Dum Pukht & Avadh with Mohammed Imtiaz Qureshi

Many scholars believe there is no such thing as ‘Mughlai’ cuisine. Mughals or Mongols, according to them, were nomads and the only food they knew was meat hung to roast on a spit. Those barbaric hordes, they add, had neither the time nor the subtlety to create an elaborate meal. What is called ‘Mughlai’ cuisine is actually the food of Hindustan, particularly the North. While this theory may be arguable, it certainly merits consideration. What brooks no argument, however, is the fact that once the Mughals made India their home, they became the only conquerors to appreciate the cuisine of this ancient land. More important, they provided patronage to—and became connoisseurs of—our culinary art. It was, perhaps, to honour the royal patrons that the cuisine came to be called ‘Mughlai’.