The Foodie's Guide to the best of Old Delhi
Empress Mumtaz Mahal, in whose memory her grief-stricken husband, Shah Jahan, the fifth Mughal Emperor of India built the Taj Mahal, is also credited with inspiring that most iconic of dishes from the kitchens of the Mughal dynasty, the biryani. While visiting the army barracks, the possibly apocryphal tale goes, the Empress found the imperial soldiers looking rather weak and undernourished and ordered her chefs to create a special dish combining rice and meat to strengthen them for the stern business of empire building and protecting! Another Mughal empress, Nur Jahan, the all-powerful wife of Mumtaz Mahal’s father-in-law Jehangir is credited with not just creating colorful dishes like rainbow-hued yogurts but also serving them on dishes studded with rubies, emeralds and gold thread to complement the kaleidoscopic cuisine. Her royal husband, like many of his forebearers, was no mean gourmand himself, elevated the ‘khichdi’ the traditionally humble dish of rice and lent...