Awadhi cuisine is local to Lucknow and comprises of Mughal and Nawabi dishes. It is a speciality that is both rare to come by and difficult to resist. Here Chef Aman Tandon from Pride Hotel, Pune, brings to all you Soul readers some of his mouthwatering, secret Awadhi recipes! Now we can all bring some of Lucknow’s best recipes onto out platter with ease.
ZAFRANI JOSHANDA-e-QAISARBAGH
A refreshing saffron flavored milk shake sweetly blended with khrchan malai, gulkand, sugar candy, cardamoms. An ancient recipe from the Mughal times in & around the regions of Awadh. It is traditionally used at the onset of spring season as an elixir & heat buster.
Preparion time: 20mins
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
• 4 cups milk (use full cream milk)
• 250 gm sugarcandy or artificial sweetener to taste
• 80 gm almonds, blanched and peeled (you can use ready blanched ones)
• 50 gm pistachios, blanched and peeled
• 1/2 tsp green cardamom powder
• 1 tsp GULKAND/rose water
• A few saffron strands , crushed and blended with warm milk/if unavalaible then it can be substituted with proprietary saffron syrup
• Few ice cubes
• 150 gm rabdi (ready made)
Instructions:
- Boil the milk and add crushed saffron extracts on a slow flame to get a natural color and essence of fresh natural saffron.
- Add sugar to this rose water and refrigerate to cool.
- Place the remaining ingredients, except ice, in a blender and grind until smooth. It takes only a few seconds.
- Add the dry fruits paste to the milk. Place a couple of ice-cubes in each glass and pour over the milk shake.
- Garnish with a few rose petals in each glass.
- Traditionally this fantastic rejuvenating drink should be poured in an earthenware pot/glass and set overnight to impart a classy porous taste.
- Serve cold garnished with a heart shaped rose and almond flakes to give a crunchy taste, laced with the creamy rabdi.
Notes:
It can be made in advance and kept in the fridge. Don’t add ice and rose petal garnish until just before serving.
NAYAB CHANE KI GILOUTI
Butter soft kabuli chana mixed with royal awadhi spices & pan seared – it is a must try for a great dastarkhwan-e-awadh.
Ingredients:
3 cups KABULI CHANA / DOLLAR CHANA (soaked in water)
5 bread slices(crumbs)
2 teaspoon red chilli powder
2-3 tablespoon maida
2 teaspoon fresh ginger garlic paste
1 teaspoon amchur
2 teaspoon garam masala
salt as per taste
4 cups water
½ tea spoon of sweet kewda / kewda essence
For the filling/stuffing (optional):
3 tbsp pudina(chopped)
1 small onion(chopped)
some grated cheese
2 green chillies(chopped)
Method:
1. Wash dal.pressure cook dal along with ginger garlic paste and salt with water.
after 1 whistle cook on low flame for 15 mins then remove from fire.
2. Mash dal with karchi and put bread crumbs and masalas and bind together. Keep aside.
3. Mix all ingredients of filling.
4. Make balls of dal paste and then flatten.put filling inside and again form a ball.
5. While frying roll in maida powder and then deep fry.
Notes:
Best served with pudina chutney.
Hope you have enjoyed these lipsmacking dishes with your friends and family!
