Travels of the kebab... to Thanjavur

Anoothi Vishal finds that Tanjore kebabs combine influences from Muslim and Maratha cuisines

We all know of the Indian kebab’s Persian/Turk connection but history is hardly linear and there is more to the kebab’s pedigree and evolution than you may expect. According to researcher Salma Husain, the origin of the kebab goes back to the Rig Vedic times when non-vegetarian taboos had not yet crept into Aryan society and the tribe of wanderers was just about beginning to settle down in the lush Indus and Gangetic plains.

‘Kebabs’ at that time were just pieces of meat grilled in open fires and hardly seasoned with the kind of spicing that we know today. The rich meats, tenderised, infinitely more refined, often imbued with a paste of nuts and so forth were a much later invention — and borrowed from the culinary traditions of the Mughal empresses, many of whom (like Noor Jehan) were Persian.

 

But while kebabs are essentially Mughal inventions, sundry Hindu communities have their own ‘kebab’ traditions, that is if you consider a kebab to be any piece of meat grilled and seasoned — the Rajput soolas being a case in point, not to mention the Punjabi tikkas that came about post-Partition. But a strain of kebabs from Thanjavur? It may surprise you to know that complex gourmet history of the kebabs also winds its way through the ancient Chola town, best known for its magnificent rock temple.

The Tanjore kebab recipes, hidden from gourmets in India until now, can be attributed to the kitchen of Thanjavur’s erstwhile Maratha king. A tome called the Sarbendra Pakashastra, one of the few instances of recipes having been codified anywhere in India, records the kitchen goings-on in the reign of the 19th century Bhonsle ruler, Serfoji II. The book comprises a collection of recipes, and is dated1812. The original book is one of the best kept secrets of the Saraswati Mahal Library and though enterprising chefs can refer to it — like ITC Park Sheraton’s Praveen Anand did, recreating some of them — the book itself remains in custody of this erstwhile royal library.

Among other delicacies, it contains recipes for almost 10-15 kebabs developed in the king’s Maratha kitchen. The Pakashastra, says chef Anand, talks about Serfoji II’s various kitchens. The four kitchens attached to the palace included the water and the sherbet section, a Maratha kitchen that catered to non-vegetarians, a Brahmanical kitchen as and a western kitchen where English and French recipes were practiced.

The Tanjore kebabs are a result of obvious influences from the dominant Muslim cuisine of the day (pre-British rule) marrying Maratha food. Take for instance, Sunkat Shunti, as one of the most delicious of these kebabs is called, in which jumbo prawns are used.
 

SUNKAT SHUNTI (PRAWN KEBAB)
2 portions; Cooking time: 20 mins

Ingredients
Jumbo prawns: 12 nos., Salt: 6gm, Tamarind pulp: 25ml, Turmeric powder: 3gm, Red chilli whole: 10gm, Peppercorn whole: 15gm, Jeera whole: 10gm, Coriander whole: 15gm, Copra (coconut dry): 25gm, Onion paste raw: 15gm, Ghee: 40ml, Coriander crush: 3gm, Peppercorn crush: 3gm

Method:

• Marinate the prawns in salt, turmeric powder, onion paste and tamarind pulp.
• Sauté red chilli, whole peppercorn, whole jeera, whole coriander, copra in ghee and make a fine paste.
• Add the above paste to prawns and mix it
• Add coriander crush, peppercorn crush and a little tamarind pulp into prawns. Check the seasoning.
• Refrigerate for 30 minutes and cook in tandoor for 10 minutes. Baste it with oil and serve hot.

(Courtesy: ITC Park Sheraton, Chennai)

There is a mutton shunti too with a richer copra, cashews and poppy seeds marinade this time. The process of cooking this one is rather complicated: The meat is boiled, its fibre taken out; it’s tied with a banana thread and fried! Besides the shunti, there are other kebabs too — fish seekh kebabs, kombdichi (chicken) kebabs, and others that are like the shamis of the north but with a much stronger after taste. The spicing (after all, we are very close to India’s spice states) and the use of traditional rich Persian/Mughal ingredients like cashews with local souring agents, like tamarind, show up these kebabs for what they are: A reminder of our ‘mixed’, diverse heritage.

(Anoothi Vishal is a Delhi-based food critic and writer)