food talk
Chicken fit for a nawab’s table
Pushpesh pant

Mention Awadh and visions of nawabs of yore indulging in the good life are conjured up instantaneously. Their days were spent, we believe, in fun and frolic of most delicate kind, uninhibited pursuit of sensual pleasures and savouring delicacies refined beyond compare. Kathak, thumri and kebab-qorma were given priority over matters of state and this inevitably resulted in the British takeover of the 'kingdom'.

More than a century and half have passed since but memories linger and at least the culinary heritage is preserved in home cooking not in Lucknow, where the tourists are served fantastic modern-day 'recreations' of dishes that never existed, but in dozens of unknown towns in the region the British called Oudh. We were made aware of this when a friend in Faizabad invited us to share pot-luck and fed us a flavourful murgh qorma that put to shame the much-hyped cousins in the provincial capital boasting prefixes like shahi, and Noorjehani . The only aromatic flourish was the redolence of saffron. We strongly commend the recipe for everyday use.

Murgh qorma Awadhi

Ingredients
Chicken (skin removed, 750 g
bonelessor leg pieces- drumsticks) 
Medium-sized onions Four
(sliced very fine)
Garlic (peeled and crushed) 4 - 6 cloves
Ginger (cut in thin 2-inch piece
slices or grated)
Cloves Two
Cinnamon 1-inch piece
Whole dried red chillies Two
Green cardamom Two
Cumin seeds (powdered) 1 tsp
Saffron (soaked in lukewarm milk) A pinch
Refined oil One cup
Salt To taste

Method

Wash and pat dry the chicken. Grind all the dry spices, except saffron, to a smooth paste. Heat oil in a thick-bottomed pan. Add onions and fry till golden in colour, then add the spice paste and continue stir-frying till oil leaves sides. Add chicken and fry for two more minutes till it is evenly coated with the masala. Pour in four cups of hot water and cook on medium heat till chicken is done to taste. Add saffron and simmer for another five minutes. Serve with phulka or steamed rice.

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