From my kitchen: Meera Muzaffar Ali, architect, fashion designer, craft and culinary revivalist, on the best meal of her life — Kotawara family’s Dum Pukht Mutton

Dum Pukht means “to breathe and cook”. It is about food that breathes in its own sealed aroma as it is cooked slowly over a low flame in a pot, the lid of which is often sealed with dough. The meat, rice and spices meld in their own aromas. The story of Dum Pukht begins in 18th-century Awadh, under the reign of Nawab Asaf-ud-Daula. Legend has it that huge deghs were left to simmer for hours to feed workers during a famine and when the lids were finally lifted, the fragrance changed everything. What began as humble sustenance evolved into royal cuisine, refined in the kitchens of Lucknow with delicate layering of meats, rice, saffron and attar.

Dum Pukht means “to breathe and cook”. It is about food that breathes in its own sealed aroma as it is cooked slowly over a low flame in a pot, the lid of which is often sealed with dough. The meat, rice and spices meld in their own aromas. The story of Dum Pukht begins in 18th-century Awadh, under the reign of Nawab Asaf-ud-Daula. Legend has it that huge deghs were left to simmer for hours to feed workers during a famine and when the lids were finally lifted, the fragrance changed everything. What began as humble sustenance evolved into royal cuisine, refined in the kitchens of Lucknow with delicate layering of meats, rice, saffron and attar.

Meera Muzaffar Ali (Photo: PR handout)

Awadhi Dum Pukht Mutton
Serves 8 | Preparation time 30 mins
Cooking time  1 1/2 hours

Ingredients

• Mutton 1 kg
• Cooking Oil 1/2 cup
• Curd 500 g (keep aside)
• Cumin 1/2 tsp
• Cinnamon 1 stick about 1.5 inch
• Mace 1 inch piece
• Nutmeg 1/2 a piece
• Black cardamom 2
• Green cardamom 4
• Bay leaf 1
• Cloves 3
• Red chilli powder 1/2 tsp
• Rose water 1 tbsp
• Cashewnuts   3 pieces
• Onions 4 large

Method

• Heat oil in a pan
• Fry the meat. Add rose water
• Add the curd and keep frying
• In a muslin cloth, place roughly ground nutmeg, mace, black and green cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and bay leaf, cumin, and red chilli powder and tie with a thread. Add this spice muslin bag to the mutton along with salt and keep frying
• Add the cashew nuts, finely ground
• Slice the onions and fry separately in oil. Grind into a paste with 1/2 cup curd in
  a blender. Add to the mutton
• Cook on low heat. It may be advisable to place a tawa under the cooking pan.  May take about 45-60 minutes
• Lastly, scoop out the muslin bag, squeeze the juices into the dum pukht and discard the bag