The melting pot of Delhi's cuisine - Delhi Heritage City

Melting Pot of Delhi’s Cuisine, by Salma Hussain
The city of Delhi is a giant melting pot of cuisine. The city has absorbed, over the centuries,
settlers, and visitors from across the globe. The emperors, the nobles, the viceroys and the
sahibs all provided generous patronage to the cuisine of Delhi and contributed the cultivation of
fine taste. Exploring the melting pot of the city can be a fascinating and rewarding experience.
Today all the master cuisine of the world contributes to make what has to be one of the most
tantalizing cities for the taste but of food lovers. Here food has been tried tested and modified for
long. Here one sees fusion of food old and new and truly melting of many cultures people and
cuisines together. There is indeed a treasure trove of recipes right from the time of Sultans of
Delhi to end of great Mughal Empire.
Of all the communities living in Delhi the food has been highly influenced by the Moghuls,
Kayasth, Banias, British and the Punjabis.
As early as—300B.C. Delhi was a settlement of Mauryas and Guptas who left behind a whiffing
flavor (flavor which did not stay long) of Buddhist cuisine, which got lost in the strong flavors of
Turko Afghans who became Delhi’s reigning sultans from-A.D.1206. Now the focus was nonvegetarian
food. They were not a refined fraternity. Their nomadic ancestors in the Central Asia
steppes had bequeathed them with well-developed survival skills but few cultural nuances. There
culinary expertise was limited to roasted sheep and fermented ewe’s milk, but realizing their lack
of refined culture they started developing Delhi as a city of culture.
Though the table of Qutub Uddin Aiybak, Iltutumash and Razia Sultan was highly influence by
their Central Asian Turkish cuisine, which consisted of dishes of meat with noodles (even now
noodles are popularly used in soup, pulao etc), lots of dairy products, fresh fruits, and some
vegetables available in and around Delhi like spinach, pumpkin, egg plant etc.
With the passage of time the food of sultans improved and sophistication got set in motion.
It is said that the royal table of Sultan Mohd. Tughluq consisted of 200 dishes at times. The
public dinning was 100 times more and the royal kitchen fed 20,000 people every day. Famous
Ibn-Batuta has recorded details of banquets in the court of Sultan Ghiasuddin Tughluq at his new
capital Tughalaqabad. The food-included sharbats of rose water, barley drink, roasted meat,
almond halwa, sambusak filled with meat and dry fruits, rice pulao with roasted chicken.
Poet Amir Khusrau further confirms the richness and variety of the food at the new capital
Jahanpnah, when he writes, “the royal feast included sharbate labgir, naan-e-tanuri, samosas,
pulao and halwas. They drank wine and ate tambul after dinner”. He also described addition of
two more varieties of bread Naan-e-Tunuk (light bread) and Naan-e-Tanuri. (Chapattis cooked in
tandurs) Other delicacies mentioned by him are cooking of sparrow and quail.
It was in this scenario that Babur arrived in 1526 from across the mountains, to launch the
Mughal Dynasty. With the arrival of the Mughals, the food scenario changed drastically. Babur
remained alien to Indian food and Humayun had no time to indulge in such delicacies. However,
Akbar, who ruled the longest, contributed to the refinement of Indian gastronomy. Food items
native to India began to be part of the royal repast, and were enriched with nuts, raisins, spices,
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Melting Pot of Delhi’s Cuisine, by Salma Hussain
and ghee, these included dressed meats, varieties of kababs different kinds of pulaos and halwas,
new dishes were added and enriched the cuisine of the land. At this stage even regional cuisine
appeared on the royal dastarkhwan, poori, khandwi, badi, daal Kachori, were some of the dishes
added on Akbar’s table, signifying a real good blend of two cultures, which his reign was known
for.
The Muslims brought their rich gastronomic history to India and this influence is now an
inextricable part of our food culture. In fact, Mughal cuisine is a fragrant blend of our Indo-
Islamic past and the Ganga-Yamuni tehzeeb that characterizes us. Hence, it contains elements
that are common to both the Hindus and the Muslims and reflects, essentially, a fusion of
cultures, the blend of common ingredients to create something new and innovative. This history
is interesting, both from an intellectual point of view as well as a human one, to observe how our
lives and our cuisine began to reflect and record the changes that were seen in society. In these
times, the importance of following the development of how the dishes and food habits have
changed over time is equally vital to the study of society and its inhabitants.
With the transfer of seat of power from Agra to Delhi- the 17 th century
Shahjanabad became renowned throughout the world as the seat of Grand Moghuls. As said
earlier the Moghuls brought with them the influences from Central Asia, Afghanistan and Persia.
Thus the culture of Shahjahanabad reflected the true and diverse spirit of humanity in a blend of
lifestyle. The glory and the grandeur got transferred to the new capital.
The Moghul Empire was at its peak during the 17 th century. An extravagant style of living that
galvanized all of India's most exquisite crafts demanded the same from food. The royal chefs
were all trained with Central Asian, Persian and Afghan techniques. The palace demanded that
they excel in their art. Sambosas filled with mince meat and dry fruits, meat with vegetable and
fruits, Pulao, do piyaza and dumpukht lay out before Moghul royalty, included various skewered
and grilled or pan fried kababs. Most of these dishes have survived to this present day and are
found in the by- lanes of Delhi. The local bawarchies created many more innovative varieties of
kabab taking lead from the old masters of royal kitchen. Thus shamsi kabab became patthar ka
kabab and ordinary seekh kabab became sophisticated kakori kabab, which acquired its glory in
the courts of Awadh. A bland Khoresh of Iran was turned into qorma and pulao was made into
mouthwatering biriyani. Till date Dilliwala are famous cooking meat with combination of seasonal
vegetable like aloo gosht, chuqander gosht, gajar gosht, and karela gosht.
Shahjahanabad’s society comprised a mingling of international as well as national strains
sheltering Diasporas from all over the world.
By 1730 AD the city has absorbed various elements from neighboring regions and housed not
only the ruling elites but also a number of different communities such as Kayashtha, Banias,
Pandits, Jaats, craftsman, peasants, shopkeepers, poets, artists and mendicants.
The main communities who made themselves an integral part of Delhi are; Punjabis, kashmiri
pandits. Kayastha and banias. These communities living in Delhi brought in their own culinary
expertise but the cuisine of each separate stream is distinctive and delicious
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Melting Pot of Delhi’s Cuisine, by Salma Hussain
The Kashmiri Pandits started migrating to Delhi during the time of Sikander Butshikan, the
seventh Sultan of Kashmir and by the beginning of 18 th Century Kashmiri Pandits became a
sizeable community. They brought with them their own culinary habits, which got absorbed in the
melting pot of Delhi. Dishes like Gushtaba, Roghan josh and Rista are well entrenched in Delhi’s
culinary lexicon. Today cuisine of kashmiri pandits and kash miri muslim is well rooted in Delhi
and not only outlets selling Kashmiri food have grown in number but shops selling Kashmiri
spices and pickles are also seen in the main market of the capital.
Banias were an integral part of the diversity of the population of Shahajahanabad and
contributed towards the economy of the region as moneylenders. they controlled all commerce in
Mughal period. Their food, strictly vegetarian without onion and garlic is very much part of Delhi
cuisine.This community added a great number of delightful vegetarian cuisine to the melting pot
of Delhi. Dishes without onion and garlic became a part of Delhi cuisine. Their food was on the
purity of ingredients and richness. Bania and Jain food has a distinct flavor of Marwar and dishes
such as daalbati churma, karhi chawal, gate ki sabzi are dishes worth a mention.
And while the Muslim, Pandit and Bania cuisine is hugely celebrated- adapted and adopted by
the rest of the city—equally significant is the Kayastha food, of what once used to be a
community concentrated to the confines of Mall Road and civil lines of old Delhi.
This community has always been known for their fondness for food and passion for hospitality.
They excel both in vegetarian as well as non-vegetarian food. Surprisingly their women are
shakahari but make meat dishes for their men folk. They show a marked preference for red meat
and prepare mouthwatering delicacies like Nargisi Kebab, pasanda and sukha bhuna gosht.
Kayasth food has survived in the elite families of Delhi. Their breakfast of Bedvi Aloo with jilebi is
now a popular breakfast of lazy Sunday in old delhi.some of their dishes like nagori halwa. Ajwain
arvi and masala kathal are popular.dishes.
The walled city boasted of some of the best professionals in the field of medicine and in early 20 th
Century Unani medicine became a popular way of life. Bottles of colorful sharbats, jars of
murabbas were added to the culture of Delhi. The tradition of making Sharbat was carried on by
the late Hakim Abdul Hameed of Hamdard dawakhana and Rooh afza his contribution to the
world of sharbat has survived the passage of time. Today Dabar has become a successful pioneer
in reviving the traditional culture of murabbas.
Amir Khusrou have referred to the serving of sharbats in the royal banquets and the written
account of Delhi has a regular mentioned of sharbats made with rose pomegranate orange,
mango and lemon. Hakims made them aromatic by adding saffron, musk, kewra, and essence of
different flowers.Today the old practice of making sharbats and murabba has been replaced by
the modern technics and is available in attractive packings.
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Melting Pot of Delhi’s Cuisine, by Salma Hussain
Dilli ke halwai—Delhi is a place to satisfy your sweet tooth also. All the communities living here
have made rich contributions in this field.
Delhi is as famous for its sweets as it is for its kebab, paratha and other delicacies. Lala Sukhlal
Ghantewala Shahi Halwaii, was as much a legend as Ghumi Kebabie The oldest mithai shop in
the city is Ghantewala in Chandni Chowk which has been run by the same family since 1790.
They make the traditional sweets of Delhi -habshi halwa, sohan halwa, pinni, and all-time
favourites like pista and kaju lauz and motichur laddoos. Muslims gave sweets like firni, falooda
and a variety of halwas, some of which have survived the passage of time. Unfortunately, some
of the sweets like daulat ki chaat are hard to find now.
During the period of Muhammed Shah Rangeela under the advice of Shahi Hakims Delhi was
recommended use of pungent spices to ward off the ill humors, thought to be generated by the
water of the canal flowing through Chandni Chowk. This thought process gave rise to spiced
cuisine of Delhi, which is prevalent even today. Exotic-eating places adorned both sides of the
canal. Experienced cooks created tongue-tickling savories and soon chaat shop and kababchis
appeared like mushrooms and did brisk business, princes and nobles visited these vendors to give
them patronage and encourage the fineness of culinary art. Even after so many years this
tongue tickling savories of Delhi are popular and spread all over the walled city An amazing
assortment of chaat like Paani ke Batashe, Papri, Chaat Pakori,long chire, qalmi bade, matar ka
samosa and Kachoris are readily available and made to the liking of the customer. On the other
hand a varieties of kababs like Ghumi kabab, Kaleji Gurde ki seekh, Shami kabab, bowls of
nahari, and cauldrons of zarda and biriyani stop the passer by with their aroma.
Till Bahadur Shah Zafar the last Moghul Emperor, Delhi enjoyed its culinary delights but in their
twilight hours, the piquancy had evaporated from the power of the Moghuls in Delhi. The kitchen
fires smoldered and the smoke was stronger in the subas of Avadh, Deccan and Rampur where
they found the patronage of the Nawabs and the rulers. By now the melting pot of Delhi had
absorbed in it the most exotic and delicious cuisine, which adorned the royal table of Bahadur
Shah Zafar. Patili ke kabab, Bater ka shorba, Bhuna titar, Hiran ke kabab, kate masale ka salan
( Ishtu) qorma, Biriyani, Mutanjan, Safed Gajar ka Halwa, sem ke beej ka salan are some of the
dishes which are now signature dishes of Delhi cuisine.
The nawabi court of Lucknow, the rajas of the states in Rajasthan and in many other parts of
India, deprived by the British of their hold over the administration, laid aside their swords turned
to the more agreeable delights of the senses – the affluent Avadhi, Hyderabadi and Rajasthani
kitchens reaching new levels of creativity.
After the fall of the Mughal Empire the reins of Hindustan were in the hands of Gora Sahibs
whose contribution to the development of food is of a different kind. Europeans in India, who
were perfect aristocrats by now, had lavish tables, adorned with soup, a roast fowl, curries,
mutton pie, rice, cutlets, puddings, cakes, freshly churned butter and home baked breads.
However the Indian ambience could not be avoided and a number of dishes came up between
the English lady and her Indian cook, like This is the beginning of a new cuisine, called Anglo-
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Melting Pot of Delhi’s Cuisine, by Salma Hussain
Indian cuisine. Soups and salads, cutlets, curry, kedgeree, deviled egg, croquettes, vegetable
cooked lightly, chicken roast, fruits, pastries and puddings appeared on the table. The birth of
Anglo Indian cuisine was indeed an interesting fusion of food of two different cultures. There
came flexibility and diversity in the cuisine of Delhi. Besides wine, various beverages got
introduced like gin, gimlet, whisky and beer – sandwiches, cup-cakes and pastries, biscuits and
scones made popular tea snacks of British officers in Delhi. Indian snacks like shami kabab,
koftas Aloo pratha were also added to the menu.
The British gave India the concept of high tea. Garden parties became status symbols with
elaborate refreshments, where Indian cooks presented his best on the table. Besides sit down
dinners, buffet system of eating became prevalent in Delhi and now has become of a part of
Delhi life.
It is interesting to note that when the British left, they not only took their food with them but also
took away the flavors of Delhi with them. Unlike the previous rulers, the culinary habits of the
British in India went with them. Today in Britain chicken tikka, somosa, tandoori chicken and
curry are as popular as fish and chips.
By the beginning of 20 th century French Style cooking became vogue in Delhi. Cooks remain
Indian, who cooked on charcoal stove and Memsahib explained to him the French cooking in her
own way. The menu was perfect French but what appeared on the table had little resemblance to
its name.
With the partition of India yet another layer of culture and another kind of food got introduced to
the city- Tandoori food. Now kababs and breads were cooked in hot clay oven- called Tandoor. In
AD 1200-1500 when conditions in Punjab were quite unstable, Guru Nanak (AD 1469 –1539), in
an effort, to bring all people together started the concept of langar, giving rise to Sanjha Chulha.
After partition sanjha chulha became a popular place for refugees of Punjab to exchange daily
news.
The majority of refugees, who settled in Delhi, after partition, changed the culinary life of the
city. They loved hearty, flavorful and substantial food without artificial furs.
Kundan Lal of Moti Mahal, the famous tandoori food restaurant at Daryaganj in Delhi, started
tandoori chicken, which is world famous even today. The Tandoor became a popular substitute
to grill. Soon tandoori quail, tandoor Jhinga, tandoori fish and even tandoori aaloo, and a variety
of kababs including tikka kabab and seekh kabab were cooked on tandoor and small tandoori
joints became popular eating places of a common man. With the setting up of the sanjha
chulha, the community kitchen became the center of gossip and a source of freshly baked roti
and naan. Many of the displaced people after the partition of India, unable to take up their
former occupations began a fresh life in Delhi by opening up small eating-places and started
selling inexpensive food over which they had mastery like chhola bhatura. Soon chole bhature
became a popular snack of Delhi and even today has not lost its popularity.
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Melting Pot of Delhi’s Cuisine, by Salma Hussain
With their growing economic success they began to dominate the food life of the city. Their
preference for chicken over mutton saw Delhi become a city of poultry fanciers. Their passion for
dairy product paneer in particular saw a variety of dishes being introduced to Delhi. Matar paneer,
saag paneer, paneer makhni, not only gained popularity in the capital of India but became
popular throughout the world.
Besides tandoori cuisine yet another culture sprang called Dhaba culture. Small eating-places
called dhaba adorned the sidewalk.
Where rich creamy dal, curried chicken, matar paneer, aloo chhole, baigan bharta, sizzling
paratha or tandoori roti were standard menu. This lip smacking, simple fresh food is served
amidst loads of butter.
With the downfall of Nawabs and Rajas, taluqadars and Zamindar the fine art of culinary suffered
a great deal and almost died. A new soul was infused in it by the five star hotels of India who are
not only reviving the old art for the gourmet lovers, but also propagating it all over the world by
holding frequent festivals.
Today in the bylanes of walled city some of the old Bawarchis, Kababchis and Chaatwalas do exist
to remind one of the cuisines of yester years the narrow winding streets of walled city hold many
secrets known to only long time residents or are lost in the pages of history. Street food of these
by-lanes is classless yet clasy, inexpensive yet priceless, earthy yet heavenly.
The much talked about Paratnhewali gali has very few to claim the hereditary business. Gulab ki
lassi and sirkiwale Bade Miyan’s Kheer with smoky flavor is again a reminder of good old days.
Bade Miyan’s shop is 125 years old and the flavor remains the same. These are the reminders of
the composite culture of Delhi known as Ganga Jamni Tehzeeb of Dilli. . The aroma of Biryani and
Zarda, the favourite dishes of Dilliwalas are seen all over and does not permit a passerby to move
further without eating a plate full. The freshly baked array of breads is dazzling, Baqakhani,
Sheermaal, kulcha, Roomali, Khamiri, Ghee ki Roti, Rawe ke Prathe and besan ki masalewali roti,
a favorite of Bahadur Shah Zafar.
The past is disappearing rapidly and without a trace making way for new flavors fusion and ideas.
The city is now introduced to western trends of food. The idea is not necessarily to service an
existing palate but to present something new and add to the melting pot. This is also way to
reach a new segment of customers. More and more Indians today are global citizen who embrace
global trends. There is a major culinary revolution going on in the capital with provides ample
food for thought. Japanese food has taken a lead and Sushi Counters are found in each an every
market. Continental, Thai Spanish, and Italian cuisine is what the younger generation demands.
Today momo is sold side-by-side samosa and pizza is baked in tadoor with paneer and chicken
topping.
Delhi is leading the way for the rest of the country showing what cool and chic contemporary
cuisine is all about. Delhi continues to live up to its integrative nature and Delhi’s taste buds are
blooming and melting pot is bubbling.
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Melting Pot of Delhi’s Cuisine, by Salma Hussain
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