Of Nawabs and biryani

Chef Manzilat Fatima at the Frangipani kitchen in the Trident hotel, Nariman Point (right) Kolkata biryani. Pics/By Special Arrangement

It felt serendipitous that on the same day when I had reconnected with Manzilat Fatima in the city, Lucknow was named a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy. Why, the typical non-foodie might ask, while history buffs/foodie nerds might smile at my good fortune. Manzilat is the great-great-granddaughter of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, King of Oudh (Awadh) and Begum Hazrat Mahal, freedom fighter of India's first war of Independence in 1857.

Manzilat is the present-day custodian of the world-famous Kolkata biryani as well as Awadhi cuisine that travelled from the royal courts of Awadh to Metiabruz in the (then) outskirts of Kolkata, by the River Hooghly, when the last ruler of Oudh, Wajid Ali Shah, took residence there in exile after moving out of his original royal court in Awadh. Cooks from the royal kitchen also travelled with him, and it is they who had an inspired role to play, to create the biryani with the humble potato, giving Kolkata its unique version. Likewise, Awadhi fare travelled eastward, to satiate the palate of the gastronome Nawab, who terribly missed his beloved homeland.

Fast forward to present-day Kolkata. Manzilat runs a highly successful restaurant in East Kolkata; it's a must-halt for the city's movers and shakers, while out-of-town celebrities do a darshan, which is usually heavily recommended by their Kolkata friends. Framed photos with personalities posing with her greet every visitor as they climb up the flight of stairs, and act as a reminder, a hat-tip to not just her culinary chops but her legacy that she continues to showcase in a concise menu at Manzilat's. This charming terrace eatery comes to life in the city's crisp winters, and to counter the muggy heat and rainy weather, there's also an indoor, air-conditioned seating space on the same floor.

In between tucking into authentic Awadhi fare, including the famed biryani, she explained the joys as well as the challenges of safeguarding her historic family recipes. It was fascinating to note her quiet confidence, where she was aware of the stiff competition around. "Yes…but we have the original recipe," she smiled. What we could also gauge during that engaging conversation, was her resilience to keep these culinary treasures alive and relevant in today's times, where imitation doesn't necessarily translate to flattery. We did a few cartwheels in our minds, thrilled at this close encounter from a chapter where India's history and gastronomy came together on the same plate.

Cut to a recent pop-up held at Frangipani, Trident, Nariman Point. Manzilat was in our home city, and around us, we observed patrons relishing her famed Awadhi fare. When we prodded her about recreating the magic here, she revealed, "I'm carrying all my masalas." Bombaywallahs must have felt as if they had struck gold - given the paucity of restaurants serving authentic Awadhi fare. Kolkata folks [all probasis, mostly missing their home city fare] had dropped by in droves, going by the strains of Bengali that we could latch on to. They relished her fare, and exchanged thank-yous as she checked on each table.

Our biggest takeaway from both experiences was a reminder of why it's extremely critical for families with ancestral and historic culinary legacies to document and chronicle these precious details so they are safeguarded in today's day and age of daylight intellectual robbery. Heritage preservation shouldn't be restricted to historically significant landmarks and structures. Just like textile historians endure great pains to revive forgotten fabrics and weaves, their counterparts in the culinary world must be facing the same roadblocks. In Lucknow, we hope the UNESCO tag will catapult and also revive some of its community-driven gastronomic gems. We hope this also encourages other cities and their culinary custodians to wake up and document recipes and cooking techniques that risk being phased out. In Mumbai's migrant-fuelled ecosystem, examples are aplenty; so are the fakes and the endless obsession of fusing the original, making it that much more critical to preserve for future generations.

Like the gentrification that has hijacked Mumbai's cityscape, let's hope that timely culinary preservation can protect at least our homegrown and migrant-inspired cuisines to avoid a similar fate.

mid-day's Features Editor Fiona Fernandez relishes the city's sights, sounds, smells and stones...wherever the ink and the inclination takes her.
She tweets @bombayana. Send your feedback to mailbag@mid-day.com