Three hundred years and more
In the Royal Kitchens of the Grandest Maharajas
Dwelled the innermost secrets of Palace cooking
Where Cooks created that magic for every reason, every season
Rosewater, Saffron and Essences,
Exotic Spices, mysteriously tucked away
Brass pots and pans and charcoal burners
And the grinding sound of the mortar and pestle
From Sailana to Patiala
And Indore to Travancore, and more
Discover the hidden treasures of Royal flavours
A voyage in history
COOKING OF THE MAHARAJAS
The Royal Recipes of India
EARLY BEGINNINGS
His Highness YeshwantRao Holkar II and mother, Maharani Fay.
Way back, somewhere in 1940s, little Prince Richard Holkar, perhaps 6 or a tad bit older, was travelling from Italy to Mumbai with his parents, Maharaja of Indore, His Highness YeshwantRao Holkar II and his wife, Maharani Fay.
As the steamliner cruised ahead, the spread of delicacies on the dinner table every night, was a special attraction for the little Prince.
On one such night, he found an unusual taste of something that was served on his plate, and he looked up to his father. His father smiled and said, “That’s an octopus”. With no idea of what could that be, little Prince continued with the rest of his meal happily.
As he grew up, he learnt to appreciate different cuisines, just like his parents, and enjoyed every meal, without any inhibitions.
While studying at Stanford University, California, and staying with some friends in a house, away from the campus, Prince Richard Holkar decided to start cooking.
His friends were happy with the pizzas, and he attempted recipes with ingredients that were readily available. Gradually, he mastered the art of cooking in his own way.
MAKING OF THE BOOK : COOKING OF THE MAHARAJAS
A Western-style State Banquet in the Indore Palace
Very few could even imagine developing a Cookbook of Royal Recipes over 40 years back. It was over a discussion with a close friend who was also fond of cooking that the idea of putting together the Royal traditions of palace cooking had emerged.
With changing times, the Maharaja’s style of eating was slowly and gradually disappearing and it was inevitable. Capturing the essence of the Royal palate, and the cooking indulgence of some of the Maharajas and their close bonding with the cooks was a daunting proposition, and perhaps the rarest of all.
In pursuit of this dream, in 1968, Prince Richard Holkar and his American wife, Madam Sally Holkar set on a journey to assimilate the secrets of Palace kitchens.
Over the next 4 years, they travelled extensively, connected with their friends from Royal families who belonged to erstwhile Princely states in India, and with some who were settled overseas – in Paris, London, New York and other cities.
They spent several months in the Palace kitchens, patiently studying the cooking techniques with the Palace cooks, understanding some of the unique recipes curated by the Maharajas themselves and getting the names of all the ingredients and their right measure, the latter being the most challenging task !
“Royal recipes are not always freely shared – especially by the cooks themselves ! Almost always one or two ingredients will be left out in the telling or some distracting extra included.
In our travels, we must have encountered almost every sort of subterfuge : important ingredients concealed in a sleeve and added while our backs were turned, keys to That Special Cupboard mysteriously misplaced, weights and measures a bit suspicious. No one meant any harm by this ; it was an expected form of loyalty.” as narrated by the Author.
During the making of the book, Prince Richard Holkar recalls his fond memories with the Maharaja of Sailana, “He was the most knowledgeable and widely experienced chef of the 20th century.” His Highness would prepare atleast one dish himself each day and every ingredient used to be laid down for inspection.
Once the compilation of over 100 Royal recipes was completed, most of these recipes were tried and tasted with ingredients that were available in the Indian, American and European kitchens, almost like a selection board clearing each recipe with a stamp of approval for the Cookbook.
The Culinary history of India has been beautifully presented in the book with a blend of Extensive research of ancient cookbooks : Raja Nal’s Pak Shastra, Sultan Ghiyath Shah of Malwa’s Nimatnama and the Sanskrit cookery book – Kshemakutuhalam,
And an interesting accumulation of Indian Folkore, Legends and Family tradition; of belief and faith that binds the people of varied cultures in our country.
REPERTOIRE OF FOLKLORE, LEGENDS AND EXQUISITE PICTURES
Traditional way of grinding spices
It happened a long, long time ago. A woman was pounding grain with a pestle. At that time, the sky was very low and she went on pounding the grain, her pestle suddenly hit the sky.
“How low this sky is,” she grumbled. The Sky heard her words. It was so angry with her that it mounted upwards and has since remained far, far, above us.
– Tale of Rajasthan
This is the biggest treasure trove that the Authors have gained while interacting with many, across vast terrains that they covered during the making of the book.
The Cookbook has a magnificent display of rare miniatures, paintings, photographs and lovely illustrations, well placed throughout the book.
Prince Richard Holkar shares, “From one of our research projects, we found out that we had to get in touch with the museums which had Indian collections. We visited these museums, found the Indian collection, selected the pictures that were suitable and would be useful for our cookbook, sought permissions to photograph them and used them in our book. We visited Museums across the world, Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta, Paris, Boston, Los Angeles, New York and London to arrange this special collection, and the photographs were taken from the private collections in India. Our intention was to make this Book very, very special for the readers.”
THE FIRST COPY
Another one and half years and a little more was spent on the Design and structure of the Book and finding the Publisher.
The Front section of the book features Cooking Techniques, The Stages of Life and Food, Characteristics of the Cook and more, followed by the Recipes placed in the regions of their origin, Rajasthan, Central India, North India and South India.
The Recipes are uniquely composed and laid out in a lucid manner – Ingredients are aligned with each layer of preparing a dish – a step by step method of cooking, so perfectly designed for ease of readers.
What is admirable is the Back of the Book section titled – Guide to Menu Planning.
This section lists down all the Recipes that have been thoughtfully categorised into three segments: Easy, Moderate and Difficult, articulating the skill and time required to prepare the dish.
Thereafter, follows a List with a number of recommended menus like – Everyday Meals, Feast Day Menus from Rajasthani Feast to the Vegetarian Feast and the Mughal Banquet.
To visualise a Cookbook in such completeness – in thought, expression and action, close to half a century back is truly incredible.
Prince Richard Holkar explains, “In those days, early 70’s, nobody was thinking about cooking Indian food, so it was not clear whether the book would have the market to be able to justify it in all colour illustration format. We did a lot of photography with the ingredients in their actual locations. Because of the cost of colour photography and colour printing, the publishers were not keen to print the book in colour.”
It was in the Summer of 1975, that The Viking Press, Inc. New York and The Macmillan Company of Canada Limited, Canada, First published this Book with a print order of 5000 copies, all lavishly produced in Black and White.
There has been no further edition of this book which makes the original copy wherever it is seen or available today, Simply Priceless.
The book is now available in a photo reprint edition; Hardcover with a classy, handcrafted leather finish.
Book lovers can order their copy at – info@ahilyaexperiences.com
Even today, Prince Richard Holkar enjoys every meal happily, without any inhibitions.
On his passion for cooking, he shares with pride “I invent food and it remains forever mine. It is the inspiration of that moment that I work upon and put something together.”
And that special experience of aristocracy and elegance fills the air when Prince Richard Holkar narrates his special moments around the book.
MORE FROM THE BOOK AND RECIPES
The 336 pager Cookbook is a delightful read, especially Madam Sally Holkar’s personal experiences with the Royal Chefs.
Her narratives of the Royal kitchens, and encounters with the food ingredients and preparation reflects how she was able to adapt herself to different culture, tradition and people with great comfort as they travelled during the making of the book.
“I had better luck with my questions in the kitchen. I was readily welcomed on subsequent visits and soon became an accepted member of the kitchen crew (blessedly exempt from doing dishes). I have never quite overcome, however, certain vagaries of the method, which I have at last put down to the mysterious and undefinable quality of Indian food.
For example, the measurement of spices simply does not translate. My cook instruct me in such thought-provoking quantities as “one pea’s-worth of asafoetida!
And the matter of why the lovely brass and bell-metal pots and pans of India for centuries had no handles remains a mystery to me,” mentions the Author.
Beyond the treasure of the Royal recipes, there are striking insights around Food like the preparation of Puris, method of making ghee, making of coconut milk and cream, which are interspersed and depicted in an interesting manner.
Popular Folklore and Legends on ingredients like Rice, Salt, Saffron, Mango are beautifully laced across the Recipe section.
Don’t miss the Legend from Rajasthan on the Lake of Salt, towards the end of this blog.
Sharing some fascinating excerpts of this timeless collection that I have read many times over. Hope you enjoy reading it too.
BEST OF THE BEST ROYAL ENSEMBLES
FROM SAILANA, RAJASTHAN
The Maharaja of Sailana would arm himself to take a recipe with as much cunning and forethought as others armed for battle. The ingredients to be used by the cook were provided by His Highness himself – the cook not knowing that the supply of each one had been carefully weighed and measured in advance.
Thus, they would confront one another- royal recipe collector and cook – one determined to learn the dish, the other determined to teach it in such a way that it could not be correctly duplicated.
When all the preliminaries and protocol were done, His Highness would step out of the cooking room for a hooka or a paan leaf. Cook would smile, and, in the absence of His Highness, would add various subtle and special ingredients, quietly lifted from the box.
The dish completed, His Highness would savour it and reward the cook in proportion to his pleasure. Then he would pack up his box, quietly smiling, for the secret lay therein. He had to only measure the remains of each ingredient to know what the cook had slipped in !
Such was the nature of the quest.
“This art of cuisine, to excel in it, to conquer it, you must begin with something simple. Follow the rules; work slowly and carefully; the rest will follow naturally.” By Maharaja of Sailana.
The Authors have dedicated the Cookbook to this Royal Connoisseur of Food, MAHARAJA OF SAILANA and the First Recipe in the book is titled SOMETHING SIMPLE • SAILANA SEEKH on Page 54-55.
FROM GWALIOR
In recent years, the Maharajas of Gwalior have chosen their Queens from Nepal. Along with their dowries, their jewels, and their maids, these ladies brought excellent cooks.
Now the kitchens of the palace are fragrant with spices unique to the food of Nepal. Mustard oil and fenugreek and the golden turmeric root, when generously blended with fresh lime juice, bring that mountain kingdom’s famous potato to the dusty plains of Gwalior.
Recipe : The Nepalese Potentato • Allu ka Acchar on Page 169-170
FROM BARODA
Baroda, Rousselet was to discover, was an unpredictable blend of old and new, East and West.
The late Maharaja of Baroda, a very westernised man – even commissioned a cookbook, half Indian, half English.
The Dessert from the Indian half is called Dessert for the Darkness • Baroda Bhuran ; Recipe on Page 178-179
FROM HYDERABAD
The founder of the dynasty, the first of the seven Nizams to rule Hyderabad, was Asaf Jha, for whom this dish is named.
A famous general before he became a ruler, Asaf Jha used to say to his men that to hold a fort there must be only a head, two arms and two legs. By that, he meant, a commander, reinforcement from two quarters (the arms) and food and water in the fort (the legs).
Food in the fort may have meant rice and lentils for the regiments; but for Asaf Jha himself, there were elaborate dishes. This kaliya, or saucy meat, was one of his favourites.
Recipe : Founders’ Feast • Kaliya Asaf Jha on Page 203-204
DID YOU KNOW?
It is believed that one of the earliest cookbooks written in India was in Sanskrit by Raja Nal, called Nal’s Pak Shastra, perhaps in the 5th Century AD.
Chapters in the cookbook deal with varieties of rice, curries and ghee, with mention of every kind of condiment, vegetable and meat; with medical compounds; with beverages, and there is a special chapter each for water and milk.
PRINCE RICHARD HOLKAR’s PERSONAL FAVOURITES
At Ahilya Fort Heritage Hotel, Maheshwar (a town in the State of Madhya Pradesh), every day is a celebration.
Ahilya Fort Heritage Hotel was the former royal residence, Ahilya Wada which was converted into a Guest residence
in the year, 2000.
Prince Richard Holkar has trained the chefs here and he personally selects the menu from the Cookbook. Guests from across the world are amazed with the delectable array of Royal servings and remain spellbound with this distinct experience.
Prince Richard Holkar recalls his personal favourites sprinkled with nostalgia, “My favourite recipe is also my father’s {Late HH the Maharaja of Indore, YeshwantRao Holkar II}, Chicken Survedar, today it is made with chicken, but in my father’s time, it was partridge.”
RECIPE: CHICKEN FOR CHICKENS • MURGI SURVEDAR ON PAGE 193-194
SERVES 4
Ingredients
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 Tbs. scraped and minced ginger root, or ¼ tsp. powdered ginger
1 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 ½ lbs. meaty chicken pieces
2 tsp. salt
½ tsp. turmeric
8 unsalted cashews
8 blanched unsalted almonds
Drop garlic, ginger, and oil into the blender and puree. Pour this puree into a heavy, medium-sized pot and sauté over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add all remaining ingredients in this section. Stir to mix well. Raise heat and continue frying until chicken is golden and all natural liquid is evaporated. Add 3 cups water. Cover and simmer until just tender. Remove chicken and nuts, drain, and reserve. Strain broth, reduce to 1 cup, and reserve separately.
1 Tbs. poppy seed
4 cloves
1¼ inches of cinnamon stick, or ¼ tsp. powdered cinnamon seeds of 4 cardamom pods, or ¼ tsp. powdered cardamom
½ tsp. peppercorns
2 tsp. scraped and minced ginger root, or ½ tsp. powdered ginger
8 garlic buds
2 ½ Tbs.minced onion
One by one as listed, drop all ingredients in this section into blender. Pulverize each before adding the next. Add ¼ cup water and blend to a smooth, thick paste. Set aside next to stove.
6 Tbs. clarified butter
⅓ cup coarsely and evenly chopped onion
In a heavy, medium-sized saucepan, heat the butter and fry onions until they are just turning colour. Off heat, stir in the blender mixture. Return to heat and continue frying, scraping and turning with spatula. Add 1 Tbs. water whenever necessary to prevent sticking. Continue this until butter bubbles up to the top of the spicy paste and it moves as a single mass when stirred.
¼ cup unflavoured yogurt, beaten smooth with fork
1 cup thick coconut milk
2 Tbs. fresh coriander leaf (cilantro) (optional)
Off heat, add the drained chicken and nuts, Stir and add the yogurt. Return to medium heat. When yogurt is absorbed, add the broth, spoon by spoon, and finally the coconut milk. Stir constantly until chicken is tender and enveloped in rich, golden sauce. Serve hot over rice. Garnish with coriander leaf before serving.
Keeps well in refrigerator.
RECIPE : CAMP CORN • KEES on Page 185-186
SERVES 4
Ingredients
6-8 ears fresh, sweet corn
Hold a large grater over a bowl and grate the corn directly off the ears into the bowl, making about 2½ cups. Set aside.
About 3 Tbs. vegetable oil
½ tsp. mustard seed, yellow or black
1 tsp. cumin seed
1-3 tsp. seeded and minced fresh, green chilly peppers (to taste)
½ tsp. salt
Cover the bottom of a medium-sized skillet with a thin coating of oil. Heat almost to smoking. Tip pan and drop mustard, cumin and chilis into collected oil. (Beware of spattering). Reduce heat to medium and stir in corn. Continue stirring for 5 minutes.
½ cup grated, unsweetened coconut
½ cup unflavoured yogurt or milk
½ tsp. black pepper, coarsely grounded
1½ tsp. powdered cumin
Add all the ingredients in this section and continue stirring until all the liquid is completely absorbed (should be consistency of dry scrambled eggs). Cover and cook over lowest possible heat for 2 minutes. Taste for salt. The corn can now be held off heat for several hours, covered.
2 tsp. sugar or wedges of fresh lime
Just before serving, heat through. According to taste, add sugar to sweeten or lime juice to balance the chill and enhance the flavours. Serve hot.
RECIPE : TWENTY- FOUR CARAT TOAST • SHAHI TUKERE on Page 278-279
Ingredients
SERVES 4
3 cups water
1 cup sugar
Pinch saffron
Bring sugar and water to boil in a medium-sized saucepan. Stir until sugar dissolves. Continue boiling for 5 minutes or until syrup spins a single fine thread between thumb and forefinger. Muddle saffron in 1 Tbs. hot water and add to syrup. Reserve off heat next to the stove.
½ cup clarified butter (Ghee)
4 thick slices stale white French bread, halved
1 cup whole milk, poured into a medium-sized skillet
In a small skillet, heat the butter to crackling. Fry the bread, a few pieces at a time, until golden and crisped through. (Adjust heat to prevent burning). As each piece is crisped, remove it to the skillet of milk. Do not place one piece upon another. Leave the toast to soak until all the pieces are saturated. Drain off excess milk. Pour reserved sugar syrup over the toast without moving it in the skillet.
½ tsp. powdered cardamom
2 tsp. unsalted pistachios, chopped fine
Place skillet over medium-high heat and cook uncovered until all liquid has evaporated. (Adjust heat to prevent burning.) Carefully slide toast onto serving plates. Sprinkle with cardamom and nuts. Serve very hot.
THE BETEL-LEAF PAAN • THE CLOSING RITUAL
PAAN is the most celebrated part of Indian culinary tradition and culture.
Guests in India today rarely leave a meal without being offered a Paan, smearing of the Betel leaf with a little of the Kath with jellied roses, menthol, saffron or musk.
Plan something majestic
Dress up your dinner with a sprinkle of royal aura
Recreate that magic of yesteryears
INDULGE in The Royal Recipes of India
COOKING OF THE MAHARAJAS
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATIONS
A Big Thank You to Shri Gautam Chatterjee for all the splendid illustrations on this blog, bringing back vivid memories of yesteryears, from traditional way of Cooking to a closer glimpse of Royal kitchens, and an illustrative depiction of an old legend from Rajasthan.
“I remember starting at the age of 4 or 5 with chalk drawing on the floors, about anything that caught my imagination,” fondly remembers Gautamda.
Inspired by his mother, Late Mrs Shila Chatterjee who had no formal training, yet had a beautiful mind to creatively express through sketches and water colours, Gautamda was encouraged to pursue his passion for drawing and won several awards at school competitions.
After completing B.Sc, he followed his inner calling and graduated with Bachelor of Visual Arts specialising in Indian Style of Painting from Government College of Art and Craft, Calcutta in 1989.
While, the giant Mural work at the West Bengal State Pavilion during the Trade Fair held at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi on the occasion of 50 Years of Independence is one of his major projects, Gautamda’s moment of pride and happiness is working for Children’s Books. “I have enjoyed the most working on Books produced for children. I am able to express with simplicity and in my own way,” shares Gautamda.
Email: gautamchat68@gmail.com
Mobile : + 91 8777488601
Raja Chowan and the Lake of Salt
SALT • THE ESSENCE OF LIFE
One day Raja Chowan, the founder of the Jodhpur Dynasty, came upon an ascetic while riding through the desert. The holy man, in deep meditation, did not notice when the Raja picked up his beautiful golden amulet, the most beautiful amulet on earth.
The Raja was tempted to keep it for himself. The holy man would never know and surely it was an amulet worthy of a king. Only reluctantly did Raja Chowan replace the jewel at the feet of the ascetic; but no sooner had he loosed his hold upon it , than a beautiful Goddess appeared, granting him any boon he might wish as a reward for his honesty.
“Mount your horse,” she said, “and ride until you can ride no further. But do not look back. In the end, your boon will be granted.”
Filled with wonder, Raja Chowan mounted his impatient steed and began to ride towards the horizon. When he had ridden very, very, far, his long turban blew in the wind and became entangled in a thorn bush. Forgetting his vow to the Goddess, Raja Chowan turned to loose himself. Instantly, the plain all around him was covered in silver. The people of the Raja’s kingdom were speechless and could not believe their eyes.
But soon they began to beg the Goddess to remove this silver from their land, knowing that so much wealth could only bring envy and dissension to their peaceful kingdom.
The Lake of Silver was therefore transformed into a Lake of Salt, which has ever after provided work and food for the people of the kingdoms of Jodhpur and Jaipur.
-Legend of Rajasthan, Page 116 – 117
Marvel the weave of Maheshwari, THE REHWA WAY at Maheshwar.
Absolutely loved this. The stories, the recipes, the photos, and above all, those illustrations! Each of those is a little gem. Brilliant work by Mr Gautam Chatterjee. As always, kudos to Anusuya for this immensely pleasurable read.
Congratulations for your efforts about Cookbook. Royal kitchen, Cooking, Cuisine and Prince Richard Holkar’s vision- the man behind the book is inspiring.
Also Gautam Da’s illustrations are brilliant.
This is a truly unique article, informative as well as entertaining.
The illustrations bring such value and lucidity while reading the article!
Kudos to all the hardwork for the beautiful compilation!
What a brilliant way of bringing the whole piece together … like bringing together a lovely dish with utmost love and care! Just superb! X