5 recipes of Lucknow delicacies to feast on this winter

Lucknow has always been a city of refinement and its cuisine reflects these sensibilities. In many ways, Lucknow was considered the cultural capital of North India. It was here that the Urdu language was developed to near perfection. It was here, too, that the Lucknow Gharana of Kathak dance and the Bhatkhande Institute of classical music—both major institutions—were established. Art and architecture, particularly Indo-Saracenic architecture, flourished in this city built along the banks of the river Gomti. Architectural heritage is history written in stone. This is true of the many fine buildings that still exist in this city.

Most importantly, Lucknow was and still is a city known for its composite culture, its Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb. The material manifestations of this syncretic culture and refinement, this tehzeeb, were symbolized in the combined use of gold (Ganga) and silver (Jamuna)—such as in silver objects, parts of which were gold washed, or in the use of gold and silver threads in Awadh’s famous brocades woven in textile centres in Varanasi and Lucknow. The quintessence of this culture was an amalgamation of the finest of Hindu and Muslim thoughts and their mutual acceptance. This composite culture, of plurality and complexity, was also reflected in the easy acceptance of the varied cuisines of the various communities that resided in Lucknow.

1. Gilawat ke Kebab

Serves: 8

Preparation time: One hour

Ingredients

• Mutton: 750gm, minced thrice from lean gol boti
• Raw papaya: 6 tablespoons, ground to a paste
• Desi ghee: 2 tablespoons
• Dhania (coriander) seeds: 2 teaspoons
• Jeera (cumin) seeds: 1 teaspoon
• Hari elaichi (green cardamom): 4 pods
• Badi elaichi (black cardamom): 1 pod
• Laal mirch (red chilli): 10 pieces, whole
• Dalchini (cinnamon) powder: 1 teaspoon
• Javitri (mace): Half teaspoon
• Laung (cloves): 6 cloves
• Jaiphal (nutmeg): 2 pieces
• Besan (gram flour): 9 tablespoons
• Roasted salt to taste
• Charcoal: 2 pieces

Method

Grind the raw papaya into a fine paste.

Sauté the coriander and cumin seeds, green cardamom, black cardamom, red chillies, cinnamon, mace, nutmeg and four cloves in a pan on a low flame for about five minutes. Then grind into a fine paste. Mix in the minced mutton, salt and the raw papaya paste. Keep it aside to marinate for one hour.

Mix the gram flour and the rest of the ingredients except the two cloves, the ghee and the charcoal. Put the mixture in a large pan. Then put the burning charcoal, two cloves and a teaspoon of ghee in a small steel bowl and place it in the centre of the large pan. Cover the pan with a heavy lid for the smoking process and let it smoke for 30 minutes.

Divide this mixture into 12 equal portions and roll into a ball.

Then, using the palms of your hands, press it into round flat patties about half an inch in thickness. Heat a frying pan on a low flame. Add the ghee and individually place the patties in it and shallow-fry them on both sides for four minutes each. Serve hot with onion rings.

2. Badaam Ka Shorba (Almond Soup)

Serves: 6

Preparation time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

• Badaam (almonds): 3/4 cup
• Milk: One and a half cups, warmed
• Water: One and a half cups, hot
• Cornflour: 3/4 teapoon, for thickening
• Garam masala (ground spices): 1/4 teaspoon
• Kaali mirch (black pepper): 1 teaspoon or to taste
• Butter: 1 tablespoon
• Castor sugar: 1/2 teaspoon
• Salt: 1 teapoon or to taste
• Badaam (almonds): 1/4 cup, roasted and slivered, for garnishing 

Method

Soak the almonds overnight and then peel them. Set aside 1/4 cup for the garnish. Make a fine paste of the remaining almonds by slowly adding 1/2 a cup of milk by pounding in a mortar and pestle or in a grinder.

In a saucepan, heat the butter. On a low flame, melt the butter and then add 3/4 teaspoon of the cornflour and mix it for 30 seconds, ensuring that the butter does not burn. Slowly add one cup of lukewarm milk, continuously stirring and not allowing any lumps to be formed. Do not allow the mixture to come to a boiling point.

Take the saucepan off the fire and add the almond and milk paste, mixing it well and continuously. Add the castor sugar. Then place the saucepan back on a medium flame and slowly mix in 1½ cups of hot water, until it comes to a boil. Reduce the flame and let the mixture simmer for five minutes. Finally add the garam masala, black pepper, sugar and salt.

Serve hot, preferably in individual soup bowls, garnished with the slivered almonds. If served from a soup tureen, serve the slivered almonds separately.

Raan Mussalam (Roasted leg of goat)

Serves: Eight

Preparation time: Two hours

Ingredients

• Mutton: 1kg, lean leg piece, well washed and cleaned
• Kaccha papita (raw papaya): 1/2 cup, crushed

For the Marinade:

• Dahi (yoghurt): 1 cup
• Besan (gram flour): 1 tablespoon, roasted
• Onions: 200gm, sliced, fried until golden brown then ground to a paste
• Adhrak (ginger) paste: 3 teaspoons
• Lahsun (garlic) paste: 3 teaspoons
• Laal mirch (red chilli) powder: 2 teaspoons
• Kesar (saffron): 6 strands
• Yellow colour: 3–4 drops
• Ghee: One and a half cups
• Salt: 1 tablespoon

For the Stuffing:

• Kaju (cashew nuts): One and a half cups, lightly roasted
• Kalonji (onion) seeds: 5 teaspoons, lightly roasted
• Khus-khus (poppy) seeds: 4 tablespoons, well washed, dried and lightly roasted
• Sukha nariyal (dry coconut): 1 tablespoon, grated
• Hari elaichi (green cardamom): 4 pods
• Badi elaichi (black cardamom): 2 pods
• Kaali mirch (black peppercorns): 12 peppercorns
• Laung (cloves): 6 cloves
• Jaiphal (nutmeg): One and a half pieces
• Javitri (mace): 2 pieces

For the Garnish:

• Badaam (almonds): 10 finely chopped
• Chandi ka varq (silver leaves): 2 leaves

Method

Generously smear the leg of the mutton with raw papaya, rubbing it in so that the mutton soaks in the juice. Marinate for two hours.

Grind the cashew nuts, onion seeds and poppy seeds along with the grated coconut to a paste. Separately, grind the green and black cardamoms, the peppercorns, the cloves, the nutmeg and the mace. Mix these in with the cashew paste.

Mix the yoghurt, red chilli powder, onion paste, ginger and garlic pastes, saffron and the yellow colour along with the gram flour and salt. Apply this marinade evenly on the leg of mutton and let it marinate for two hours.

Place a lagan (A wide and heavy-bottomed utensil with a tight lid, often used in Lucknowi cooking) on a medium flame. Pour in the ghee and put the mutton leg in the pot along with the marinade.

Cover with its lid and put two or three burning charcoals in a metal bowl on top of it. Dum cook for 15–20 minutes. Remove the lid and turn the leg over, again cover and dum cook for 15 minutes until the meat becomes tender.

Remove the meat leg from the lagan and place on a large roast dish, garnish with the silver leaves and chopped almonds. Serve hot.

Dal Gosht (Mutton cooked with lentils)

Serves: Six to eight

Preparation time: Two hours

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

• Mutton: 1kg, 1 leg of raan cut into gol boti pieces
• Chana dal (split Bengal gram): One and a half cups, soaked for two hours
• Onions: Three medium, chopped and ground to a paste
• Tomatoes: Four medium, chopped and ground to a paste
• Dahi (yoghurt): One cup
• Adhrak-lahsun (ginger-garlic) paste: 4 teaspoons
• Haldi (turmeric) powder: 1 teaspoon
• Laal mirch (red chilli) powder: 2 teaspoons
• Garam masala (ground spices) powder: 2 teaspoons
• Sugar: 1 teaspoon
• Fresh coriander leaves: 12 leaves, finely chopped
• Vegetable oil: 6 tablespoons
• Salt: 1 tablespoon or to taste

Method

Drain and cook the chana dal in one cup of water until it is tender. Do not overcook. Drain and keep aside.

Heat the oil in a wok (kadhai). Add the mutton and fry until it is well browned. Add the ginger and garlic paste, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, garam masala and the onion and tomato pastes. Lower the flame and cook until the oil separates from the mixture.

In a separate pan, mix two-and-a-half cups of water in the yoghurt. Add salt and sugar and then cook on low heat until the mutton is tender. Add the chana dal and bring it all to a boil. Lower the flame and let the dal simmer until it is well blended. Serve hot, garnished with freshly chopped coriander leaves.

Kali Gajar Ka Halwa (Black carrot halwa)

This is a Lucknow speciality. Kali Gajar (black carrots) are available only in the winter season and this halwa can only be bought in the Chowk in Lucknow.

Serves: Eight

Preparation time: One hour

Ingredients

• Kali gajar: 1kg
• Desi ghee: 250gm
• Full-cream milk: 1kg
• Khoya (whole milk fudge): 250gm
• Sugar: 250gm
• Hari elaichi (green cardamom): Half teaspoon, pounded pods
• Almonds and pistachios: 12 each, soaked, peeled and slivered
• Khoya, almonds, pistachios and silver leaf for garnishing

Method

Wash, peel and grate the carrots. Boil the milk and let the carrots cook in it until they are tender and the milk is absorbed. Once the milk is absorbed, roast them for 5 minutes. Then add the ghee and further roast. When the ghee separates and the carrots are well roasted, add the sugar.

Roast the khoya separately until it is red and the raw taste disappears. Set aside a little raw khoya for the garnishing. Add the roasted khoya to the halwa. Mix in well. Add the ground cardamom and mix in. Decorate with white khoya pieces, almond and pistachio slivers and silver leaf (chandi ka varq).

(Excerpted with permissions of Aleph Book Company from The Lucknow Cookbook by Chand Sur and Sunita Kohli.)

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