Shah Jahan-era manuscript enables people try shahi style in modern kitchens

Not just military and administrative achievements, the Mughals carefully recorded their conquests in the kitchen in book form too. A handwritten Persian manuscript with recipes by Shah Jahan’s cooks, preserved in the British Library, has been translated by scholar Salma Yusuf Husain and published by Roli Books recently. Nuskha-e -Shahjahani (recipes of Shah Jahan) details the slow, indulgent ways of royal cooking that have over time been swapped for quicker fixes. 

Prince feasting on a balcony. Such paintings show the private moments of royalty in a fashion different from their formal portraits

The distinctions between sweet and savoury, for example, were blurred as fruits and nuts were often mixed with meat and vegetables, and almost every dish enhanced with fragrance-rich ingredients like saffron, cinnamon and cardamom. The feast-size recipes were meant for the enjoyment of groups of at least eight to 10 people. Some of the measurements and techniques have been adapted by the author Husain together with chef Vipul Gupta so that they can be achieved in present-day kitchens. It is as such a “transcreation” more than a translation, and allows one the chance to revive truly shahi styles and tastes at home. A 1950s Urdu translation by Syed Muhammed Fazlulla also exists online for all to read. A few recipes from the book, The Mughal Feast, are excerpted with permission below:
 

Do-Piyazah Zameenqand  
 

Slow-cooked tangy yam with Indian gooseberries Serves 4-6

Ingredients
 

Elephant foot yam (zameenqand), washed, cleaned, cut into medium-sized pieces: 1 kg 

Tamarind, soaked in water: 5¼ tbsp / 80 gm 

Ghee: 1 cup / 250 gm 

Turmeric powder: 2 tsp / 10 gm 

Onions, sliced: 1 cup / 250 gm

Indian gooseberries (amla), halved: 10 gm

Coriander seeds, pounded: 4 tsp / 20 gm 

Ginger, chopped: 4 tsp / 20 gm

Salt to taste 

Freshly ground to a fine powder: 

Cinnamon: ½ tsp / 3 gm 

Cloves: ½ tsp / 3 gm 

Green cardamoms: ½ tsp / 3 gm 

Black peppercorns: 1 tsp / 5 gm

Method 
 

1. Squeeze the tamarind with water to obtain the juice. 

2. Heat the ghee in a pan; add the turmeric powder to colour the ghee. Add the onions and fry until golden brown. 

3. Add the yam, gooseberries, tamarind water, pounded coriander seeds, ginger and salt; cook, on low heat, until the yam is tender and little water remains. Sprinkle freshly ground spices and put on dum for 5 minutes. 

4. Remove from heat and keep the dish on hot ashes, covered, for 2 hours to imbibe the smoky flavour. Then uncover and serve.

Amba Pulao  
 

Sweet and tangy mango lamb rice Serves 6-8

Ingredients

Lamb, cut into pieces: 1 kg

Rice: 4 cups / 1 kg

Ghee: 1 cup / 250 gm

Onions, sliced: 1 cup / 250 gm

Ginger, chopped: 4 tsp / 20 gm

Coriander seeds, crushed: 4 tsp / 20 gm

Salt: 4 tsp / 20 gm

Cloves: 1 tsp / 5 gm

Raw mangoes: 1 kg

Sugar: 3 cups / 750 gm

Cumin seeds: 2 gm

Black peppercorns: 1 tsp / 5 gm

Cinnamon: 2 sticks 1½ each

Pistachios, fried: ½ cup / 125 gm

Almonds, fried: ½ cup / 125 gm

Raisins fried: ½ cup / 125 gm 

Method 
 

1. Make yakhni with the lamb pieces, ghee, onions, ginger, crushed coriander seeds and salt. Strain the stock and separate the lamb pieces. (Yakhni is a meat stock. Boil meat with or without bones with salt, coriander seeds, onions, and ginger. When tender, separate meat pieces from the stock and keep aside. Strain the stock through a muslin cloth. For 1 kg meat, use 4 cups water if cooked in pressure cooker, or 8 cups if on coal fire. Adjust ingredients according to recipe.)

2. Add half the mangoes to the stock, and cook until tender. Remove from heat and keep aside to cool. Squeeze the mangoes with hands to extract thick pulp. Strain and keep the mango stock aside.

3. Make a sugar syrup of one-string consistency. 

4. Cut the remaining mangoes into pieces, boil in water and then float in this sugar syrup and cook until tender. Remove from the syrup and keep aside. 

5. Add the syrup to the mango stock and parboil the rice in it.

6. In a separate pan, spread the cumin seeds, followed by the lamb pieces. Add the whole spices and 2 tbsp sweet stock; cook on low heat until syrup is absorbed.

7. Spread the rice over the lamb, pour some ghee and cook on dum. 

8. While serving, arrange the mango pieces on the pulao and garnish with fried dry fruits.

Zeer Biryan Paneer  

Rice with cottage cheese and green gram Serves 6-8

Ingredients
 

Rice: 4 cups / 1 kg 

Cottage cheese, cut into ¾” cubes: 1 cup / 250 gm 

Wholewheat flour: 8 tsp / 

40 gm

Salt: 8 tsp / 40 gm 

Yoghurt, hung, whisked: 

½ cup / 125 gm

Saffron, dissolved in water: 

1.5 gm 

Green cardamoms, crushed: 

½ tsp / 3 gm 

Onions, sliced: ½ cup / 125 gm 

Ginger, chopped: 4 tsp / 20 gm 

Cinnamon: ½ tsp / 3 gm 

Cloves: ½ tsp / 3 gm 

Black peppercorns, ground: 1.5 gm 

Ghee: 1½ cups / 375 gm 

Green gram (cholia), fresh, washed: ½ cup / 125 gm

Flat bamboo sticks as needed 

Method 
 

1. Mix the wheat flour and salt with water in a bowl and make a thick batter. Cover the cottage cheese pieces with this batter and deep-fry until golden brown. Keep aside.

2. Mix the whisked yoghurt with the saffron and half of the finely crushed cardamom seeds; apply this mixture over the fried cottage cheese pieces.

3. Take a wide, thick-bottomed pan; arrange flat bamboo sticks in a criss-cross way in the bottom of the pan. 

4. Remove the cottage cheese pieces from the yoghurt mixture and place them over the bamboo sticks. Place the onion slices along with ginger, cinnamon, cloves, ground pepper, and ¾ cup ghee over the cottage cheese pieces.

5. Parboil the rice and spread it over the cottage cheese pieces. If the rice is a little hard, sprinkle 2 tbsp water to make it soft. Colour some rice with saffron and put on one side of the pan.

6. Spread the green gram over the rice. 

7. Heat ¾ cup ghee to smoking point and pour around and on top of the rice. Place 1 cup wheat flour on top of the rice, cover and seal the pan. 

8. Place live charcoal on the cover of the pan and put on dum for 5 minutes.

Aash-e-nakhudi

Thick sweetened lamb and vegetable soup Serves 8-10

Ingredients
 

Lamb, cut into medium-sized pieces: 2 kg 

Ghee: 2 cups / 500 gm 

Onions, sliced: 2 cups / 500 gm 

Salt to taste 

Ginger, chopped: 8 tsp / 40 gm 

Beetroots,cut into cubes: 

1 cup / 250 gm 

Carrots,cut into cubes: 100 gm

Turnips,cut into cubes: 1 cup / 250 gm

Cloves: ½ tsp / 3 gm 

Egg white: 1 

Sugar: 3 cups / 750 gm

Juice of 3 lemons 

Coriander seeds, pounded: 

8 tsp / 40 gm

Almonds, fried, ground to paste: 5 tsp / 20 gm 

Rice paste: 8 tsp / 40 gm

Cinnamon, ground: ½ tsp / 

3 gm 

Green cardamoms, ground: ½ tsp / 3 gm 

Black peppercorns, ground: 

2 tsp / 10 gm

Spinach: ½ cup / 125 gm 

Dill (soya saag): ½ bunch 

Saffron: ½ tsp / 3 gm 

Method 
 

1. Heat the ghee in a pan; add the onions and fry until golden. Add half the lamb pieces, salt and chopped ginger; fry until the lamb changes colour. Add sufficient water to partly cook the lamb.

2. Now add the beetroots, carrots and turnips with 3 cups water to cook the meat and vegetables on low heat. 

3. When the lamb and vegetables are cooked and at least 1½ cups of water remain in the pan, separate the lamb and vegetables from the stock and reserve. Strain the stock and temper it with 2 cloves; keep aside. 

4. Make a fine mince of the remaining lamb pieces. Make a dry do-piyazah with the mince and grind to a fine paste. Add white of egg and knead into a dough. Make marble-sized balls of this mix and deep-fry in hot oil.

5. Make a sugar syrup of one-string consistency with lemon juice. Add half of the syrup to the reserved stock and bring to a boil. 

6. Add the pounded coriander seeds, almond paste and rice paste to the stock; mix well. 

7. Sprinkle ground cinnamon, remaining cloves, cardamom and black pepper; mix well. Add the spinach, dill and lamb pieces; bring to a soft boil and remove from heat.

8. Transfer into a serving bowl. Add the remaining syrup to the prepared soup and serve hot garnished with saffron.

Gurak kabab 
 

Chicken stuffed with meat and slow-cooked on cinnamon bed Serves 4

Ingredients
 

Chicken, cleaned, washed, skinned: 2 (700-800 gm each)

Onion juice: ½ cup / 125 ml

Ginger juice: ¼ cup / 60 ml

Salt to taste

Vegetable oil: 3 tbsp / 45 ml

Lamb, minced: 400 gm 

Onion, medium-sized, 

sliced: 1

Coriander seeds, crushed: 

1 tbsp / 15 gm

Ginger, chopped: 1 tbsp /

 15 gm

Saffron, dissolved in milk: 

1.5 gm 

Yoghurt, whisked: 

¼ cup / 60 gm

Cinnamon sticks to cover the bottom of the pan: 8-10

Ghee: ½ cup / 125 gm

Black gram (urad dal) flour: ½ cup / 125 gm

Freshly ground to a fine powder: 

Cloves: 1 tsp / 5 gm 

Cardamom: 1 tsp / 5 gm 

Black peppercorns: 

1 tsp / 5 gm 

Method 
 

1. Prick the chicken all over with a fork.

2. Marinate the chicken with onion juice, ginger juice and salt; rub well inside and outside the chicken and keep aside for 30 minutes.

3. Heat the oil in a pan; add the minced meat, onion, crushed coriander seeds, chopped ginger and salt. Stir and cook until the meat is tender. 

4. Smoke the cooked mixture. (For smoking, transfer the mixture to a shallow utensil, create a bay in its centre, and set a metal bowl / onion skin / or betel leaf there. Place a burning coal and pour ghee over it. Cover the utensil with a lid for about 15 minutes. Remove the coal and mix the meat.) 

5. Fill the chicken with the minced lamb and tie both legs with twine to keep the shape of the chicken intact. 

6. Mix the saffron and ground spices with the yoghurt. 

7. Apply the yoghurt and saffron mixture all over the chicken evenly. 

8. Spread the cinnamon sticks on the bottom of the pan. Place the chicken on the cinnamon bed and pour the ghee around. 

9. Make a semi-hard dough of black gram flour. Cover the pan and seal with this dough. 

10. Place the pan on low charcoal heat and cook on dum (in a pot sealed tightly with dough or a heavy weight on the lid) for 4 hours.

11. Remove the cover, take the chicken out, cut into four pieces and serve over the mince.