Friday, April 24, 2009

10 flatbreads of the Grand Moghuls

Muglai Cuisine:
Richness defines the royal Mogul (Persian for Mongol) cuisine. Arriving from Central Asia, Moguls ruled most of India for almost 400 years. During this time, their Persian cuisine fused with Indian cuisine and evolved into the Mogul cuisine. Use of Tandoor and the art of leavening flatbreads were Mogul’s gift to Indian cuisine. Unlike traditional Indian flatbreads which are very basic and are cooked on a skillet, Mogul flatbreads are flamboyant- using a variety of rich spices, nuts and cream. They are usually baked in a tandoor or shallow fried in ghee. When cooked on a skillet, they are usually layered. In spite of such rich cuisine, it is interesting to note that Akbar, the greatest Mogul, ate just once a day!

This cookbook lists 10 Mogul breads, greatly simplified, so that a first time cook can easily cook them. The following breads are listed in this cookbook: Click on the links to see more detailed recipes and pictures from my fellow bloggers.

1.:    Naan (Leavened flatbread)  

2.:   Sheermal ( Saffron flavoured flatbread)

3.:   Lachcha Paratha  (Layered flatbread) 

4.:  Warqui Paratha ( Creamy, layered flatbread )

5.:   Mughlai Paratha ( Egg washed layered flatbread ) 

6.:    Badshahi Naan (Deep fried Leavened flatbread) 

7.:   Peshawari Naan (Naan stuffed with nuts & dry fruits)  

8.:   Easy Bakharkhani (Cardamom Flat bread ) 

9.:   Traditional Bakharkhani (Layered creamy flatbread)    

10.:   Cheese Bakharkhani (Sweet layered flatbread)   

3 comments:

Suparna said...

Hi Ramkiji,
U r doing a brilliant job! this place is a superb reference joint.
Thanks.

FewMinute Wonders said...

Hi Ramki,

What a wonderful blog you have. Most of us only post one recipe at a time while you have compiled and grouped them. How many methods of preparation you have covered. Thank you for doing all that.

Nicole Hansen said...

Number 3 makes a great pizza crust. I followed the instructions, except I made a double recipe and after adding the water I tossed in a bit of wheat flour until it was a little less wet. I spread it out on a greased pizza pan and put it in a very hot oven for a few minutes until the bottom started to brown, turned it over, baked it a few more minutes, added the toppings, and put it under the broiler until the cheese was browned. It tastes like a crust made with yeast and butter but without the hassle of yeast or the high fat of butter.

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Okay, let me start from the very beginning. 1500 crore years ago, with a Big Bang, the Universe is born. It expands dramatically. Hydrogen forms, contracts under gravity and lights up, forming stars. Some stars explode, dusting space with the building blocks of life. These condense into planets, one of which is Earth. Over time, self replicating molecules appear, multiply and become more complex. They create elaborate survival machines (cells, plants, animals). A variety of lifeforms evolve. Soon, humans arise, discover fire, invent language, agriculture and religion. Civilisations rise and fall. Alexander marches into India. Moguls establish an empire. Britain follows. Independence. Partition. Bloodshed. The license raj is in full sway. I'm born. India struggles to find its place. Liberalisation. The Internet arrives! I move from Tirupur to Chennai. Start a company. Expand into Malaysia, Singapore and the Middle East. Poof! Dot com bust. Funding dries up. Struggle. Retire. Discover the joy of cooking, giving, friendships and the pleasures of a simple life. Life seems less complicated. Pizza Republic, Pita Bite and Bhojan Express bloom !

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