Lick your lips : Nutrition - MensHealth

Lick your lips : Nutrition - MensHealth

Awadhi cuisine is synonymous with super-rich food—meats, lentils and vegetables often cooked in pure ghee, adding lots of cream, yoghurt or milk along the way. It is known for its delicate exoticism achieved by a variety of spices, slow cooking and seasonal menus.

Though preparation of most traditional Awadhi dishes are best left to the expert bawarchis, there are some that can be tried at home—such as the dum bhindi, where we suggest you sauté or oven-crisp the okras instead of deep frying them. The zamin doz machhli, where the fish is cooked underground, can well be cooked in your oven.

Aawadhi food is totally artery-blocking at one end and irresistibly yummy at the other end. Tthe middle path would be to try it all, but in tiny portions and, of course, save some space for a piece of gooey-crispy shaahi tukra.

Dum Bhindi
Recipe adapted from Dastarkhwan-e-Aawadh
Per portion: Roughly ½ cup
Time to table: Under 15 minutes

Though preparation of most traditional Awadhi dishes are best left to the expert bawarchis, there are some that can be tried at home—such as the dum bhind.

IngrediIents:
• ½ kg okra
• 150gm capsicum
• 250gm tomatoes
• 2 large onions
• ¼tsp chilli powder
• ¼tsp turmeric powder
• 3tsp oil
• Salt to taste

Method
• Select okras of a uniform medium size. Wash and dry well. Cut off the tops.
• Coarsely chop the onions, capsicum and tomatoes.
• Brush the okras with 1tsp oil and cook either in the microwave or an oven—until they are crisp outside and half-cooked inside.
• Sauté chopped onions in 2tsp oil till they turn a golden pink colour. Tthen add the tomatoes and capsicum and sauté for 5 minutes. Aadd the baked okras, salt, chilli powder and turmeric powder, and blend well.
• Put the lid on the kadhai, seal with wheat dough and place some live charcoal on top. Put the kadhai on a very slow flame or slow charcoal fire and cook for 15 minutes. When done, turn out in a serving dish and serve hot with chapatis.

Menu translator: Understand Awadhi food (and gauge its health quotient)

Kababs Shami kabab – Rround patties made from minced meat, having a variety of spicy fillings, most often raw mangoes shallow fried in ghee. High in fibre. Kakori kabab – Fatless minced lamb meat smoked and mixed with gram flour and spices, grilled over live coals. High in fibre. Meat & Fish Murg musallam – Aa whole chicken stuffed with fried onions, boiled eggs and spices, cooked in a rich gravy. High in fat. Zamin doz machhli – Fish baked with spices in an earthen vessel buried in the ground, with a fire on the top. High in carbs. Rizala – Aa mutton preparation in creamy white rich gravy. High in carbs.

Vegetarian course Vegetarian course – Flesh of a slow roasted eggplant mixed with yoghurt and spices. High in protein. Sultani dal – Aa rich preparation of tur dal (yellow lentils) into which milk, cream and curds are blended. High in protein. Warqi paratha – layered paratha cooked with lots of ghee, having a long shelf life. High in fat. Desserts Jauzi halwa sohan – fudge made from wheat germinated over 1 week, rich in sugar, nuts and flavoured with saffron, cardamom and other spices. High in antioxidants. Shahi tukre – Fried bread pieces dipped in sweet thickened milk and garnished with almonds. High in antioxidants.