Mughlai cuisine

Mughal recipes are recorded in works from the Mughal era such as the Nuskha-i-Shahjahani, ("Shah Jahan's Recipes") and the Ḵẖulāṣat-i Mākūlāt u Mashrūbāt ("Compendium of Things Eaten and Drunk"). Sweetmeat recipes are recorded in the Ḵẖulāṣat-i Mākūlāt u Mashrūbāt and in a dedicated work, the Alwān-E-Niʿmat ("Colours of the Table").

In the modern era, Mughlai dishes have been adapted to diners' tastes. A well-known instance is the modification of dry yoghurt-marinated tandoor-baked chicken tikka with a creamy sauce to form chicken tikka masala, a British curry.

History

Culinary fusion in the Mughal era

The Mughal Empire in northern Hindustan was Indo-Persian. It had a hybridized, pluralistic Persianate culture. As such, Mughlai cuisine introduced Central Asian styles of food to Hindustan, and new methods of cooking. They combined these with some local spices and vegetables to create a distinctive cuisine for the Mughal court.

So, for example, biryani developed in the royal Mughal kitchens in India, combining the native spicy rice dishes of South Asia with the Persian pilau style of aromatic garnished rice and the Persian method of marinating meat in yoghurt.

Mughal era cookery books

Decorated Indo-Persian cookery books and culinary manuscripts adorned the personal libraries of the Mughal elite.

A popular culinary work from the Mughal period was the Nuskha-i-Shahjahani, ("Shah Jahan's Recipes") said to be a record of dishes prepared for the court of the Emperor Shah Jahan (r. 1627-1658). This Persian manuscript has ten chapters, on nānhā (breads), āsh-hā (pottages), qalīya (stews) and dopiyāza (meat with onions), bharta (mashed vegetables), zerbiryān (a kind of layered rice-based dish), pulāʾo, kabāb (kebabs), harīsa (savoury porridge), shishranga and ḵẖāgīna (omelette), and khichṛī (rice with lentils); the final chapter involves murabbā (jams), achār (pickles), pūrī (fried bread), fhīrīnī (sweets), ḥalwā (warm pudding), and basic recipes for the preparation of yoghurt, panīr (Indian curd cheese) and the colouring of butter and dough.

A well-known cookery book from the time of the emperor Aurangzeb (r. 1658–1707) or some years later was the Ḵẖulāṣat-i Mākūlāt u Mashrūbāt ("Compendium of Things Eaten and Drunk"). Each of its 40 chapters covers one type of dish, starting with breads (naan, kulcha) and then covering kinds of savoury dishes including qalīya, dopiyāza, bharta, kabāb, khichṛī, zerbiryān, and achār. One chapter covers sālanhā-i hindī (dishes based on Hindustani sauces).

Sweetmeats described in the Ḵẖulāṣat-i Mākūlāt u Mashrūbāt include phirni and shir berenj (types of rice and milk pudding), falooda (a cold vermicelli dessert), panbhatta (sherbet with fried soaked rice), malida (sweet dough), and several types of sweet dumplings, namely saṃbosa, pūrī, gulgula, and khajur.

The Alwān-E-Niʿmat ("Colours of the Table") from the reign of Jahangir (r. 1605–1627), is dedicated entirely to sweetmeats. It describes nan ḵẖata'i (a biscuit-like bread, sometimes with almond: nan ḵẖata'i badami); sweetened puri breads and fried sweet samosa snacks; spherical laddu sweets; and halva. The samosas and puris could be cooked slowly in a sealed pot (dam cooking).

Western reports of Mughal era cuisine

The Dutch East India Company merchant Francisco Pelsaert recorded that a wealthy Indian's feast during Jahangir's reign was composed of many dishes for the guests. Meat dishes included aeshelia (spiced); dupiyaza (with onion); and roasts. Garnished rice dishes included both pollaeb (pilau) and brinj (biryani). Accompaniments included zueyla (spiced cakes of wheat).

Westerners' reactions to pilau in the 19th century varied. Collingham described pilau as one of the two standard dishes in Central Asian fare (the other being kebabs). The Hungarian linguist Ármin Vámbéry found pilau excellent. The American diplomat Eugene Schuyler, on the other hand, called it "pleasant but ... too greasy and insipid".

Edward Terry, British ambassador to Jahangir's court (1615–1619), wrote a description of a Mughlai dinner. Fifty different dishes, each in a silver bowl, were set in front of the guests. He noted that the rice was dyed in colours such as purple and green, and much better cooked than in Britain; he remarked that, flavoured with "a little green Ginger and Pepper, and Butter, ... tis very good." As for the meat, it was stewed with herbs, spices, onions, ginger, and butter, creating "a food that is exceedingly pleasing to all Palates": in other words, Collingham writes, a curry.

Modern era Mughlai

In the 20th and 21st centuries, Mughlai cuisine has been adapted by restaurants and roadside food stalls for a mass market, resulting in a single dish of marinated chicken or meat, cooked in a thick sauce based on tomato or cream, and accompanied by flatbreads or garnished rice dishes.

In Britain, the Mughal Emperor Babur's (r. 1526–1530) chicken tikka (tandoor-grilled yoghurt-marinated pieces of chicken meat) was transformed in the late 20th century by the addition of tomato, cream, and spices into chicken tikka masala.