongoing Rivaayat-e-Purani Dilli festival
at the Maya Restaurant, Trident BKC up to the 29th.
Osama Jalali, his mother Mrs
Nazish Jalali and his wife Mrs. Nazia Jalali are the three wonderful individuals behind this festival. The family come from the princely of Rampur
in Uttar Pradesh famous for its unique Rampuri cuisine. Osama grew up in the by lanes of Purani or Old Dilli. He has worn many hats in his career so far, but I believe he came into his own in his latest
avatar, that of champion of lost recipes and document-er of the food heritage of
India. A role he assays ably as a curator of community/Khandaan based (Awadhi,
Rampuri, Shahjahani, Nizami) menus at hotels around the country and as owner of
popular Facebook group Lost Recipes of India. He is the curator and
spokesperson so we see him more but the Jalali ladies are equally inspiring.  |
| The Jalali Ladies |
His mother Nazish, fondly called Ammi Jalali, (who I fell in love with the
moment I met her) learned to cook from the khansamas (cooks) of the royal
kitchens of Rampur. She is the driving forse behind the cooking that happens for all the festivals. His lovely wife Nazia is the researcher, documenting
recipes from women in the zenanas of old families where the purdah still
prevails and men are banned. Where the kitchens are still the domain of
women, it is Nazia who learns the hierloom recipes from the experts of the home bastion bringing home culinary secrets in the code of pinches,
handfuls and andaaz for Osama to decode. Osama cooks right alongside his mother Nazish Jalali & wife Nazia Khan at the theme based Daawat’s and festivals he curates.
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| Yours truly with the Jalali family. |
And they are in Mumbai for the
Rivaayat E Purani Dilli festival showcasing recipes from Shajahanbad (as the erstwhile
walled city ofold Delhi that was the capital of the Mughal Empire was called). That
said this food is not to be mistaken with the food you will find at Karim’s or
Al-Jawahar in that area, which is more street food that evolved as sustenance
for working populace of the area and leans towards being oily and spicy. This
is the food from homes in the by-lanes of Urdu Bazar near Jama Masjid in Old
Delhi and is far simpler, relying on select spices and flavors, subtly
combined. Also unlike street food which is meat centric in Old Delhi, home
cuisine is rich in vegetarian dishes too. Thanks to the Mughal Emperor
Aurangzeb being vegetarian a varied repertoire of vegetarian recipes were
developed during his reign and trickled down to the kitchens of earstwhile
families of Old Delhi. This is food made in people’s homes every day, dishes
made for daily meals or special occaissions based on what is seasonal,
economical and available. Just like our mothers and grandmothers would cook.
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| Chef Ashish Bhasin who spearhead the Rivaayat series |
Now that we have gotten
introductions out of the way, let me talk about my experience at the Chefs
Table I was invited to by Chef Ashish Bhasin and the Trident BKC.
The menu was an array of 45
dishes ranging from Shorbas and appetizers to mains, breads, accompaniments and
desserts largely from Purani dilli but with a smattering of Rampuri
specialities. Rampur sits between Delhi and Lucknow and tends to be more
evolved that rustic Delhi dishes with more refined gravies and spicing but not
as refined as those of Lucknow which is the bastion of Mughal cuisine. I tasted about 24 or so of the 45 dishes on the menu albeit in small spoonful servings.
I was very full at
the end of my meal, but the food sat very gently in my stomach; nothing was
cream rich and acidity inducing-ly heavy, as much Mughlai food can be. Rather a
parade of uncomplicated flavours on the palate, distinct in both flavours and
textures. There was no ubiquitous gravy of onion and tomato in sight , in fact there
wasn’t a single tomato in sight! Because tomatoes did not exist in the era of this
food!
Almost everything I tasted was
lovely. I highly recommend the Fried Chicken, Saufiyani Paneer ke Tikke, Macchi
Tikka, Chana Dal Bharta, Aloo ka Bharta, Chicken Stew, and the Parinde mein
Parinde. But one cannot favourite it all as much as one wishes to so here are
my picks of the dishes I found truly memorable.
What I didn’t really like, because
perhaps my palate is not evolved enough to appreciate them, were the rice
dishes. The Mutton Biryani while flawless, I found underwhelming in flavour,
this could be because this version is spiced with a very light hand. The Tahiri
or Teheri (a staple in most North Indian homes during winters hit a slightly
higher spice note, but still did not strike any chords.
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| The Kache Kheeme ki Tikkiyan (foreground) |
Amongst the appetisers, the
Mewa Mawa kebabs with their clever play of texture and spicing offset by the
Paneer were really delicious. And the Kacche Kheeme ki Tikkiyan, with perfectly pounded,
moist meat and subtle but distinct spicing were unforgettable! Amongst the
mains, the earthiness of the Urad Gosht with the lentils and meat slow cooked
till falling apart into a fantastic whole, as all meat and lentil dishes of
this ilk are. But the showstopper for me was the Kheema Hari Mirch which had
caught my eye immediately while I was reading the menu. It was phenomenal, fine
kheema redolent of green chillies, so delicately done was the spicing that you
could taste the 'green' of the green chillies and their cutting spiciness like
you would in a hirva thencha. And among the desserts, it was a no brainer.
The Gosht ka Halwa had to be it!
The Gosht ka Halwa is a Jalali
specialty, resurrected by them from mere stories Osama heard in passing.
Legend has it, this was made by for new bride grooms to boost their libido. And
I must be honest, that story and the rather alien concept of meat in a dessert
or sweet form had me wary. I tasted it with a lot of trepidation. But! But!
But! I was floored! And I finished it in short order! It had just the subtlest
under note of meat - you could almost miss it -and had been cooked down with
milk sugar and spices.
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| Phirni, the Gosht Halwa and Zarda |
The offerings on the menu are testament to their home-style roots, with everyday vegetables and dishes you would never see on exotic menus holding pride of place alongside their more glamorous, exotic brethren. Like the Kathal ki galouti, a subtly spiced soft, kebab of jackfruit, that held its own next to a rich mewa mawa kebab a rich textured blend of paneer and vegetables. Or the absolutely delicious Arvi ka salan, an unassuming dish of colocasia root – a vegetable often used as a last resort - braised with almond and yoghurt.
There was also the unobtrusive mangochi a dish made of ubiquitous Mung dal fried into dumplings tossed with spices. And an earthy Urad Daal Gosht in which meat was cooked with black lentils till it was falling of the bone. and the fantastic Saag Kofta chicken mince dumplings in a spinach gravy that held their own next to a Kormas, Nehari and the Parinde Me Parinda, a preparation from Mughal times which had an egg stuffed in a quail, stuffed in a chicken, the whole cooked to perfection so both the quail and chicken were aromatic and tender.
The Parinde me Parinda, I must clarify is a Royal recipe. While the emphasis is on home-style comfort food sans frills Ashish and Osama chose to add a few dishes from Osama's repertoire of lost recipes and recipes he has resurrected from royal kitchens since this was his first showcase in Mumbai. He also does a variation in which the chicken is further stuffed in a duck! According to Osama the Parinde me Parinda is a dish that in its heydey was a delicacy in which the animals progressed up through 9 animals ending with a whole camel!
What I both admire and
respect about Osama is that he is a rare combination of food intellectual,
hands on cook and erudite articulator of his knowledge and
experiences, the last being something many experts are unable to do.
