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Cooking styles popular in North are Mughlai, Kashmiri
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Tuesday, 01 April, 2014, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Koushik S
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fiogf49gjkf0d Geographical and cultural influence on the region’s cuisine
Diversity is a keyword that denotes India, be it religion, language, caste or creed. Another thing that cannot be left out when referring to the country’s diversity is food. The cuisine of a region depends upon its climate, culture and local availability.
Three issues - namely topography, climate and cuisine - mould the cuisine of each region. As a result, great differences exist between the cuisines found in the various regions. These differences are particularly apparent in the north and the south.
If we take Northern India as an example, summers are hot and winters are cold. It has three distinct seasons (summer, monsoon and winter) bringing changes in the seasonal vegetables available.
However, the south is humid and warm year-round, with no major changes in the types of vegetables available.
Hence, there is a wider variety of vegetarian dishes in the North.The seasonal availability of fresh fruit and vegetables adds to the choices that people have.
The frequent invasions that this part of India has experienced has added a lot of flavour and variety to this cuisine. The cooking styles that are popular here are Mughlai and Kashmiri.
The Moghuls left a significant mark on the Indian cuisine, which remains most pronounced in the north of India. They introduced lamb and grilled kababs, in addition to preparing many of their native dishes [including rice pilafs, biryani (a baked rice and meat dish), and meats marinated and cooked with yoghurt]. The Indians adopted many of the Mughlai dishes, as well as the use of yoghurt to marinate meats and make sauces. They quickly learned to make smooth, delicate sauces from these invaders.
States included
The states from where North Indian cuisine emanates are Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. It is an amalgamation of various regional cuisines.
These include the following: Awadhi cuisine
Awadhi cuisine is from the city of Lucknow, the capital of the state of Uttar Pradesh. The cooking patterns of the city are similar to those of Central Asia, the Middle-East, and Northern India.
The cuisine of Lucknow - renowned for its Nawabi hospitality - has been greatly influenced by Mughal cooking techniques. It also bears similarities to those of Persia, Kashmir, Punjab and Hyderabad.
It comprises both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. The bawarchis and rakabdars of Awadh gave birth to the dum style of cooking, or the art of cooking over a slow fire, which has become synonymous with Lucknow today.
Their spread consisted of elaborate dishes like kababs, kormas, biryani, kaliya, nihari-kulchas, zarda, sheermal, roomali rotis and warqi parathas.
The richness of Awadh cuisine lies not only in the variety of cuisine, but also in the ingredients used. These include mutton, paneer and spices such as cardamom and saffron.
Notable dishes include:
Kababs: Kababs are an integral part of Awadhi cuisine. Popular kababs in Lucknow include Kakori Kababs, Galawat ke Kababs, Shami Kababs, Boti Kababs, Patili-ke-Kababs, Ghutwa Kababs and Seekh Kebabs
Lucknowi biryani: Biryani derives from the Persian word Birian (which means roasted before cooking). Biryani is a mixture of basmati rice, meat, vegetables, yoghurt, and spices.
Lucknowi biryani (or Awadhi Biryani) is a form of pukki (cooked) biryani. The meat and the rice are cooked separately, and then layered before baking
Kashmiri cuisine
Kashmiri cuisine has had the earliest influence on Kashmiri Pandit cuisine. While Pandits do not eat meat, however the Pandits of Kashmir have always eaten all meats, except beef. Beef is strictly forbidden in Pandit cuisine and in Kashmiri Muslim cuisine, in keeping with the age-old Kashmiri tradition known as Kashmiriyat. The Wazwan of Kashmiri Muslims forbids the usage of beef. However, Kashmiris have always been heavy meat-eaters (they consume lamb, mutton and goat). The Nilamat Purana records that the Brahmins of Kashmir have also been heavy meat-eaters (they consume lamb and mutton). The two most important saints of the state, Lalleshwari and Sheikh Noor-ud-din Wali, were vegetarians for spiritual reasons. Meat is cooked for Kashmiri Pandit festivals, and forms an extremely important part of the Kashmiri Pandit identity.
Noteworthy dishes
Rogan Josh: This is a lamb-based dish, cooked in a gravy seasoned with liberal amounts of Kashmiri chillies (in the form of a dry powder), powdered ginger, asafoetida (which is used by the Pandits in place of garlic) and bay leaves, among other things. Due to the absence of onions, yoghurt is used as a thickener and to reduce the heat and marry the spices in the gravy. It is the most commonly-cooked dish using lamb in Kashmiri Hindu cuisine.
Yakhni: Yakhni is a yoghurt-based mutton gravy, which excludes the use of turmeric and chilli powders in its preparation. The dish is primarily flavoured with bay leaves, cloves and cardamom seeds. It is mild and considered to be subtle in taste. It is eaten with rice, and is often accompanied by a spicier side dish
Mughlai cuisine
Mughlai cuisine is a style of cooking, which was developed in South Asia by the imperial kitchens of the Mughal Empire. It represents the cooking styles used in North India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Indian city of Hyderabad.
The cuisine is strongly influenced by Persian and Afghan cuisine, and has, in turn, strongly influenced the regional cuisines of Kashmir and Punjab.
The tastes of Mughlai cuisine vary from extremely mild to spicy. It is often associated with a distinctive aroma and the taste of ground and whole spices.
Notable dishes
Butter chicken: Many versions of the recipe exist. These include dressed chicken (served on the bone in India and off the bone in the United States) and those marinated overnight in a mixture of yoghurt and spices (including garam masala, ginger, garlic paste, lemon or lime, pepper, coriander, cumin, turmeric and chilli). The chicken is traditionally cooked in a tandoor, but could also be grilled, roasted or pan-fried. The tomato gravy is made by first heating fresh tomatoes, garlic and cardamom into a bright red pulp, which is then pureed after cooling. Other ingredients used include butter, khoa, fresh cream and various spices, such as asafoetida, cumin, cloves, cinnamon, coriander, pepper and fenugreek. The gravy is cooked until there is no raw tomato flavour.
Punjabi Cuisine
Within Punjab itself, there are different preferences. People from Lahore and Amritsar prefer stuffed parathas and dairy products (the state is renowned for the quality of its milk products). There are certain dishes which are exclusive to Punjab. These include sarson da saag and makki di roti. The main masala in a Punjabi dish comprises onion, garlic and ginger. Many popular elements of Indian cuisine served to customers from overseas are from Punjab. These include tandoori food, naans, pakoras and vegetarian dishes with paneer.
Key dishes
Tandoori Chicken: Tandoori chicken is popular in India and Pakistan. It consists of roasted chicken marinated with yoghurt and seasoned with spices. Its name is derived from the tandoor (the cylindrical clay oven in which the dish is traditionally prepared). While it is moderately piquant in India and Pakistan, the heat is reduced in most Western nations. Cayenne pepper, red chilli powder or Kashmiri red chilli powder is used to give it a fiery red hue. A higher amount of turmeric produces an orange colour.
Pasanda: Pasanda was originally made with the leg of a lamb, which was flattened into strips, marinated and fried. Multiple seasonings were used. Now pasanda may also be made using chicken and king prawns. In each case, the process remains the same. After the meat is cut and flattened, it is placed in a marinade of yoghurt, chilli powder and spices such as cumin, peppercorn, cardamom and garlic. After a few hours of marination, the meat is placed in a saucepan with the other ingredients that make up the pasanda (namely onions, coriander, chillies, and sometimes cinnamon and/or black pepper) and fried for 30 minutes to an hour.
Style of food
The stand-out factors of this cuisine are the rich, creamy, moderately-spiced and thick gravies. Nuts and dried fruit are common in the daily diets of North Indians. The major ingredients used include milk, cottage cheese, cream, ghee and yoghurt. These are used to making savoury and sweet dishes. Thanks to the variety of fruit and vegetables that are available year-round, a vegetarian is spoilt for choice. North Indian vegetarian preparations often feature whole vegetables cut large (such as whole brinjals) to take advantage of their natural flavours.
Staple foods
Down south, rice is the staple food, while people in the north prefer bread. However, rice is used in the north to make biryanis and pulavs. The varieties of Indian breads include tandoori roti and naans (bread made in a clay tandoor oven); stuffed parathas (flaky Indian bread with different kinds of vegetarian and non-vegetarian fillings) and kulchas (bread made from fermented dough).
The clay oven becomes very hot owing to the fuel of wood or charcoal, and it is used to cook meat, poultry, seafood, fish or vegetables on skewers, and to bake flatbreads. Skewered foods are marinated in a yoghurt and spice mixture before cooking. The skewers are then lowered into the vat-shaped oven.
Cooking oil used
Sunflower and canola oil are the most commonly-used vegetable oils. Mustard oil is seldom used in the north, but it is used exclusively in some regions. Ghee is used in cooking for special occasions.
Important spices and ingredients
The majorly-used spices are coriander, cumin, dry red chillies, turmeric, chilli powder, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, garam masala and aniseed/fennel. Using these spices, humongous varieties and flavours of gravies can be made. Although many spices are used in both the north and the south, their treatment makes them taste differently. In the north, spices are cooked or roasted in a dry pan, ground and added to the foods. People in the south prefer to mix the spices into a wet paste and combine it with the dish.
Meat consumption
With the dietary laws forbidding the consumption of pork and beef, the most popular meats are lamb and goat. More meat is eaten in North India than in the south, and lamb became a favourite as a result of the Mughal influence. The Mughals ate lots of meat in their native Persia, but abstained from pork because of their Muslim faith. When they arrived in India, they found out that cows were sacred, and consumed lamb, goat and chicken. North Indians prepare kofta (a ground lamb and hard boiled egg dish reminiscent of the Middle-Eastern lamb dish kibbe).
(The author is culinary operations officer, Eatitude.
He can be contacted at koushik@eatitude.com)
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