The history and heritage of India is not just visible in the relics that remain, the languages we speak or the temples and tombs that adorn our cities. A major carrier of historical traditions is the cuisine that is cooked in India, specific to every region and a testament to the dynasties that once ruled the country. Chef Kunal Kapur’s latest show, The Royal Palate on TVFPlay, explores this overlooked culinary heritage and helps viewers understand the food that emperors in India ate, and how it has been passed down the centuries.
“This show is the first of its kind. While there are several shows on food, this is the only one that goes into the history of the dish, its origins etc. The show uncovers the traditional secrets of the royal families in India. Each episode is pinned on one particular subject,” says Kapur who has hosted various travel-food shows earlier such as Pickle Nation, Utsav Thalis of India and Curries of India.
Each 30-minute documentary style episode picks up one topic of food—kebabs in Lucknow, different kinds of biryani that exist within the subcontinent, halwas of Rampur, mangoes of Murshidabad, junglee maas in Rajasthan, etc. The chef is often joined by a guest or by royal descendants on the show. “As a country we do not have proper documentation of our food.
We are extremely diverse as a nation when it comes to our eating habits. Havens of food are still under the dust because of this lack of upholding the heritage. In bits and pieces people have made an effort on their own to do some research. We have typecast each community that lives in country with regards to their food habits. There is so much more than just rajma chawal in the north or fish curry and rice in Bengal. That’s what the show is trying to portray with a focus on royal cuisines in each region,” says the chef on the unexplored aspects of Indian food.
Kapur, however, admits to have a typical Punjabi palate when it comes to what he enjoys eating. “I enjoy eating Churi, which is a dish made of roti, sugar and ghee. I absolutely cannot do without my Butter Chicken and Kulfi,” he reveals.
Kapur adds that the most interesting experience during the show was exploring the spread of Awadhi cuisine in Bengal, which was brought to the city by Nawab Wajid Ali Shah. Shah was the last nawab of Awadh and tried to flee to England after losing his kingdom.
He was intercepted in Bengal by the British and spent the last few years of his life in exile in the suburb of Metiaburj in Kolkata. “I met with the great great granddaughter of the nawab, Manzilat Fatima to understand the cuisine and its history.
The Bengali version of the Awadhi biryani interestingly has potatoes added to it which is not the case in Lucknow,” says Chef Kapur, who also went on to explore the town of Murshidabad, which was the 18th century capital of the Mughal empire. “Murshidabad is located five hours from Kolkata and is home to a community known as Sheherwali Jains. In the 18th century, a group of wealthy Oswal Jain merchants from Rajasthan migrated to this thriving region of Bengal in search of business opportunities. They sowed mango saplings in a special technique that was popular during Akbar’s reign.
Thus, the mangoes from Murshidabad are availabale in around 50-60 varieties. They are just amazing to taste. Some of these varieties are so delicate that once plucked from the tree they have to be consumed the same day or they don’t survive. This is very similar to the technique of grafting a pineapple. The mangoes in this region have been methodically planted. In fact, the Sheherwali Jains have developed special ways to slice the mangoes using bamboo cutters, etc,” he adds.
While Kapur’s show looks at erstwhile gastronomical traditions, everyday Indian cuisine is fast moving from its traditions roots. Restaurants such as Gaggan, Indian Accent and Rooh are reinventing Indian flavours and presenting them in European fine-dining formats. On the modernisation of Indian food, Kapur says, “There’s a level of excitement when it comes to food these days and that’s why there are so many renditions of Indian cuisine.
Food is a personal choice at the end of the day. Some like butter chicken as their regular fare and some like experimenting. But one thing is for sure that modernisation of Indian food has made dining an experience that everyone wants to go for. It’s no longer just another meal we are eating outside.”