REFLECTIONS, RECOLLECTIONS AND IRRESTIBLE RAMPURI RECIPES
Celebrating heritage recipes derived from his ancestry, Chef Osama Jalali’s repertoire lies in culinary authenticity that celebrates tradition, inheritance, and intention. The food researcher, writer and restaurateur takes MOSAIC on a trip down memory lane that is gastronomically insightful
WORDS by SONALI SEMWAL
Callouts
‘The idea behind At Majlis is to make guests revisit the tastes of their childhood. They return with their parents and exclaim, ‘Look, this is the food you used to make for us’
‘It was only during festivals that we would be treated with traditional recipes. Normally, you’d think of biryani or korma, but the moment I think of these occasions, I immediately remember my grandmother’s aloo ka zarda’
‘Rampur’s khana is subtle. To understand that, one must have our Taar Gosht, our kebabs and Dal Rampuri — a home-style delicacy made of urad dal’
Somewhere beneath the Old Delhi skies, pigeons flutter past intricately carved concrete windows, fashioning a romanticised, cinematic canvas. Here, heritage is being reclaimed not only by restoring red sandstone edifices or archaic havelis, but also through the gustatory sensation of food.
Chef Osama Jalali — born and brought up in Purani Dilli — childhood is a feeling he may not be able to replicate for his children, but he reminisces of it being a time when food and storytelling formed the very core of his family life, becoming the heartbeat of a blessed period.
The mystical wisdom of slow cooking in a copper patila, in an open verandah, continues to drive his quest for culinary perfection. Chef Osama believes that no festive menu is truly complete without stories. A table must be laid with a good spread of family tales, lineal narratives, veracity and enchantment. Only then does the air smell celebratory.
MIRED IN MEMORIES
For the epicurean, Eid, as a little boy, meant trips to Rampur.
The thing he looked forward to most were the delicacies his grandmother would lovingly prepare, not merely as meals, but as heirlooms served warm.
“It was only during festivals that we would be treated with traditional recipes. Normally, you’d think of biryani or korma, but the moment I think of these occasions, I immediately remember my grandmother’s aloo ka zarda (dessert made from potatoes). It’s a very unique and rare recipe,” recalls Chef Osama.
Calling the dish a delectable mischief on informed palates as against classic combinations, it was a novel way to create a dessert out of spuds. “Adding to the joy of relishing it, there would be a guessing game played during meals where we children would be asked to name the secret ingredient!”
The culinary expertise and the recipes of his mother and grandmother in many ways, formed the initiation to his acquiring knowledge about cooking. These were slow, patient affairs, made with zeal and zest. The kitchen buzzed with the happy sounds of relaxed murmur and peals of laughter. The chef recalls how women enjoyed attention through their prowess in cooking and became custodians of generational culinary heritage.
“It’s trendy to have fusion Indian food these days,” reflects Chef Osama, adding, “If you ask me, aloo ka zarda was that. Then there was a unique meat halwa — which no one realised was made of mutton — that tasted just like moong dal halwa.”
TOASTING TIMELESS TRADITIONS
For a food expert who has reviewed some of the most reputed restaurants in the country, contributed as a journalist to India’s top food gazettes and travelled to the remotest regions following food trails, what actually is the benchmark of ‘good food’ we wonder.
To explain this, he tells us of an incident when he visited an eatery with his daughter and ordered samosas.
“What arrived on our table was a fancy iteration of one of India’s favourite snacks, accompanied with foamed chutney. It obviously didn’t satiate the tastebuds of the UP-ite in me, who has been eating the best street food for years.”
A deconstructed kheer or phirni, no matter how artfully presented, might not impress this chef who ardently goes by “old is gold”. For Chef Osama, progress in food does not necessarily mean abandoning the past. Not aligning with the tangent of modern, progressive cooking styles that are fetching fancy paychecks these days, he continues to rest on faith in regional, simple cooking techniques.
“I’ve been to plenty of libraries, including the Rampur Raza Library, which has culinary books written in Persian. I translated them from Persian to Urdu, and then to English. They used old measurements like tola, chutki (pinch), masha, mutthi (handful). I simplified them into teaspoons and tablespoons.”
This reverence he upholds for the bygone era earned Chef Osama his reputation that eventually was recognised by esteemed hotel chains like Oberoi, Sheraton and Le Méridien. He’s regularly been hosting exclusive regional food festivals that acquainted epicures with his talent and expertise in authentic Indian food traditions.
PRESERVING THE PAST
His knack to hold on to time-honoured recipes he learnt from his ancestors made him launch At Majlis a year ago, where he vouches guests are served the best of home-style Mughlai and Rampuri food.
“The idea is to make them revisit the tastes of their childhood. They return with their parents and exclaim, ‘Look, this is the food you used to make for us.’ Then a visit would see them coming with their children so that the young ones get to savour ‘real’ delicacies,” the chef shares.
The decor also has been designed with intention, a quaint reflection of the times we have left by — while live Indian classical music regales guests during dinner. The engraved Kashmiri walnut wood furniture and serveware catch attention.
“We often lay the dastarkhwan out for guests just like we do it in our homes during hosting.” The use of silbatta instead of mixer grinders, rustic metal cookware and unhurried cooking techniques give the dishes their authentic flavours.
“We pound our spices in an okhli (mortar and pestle) — practices that were instrumental in reviving Rampur’s regional cuisine as I consider these important tenets of our cultural inheritance.”
THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS
Rampur — 200 kms from Delhi as well from Lucknow — sits beautifully between two magical culinary worlds. In the past, narrates Chef Osama, whenever Delhi was attacked, royal cooks (khansamas) and courtesans took refuge under the Nawab
of Rampur.
“When the last royal marriage happened between Awadh and Rampur, royal cooks were sent as part of the dowry.”
Rampur’s culinary style is unique though. Neither does it have the robust, ghee-laden heaviness of Delhi’s preparations, nor does it carry the aromatic diversity of Lucknow’s fare that might sometimes overwhelm the senses.
“Rampur’s khana is subtle. To understand that, one must have our Taar Gosht, our kebabs and Dal Rampuri — a home-style delicacy made of urad dal.”
By incorporating such indigenous techniques of the Rampur style of cooking, the chef has immortalised the city’s individuality through food, stories and memories.
FLAVOURS OF FESTIVITIES
After all the memory browsing, we are prompted to ask what would make for an ideal festive meal?
“It should involve lots of stories to justify its place on the menu. If it’s winter, there should be winter-related dishes. If it’s summer, I won’t serve nihari; I’d do lauki gosht (bottle gourd and meat). So, it should be seasonal, and it should ignite a tale.”
While a usual festive menu would feature biryanis, keema and kebabs, the chef carefully handpicks vegetarian options as well.
For instance, the mewa mawa kebab — a delicate appetiser made of dry fruits and khoya that apparently Mughal emperor Aurangzeb favoured. Other popular options are the kathal shaami kebabs and jamun ki kheer.
These really old recipes bear testimony to the enduring beauty of Chef Osama’s culinary philosophy: food does not have to be reinvented to remain relevant; the only requirement
is remembrance.