Into The Bygone Era Of Recipes And Stories With Chef Aditya Bal

Chef Aditya Bal is a name that is synonymous with lost recipes, having travelled the country searching for culinary gems that enchanted taste buds a few hundred years ago, but are now lost and forgotten. We caught up with him for a chat about the rich experiences on his travels.

He has also shared with us the recipe for one such lost gem, Kesari Maas, from the kitchens of the Marathas of Kolhapur.

How do do you think we lose heritage foods

The most common factor that I can think of is that recipes are largely lifestyle-dependent. When there weren&rsquot many technological advancements, and we didn&rsquot have a lot of cooking equipment like the microwave oven, refrigerator, or mixer grinder, for that matter, a lot of techniques involved in cooking were different. These recipes needed finesse, care, and time. And this is not just restricted to our country it has been the case abroad as well. When people started having a paucity of time, they needed recipes that could be cooked easily and quickly. Hence, not carrying forward these traditional means of cooking and finding alternative recipes that could be cooked in a shorter span led to the diminishing of the culture and, later, the recipes getting lost.

Could you share any folklore associated with a very special lost recipe

Honestly, all of them were special and had something unique to them. However, one such recipe that piqued my interest and took me by surprise was Hyderabad&rsquos &lsquoPyaaz Ki Kheer&rsquo (Onion Pudding). The story of Pyaaz Ki Kheer is very interesting. It dates back to the times of the Nizami Sultanate (1724 to 1857). It is told by the locals that onion was easily available to the masses as it was cheaper than rice. Since the Nizams were involved in a lot of wars, all the grains, including rice, were sent to the armed forces. As there was a shortage of rice, the locals came up with a unique ingredient for kheer, which was the onion. The cold dessert was served during the summer months after the meals to keep the body temperature down. So, this particular recipe amazed me. Not only in terms of the ingredients used but also by the adaptability power of the common people.

We would love to know about the names of some of lost recipes and their origins.

Some of the recipes that I can remember are Khushk Mahi Kebabs from Riwayat-e-Patiala. These are marinated pieces of Rohu that are cooked in milk till all the milk evaporates, and the mash left behind is shaped into patties, served with black current or green chutney. The other interesting recipe is Umbadiyu which is a recipe of chicken and seasonal vegetables cooked in an inverted earthen pot. It comes from the Parsi community. Pudim de Leite condensado, is a popular Brazilian and Portuguese baked custard recipe. It is prepared with condensed milk, sugar and eggs, and I came across it when I visited Mud Island. Another recipe that is one of the best examples of human adaptation and the preserving power of wine and vinegar is Vindaloo which is found in Goa and brought in by the Portuguese, who used to sail for a considerable time. So they resorted to preserving meat in wines and vinegar on the ships, which they later cooked it along with salt and chillies that they used to carry from Africa.

Again from Goa comes mackerels marinated with chillies, salt, lime, turmeric, and the Goan drink Feni smoked in hay known as Bangde Tonant Bazlele. Going in the extreme north, from Kashmir, comes a recipe for Kofta Curry known as Shab Degh, cooked overnight with turnips in a heavy-bottomed degh (handi) on a charcoal fire. From the royal kitchens of Madhya Pradesh comes Khad Murgh/ Khad Gosht which is chicken or lamb wrapped up in spices and &lsquoRumali Roti&rsquo and then cooked below the earth in a sealed vessel. Eeda Pak, or Egg Fudge, is another unique dish from the Parsi community coming from Udvadas in Gujarat.

Have there been any records of these lost recipes

We cannot entirely say that the recipes have not been recorded in books. There are instances where not only the bawarchis (chefs) of the kings but also the kings themselves wrote down the recipes. We can argue that there wasn&rsquot proper maintenance of cookbooks, but the recipes did get noted down. For instance, the Sailana dynasty of the Malwa region in Madhya Pradesh had their recipes recorded in books. But what I have observed is that not many &lsquohome recipes&rsquo got documented. There must have been a culture of teaching by instruction and memorization. Most of the teachings were done verbally. The amounts of ingredients were not measurement specific, but the flavours were achieved by &lsquoandaaza.&rsquo This can be a possible reason why the recipes got lost because of a lack of thorough documentation. However, we should keep in mind that not all recipes meet the same fate. For instance, the Satvik recipes in Ayurveda have been coming down for ages.

Why did you choose to focus on lost dishes

When I was doing the show &lsquoLost Recipes&rsquo on EPIC, the channel was striving to promote Indian culture, history, mythology, and various indigenous communities. So when the concept of the show was being worked upon, we came across a pool of recipes that were not only lost but also had various stories, cultures of communities, and authentic preparation styles associated with them. Hence, we realized that linking food with cultural heritage can positively impact the viewers to make them understand that we have culinary gems hidden in the entire country. Therefore, the idea of bringing these dishes forward came up, and we wanted to explore and meet people to show how organically they are prepared and have the power to transcend you to a bygone era.

To answer the other part of the question, why I chose to focus on lost recipes because modern-day cooking can be said to be born out of a melting pot of cultures and fast-paced techniques. I wanted to learn and promote something organic and true to roots. Hence, the lost recipes became my way.

Do you plan on coming back with culinary shows that discover more such recipes

I really do plan to get back to the show, as it is quite popular with the masses because of its unique concept. Along with it, I believe that reviving recipes will help us get closer to our roots and past. Culinary traditions are an integral part of the cultural heritage of any country, and finding, reviving, and recording them for future generations becomes imperative to preserve and propagate that heritage across the globe. For instance, traditional European dishes like cheese from Switzerland and pasta and various breads from Italy have been made quite popular worldwide. I feel it is the time for us to popularise our cultural heritage through our traditional cuisines.

A lost recipe that you would want to share with our readers.

Here is a recipe from the Marathas of Kohlapur. It is called Kesari Maas.

Ingredients

Mutton leg boneless/whole 1 kg

Salt 2 tsp

Turmeric powder 2 tsp

Ghee 3 tbsp plus 250 gms to deep fry meat

Kolhapur Lahsun chutney powder or Kolhapur red chilli powder

Sesame seeds /toasted lightly

Method

Heat ghee in a heavy bottom cooking vessel. Add the meat with the salt and turmeric. Sear to brown the meat in the hot ghee. Cover the pan and pot roast the mutton in its juices on very low heat for about 2 hours or till very tender. Turn off the heat. allow cooling fully. Using your fingers, shred meat into thin strands with the natural muscle fibres of the meat. Once all the meat is shredded, heat the ghee for deep frying, add the shredded meat fibres and deep fry in small batches till golden brown and crisp. Repeat with all of the shredded meat.

Allow the meat to cool slightly, then add the Kohlapuri lehsun chutney or red chilli powder and salt to taste. Toss gently to coat the meat until the shredded meat fibres resemble saffron strands. (hence the name Kesari Maas) Serve as a dry snack or with steamed rice, yellow daal, and some more ghee.