About Us
Awadhnama: The Journey
Unveiling a tale that is sure to tease your taste buds, we present the gastronomic journey of The Royal Cuisine
The Mughals are entwined inseparably with India’s history and culture, since 1426. From art, architecture, culture and food, they bequeathed to this country a substantial legacy that lives on even today.
We are here to uncover the rich culinary legacy — the deliciously complex blend of flavours, spices, and aromas called Royal cuisine. Tracing the origins of this cuisine in India, we unveil a tale that is sure to tease your taste buds!
Lavish and extravagant in taste, the Mughals were connoisseurs of rich, complex and sumptuous recipes. Creating such dishes meant that cooking in royal kitchens was a riot of colours, fragrances, and harried experiments.
Curries and gravies were often made richer with milk, cream and yoghurt, with dishes being garnished with edible flowers and foils of precious metals like gold and silver.
It was also not uncommon for the shahi khansama (chief cook) to consult with the shahi hakim (chief physician) while planning the royal menu, making sure to include medicinally beneficial ingredients. For instance, each grain of rice for the biryani was coated with silver-flecked oil (this was believed to aid digestion and act as an aphrodisiac).
As any community or nation progresses, its diet is the most salient guide to its refinement. The most prominent contribution was from the court of Lucknow towards its cuisine and the extent to which the people of Lucknow improved the art of gastronomy.
At the time of Shuja ud Daula, a very high standard of cooking was maintained. The very best cooks were enlisted, elaborate efforts were made in the preparation of foods and innovations were introduced. Expert cooks from Delhi and other places polished up their skills and invented new delicacies and special savours.
The Nawab who brought up Lucknow as a pearl on the map of northern India, is the fourth Nawab of Awadh – Nawab Asaf-ud-daulah. Being a man of exceptional taste and a connoisseur of fine food, he was known more for his generosity. As a famine relief measure, he ordered the construction of the Bara Imambara, which still remains one of the grandest buildings in modern day Lucknow. Being a man of exceptional taste and a connoisseur of fine food, was known more for his generosity. He discovered the ‘dum’ style of cooking and then patronized it, enriching his kingdom by this aromatic style of biryani.
Coming to the present day, take a moment to envision the Mughal culinary culture of the past, to appreciate the gastronomic creations of the hardworking chefs of the Royal kitchens. We have brought onboard one such individual whose family has carried on the legacy. Mr. Abdul Salam Qureshi career spans over three decades during which he had extensive exposure both in India and abroad and have worked in numerous hotels and restaurants around the world.
