Fired up about smoke & steam

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In the rich and robust world of cooking, two delicate elements are catalysts of taste — wisps of fragrant smoke and mists of spicy steam. Dum and dhuan are key players in the tradition of Indian cuisine, tracing their roots down hundreds of years — right to the Mughal era.

The first documented dum-cooked recipe is found in Akbar’s Ain-i-Akbari, 400 years ago. Introduced by the Mughals in the sixteenth century, slow cooking in handi or dum style is considered one of the richest forms of cooking. In 1783, Nawab Asaf-ud-Daulah re-introduced dum cooking during the construction of Bara Imam Bara Mosque. For construction workers, food was par-cooked in large clay handis. The mouth of the handi was covered with a clay saucer and sealed with flour paste to trap the steam. The flavours of steam and whole spices merged into one another in a heady combination.
The art of dum cooking is still celebrated by many Awadhi and Mughlai joints in the city. Zune, the Indian specialty restaurant of Hotel Hilton, Janakpuri is currently hosting the ‘Dum Dhuan Masala Food Festival’.
“Served in unglazed clay pots and smoked in authentic flavours of whole spices like cloves, cinnamon, fennel and nutmeg, the dishes have a very different aroma and flavour. Although, dum cooking is often associated with non-vegetarian dishes, vegetarian delicacies can also be cooked in the dum style,” says executive sous chef, Sanjeev Sharma.
“Indian cooking is heavy on tempering and smoking. It is important to know which items can be prepared with the use of smoky flavour. For instance, baingan ka bharta is an ideal option in vegetarian dishes, as the eggplant is roasted for it. The dum-dhuan method goes in tandem with several dals, sabzis and non-vegetarian curries,” explains chef Mohammed Irfan.
The rich aroma of the earthern pots and the spicy smoke are infused in the tikkas and chops made in the dum-dhuan style. Dum cooking also ensures that the texture of the meat used, be it mutton or chicken, is soft, succulent and absorbs the flavour of spices and smoke. “The entire idea of slow cooking is to let the meats cook in its own juices in an air-tight vessel. I would say, it is one of the most ancient yet very healthy styles of cooking as the favourable qualities of the natural ingredients are retained,” says chef Sharma.
“The dum-dhuan style of cooking developed in four centres — Lucknow, Kashmir, Lahore and Hyderabad for the royal families and till date is considered one of the richest styles of cooking,” concludes chef Sharma.
It’s interesting that in these times of molecular gastronomy and culinary experimentation, modern day chefs still doff their hats to the shahi khansamas of yore.

Ghee dum achari murg
Ingredients

1 kg chicken leg boneless
100 gms curd
5 gms yellow chili powder
500 gms boiled onion (paste)
5 gms fennel seeds
5 gms onion seeds
2 gms mustard seeds
2 whole red chili
5 gms cumin whole
2 gms turmeric powder
10 gms coriander powder
160 ml mustard oil
70 gms ginger garlic (paste)
10 gms garam masala (powder)
Salt to taste
½ tea spoon mix achar paste
5 gm desi ghee
Method
Take chicken leg boneless in a clean bowl, add half ginger garlic past and keep in marination for 30 minutes
Take a handi, heat oil. Crackle fennel, onion seeds, mustard seeds, whole red chili, cumin
Add boiled onion paste sauté till starts turning translucent. Add marinated chicken, salt, yellow chili powder, coriander powder turmeric powder, achar paste and curd. Seal the handi with flour at the mouth and let it cook for half an hour atleast.

Supper theatre and fine wine

Fine dining coupled with live entertainment makes for a perfect evening. Presenting one of its kind performances Dinner for Pricks, a satirical theatre production poking fun at the high-strung elite of the city recently enthralled the guests present at the Grand Hotel, Vasant Kunj.
For the first time here, Fratelli Wines and Humour Me presented a complete experience of free-flowing wine, dine and musical theatre. The production was based on the lines of a supper theatre, where guests were not only the viewers, but also active participants.
Jibes about loveless sex, debauchery and farcical relationships had set the tone for a level of absurdity that captured the clueless vapidity of today. Of course, the diners were an inherent part of it as well: the fourth wall slowly melted away, with our eccentric waiter casually serving us food and drinks, and making light conversations as we enjoyed the evening.
Kapil Sekhri, Director, Fratelli wines said, “Through this tie-up, we are glad to present an excellent platform that gives an opportunity to budding Indian artists to showcase their talent and provides a medium to present the choicest of our wines including Classic Chenin, Chennin Blanc, Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon.”
The smorgasbord was complete with appetisers like corn and cheese balls, variety of rolls, fish fingers and exotic fruits with wine poured in cut glass goblets. The theatrical production based on Roman Polenski’s Carnage transported the audience amidst Christoph Waltz, Jodie Foster and Kate Winslet in modern Indian context.
The cast included illustrious names like Kriti Pant, Vidushi Mehra, Karam Vir Lamba and Farhad Colabavala among others.