If India is well known for her hospitality, Thanjavur must certainly rank as amongst the best areas in the country. An eclectic combination of Telugu, Kannada, Tamil and Marathi cuisines makes Thanjavur a foodie’s paradise, albeit the really best food is served at homes and not in the ‘hotels’.
The Thanjavur Saraswati Mahal has a fascinating book called the Raghunatha-Adbuthayamu. Written in the 16th Century, it recounts one day in the life of Vijayaraghava Nayaka and includes a mouthwatering array of 38 dishes that formed part of the royal feast. From the Maratha collections are two manuscripts and some recipes from them have been published in a book called Sarabendra Paka Shastram. Another publication of the library is the Bhojana Kuthukala that deals with food that is more medicinal in nature.
The manuscripts from which the 144 recipes in the Sarabendra Paka Shastram were taken are dated 1816 and 1825. They were recorded from oral statements (Jabbani) of “Butler” Venkatasami and Narayanan. Serfoji II had three kitchens in his palace – one for vegetarian food (Brahmani), one for non-vegetarian dishes (Marathi), and the third for English preparations (Angrezi). Note that the food in the court was quite different from the Maharashtra food. Tamarind, for example, was used extensively and, in fact, it is believed that sambar as we know it today was created in Tanjore when a Maratha cook added tamarind to dhal. Several streets in Tanjore still bear names of ‘Mudubhogi’, or palace chefs.
In addition to the kitchen was the Sherbet Khana, a department that specialised in liquid drinks – sorbets, milk, liquor, etc. Quality of ingredients was also carefully supervised.
The book has a collection of recipes in both English and Tamil and is divided into the following parts:
Non-vegetarian dishes
a. Pulavs; b. Kababs (similar to our cutlets); c. Kaliha, Kurma and Sauces; d. Gola, Sunti, Dalsa, Fried varieties. Here is a sample recipe:
Mincemeat Pooris
Ingredients: Mutton – 1 pound, garlic and coriander seeds – 1 tola (10.5 grams) each, pepper and cloves – 1/32 of a tola each, onions – 10 tolas, paneer – 5 tolas, salt – 1 tola, Ginger – 3 tolas, Cinnamon – 1/16 of a tola, Cardamom – 1/3 of a tola, Ghee – 10 tolas, Mint leaves – ½ tola, Maida flour – 40 tolas, and Ghee – 30 tolas.
Method: Make minced meat of 40 tolas of mutton after it is cleaned and washed. Add ½ tola salt and 10 tolas of water to cook. When the water evaporates, grind the cumin, garlic, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, pepper very well and then add it to the meat.
In a vessel, pour 10 tolas of ghee and when it is hot, add the onions and when they are brown add the meat and cook till moisture evaporates. Remove from heat and add the mint leaves finely chopped and the paneer finely shredded.
Make maida dough and between two small discs of dough place some of this meat and then fry it in a vessel with 30 tolas of ghee as you would make regular pooris.
Vegetarian dishes
a. Rice dishes; b. Sambar, Kolambu and sauces. Here is a sample recipe.
Curd sauce
5 pounds of thick sweet curd. Grind it into a paste after frying it in ghee with 1 tola each of cumin and pepper and 2 red chillies. Grind the following: 1 tola garlic, 2½ tola ginger and 3 tola salt and dissolve them into the curd. In a vessel, heat 4½ tolas of ghee and to that add ¼ tola of cumin seeds, 1 tola mustard seeds, ¼ tola asafoetida, a small bunch of curry leaves. When the sound abates, add the curd and immediately remove it from the fire. Add coriander leaves and the other remaining paste. Well-cooked vegetables and vadas without holes (amavadai) can also be added after they have been cooked/roasted in ghee.
English preparations
a. Jellies, jams; b. Meat dishes and accompaniments
c. Pickles. Here is a sample recipe:
Mango jelly
12 green raw mangoes (approx.160 tolas), remove skin, cut to pieces and keep aside. Mix 1 tola powdered cardamom, 4 cups sugar, and 2 tolas rosewater. In a tinned vessel kept on fire, add the mangoes and 20 tolas of water. Cook this well and strain the juice out for about 4 cups with a clean white cloth. Separately mix 160 tolas of sugar with 15 tolas of water into a thick syrup. Ensure the syrup is crystal clear. Mix mango juice into the syrup when the latter is boiling and add the rosewater and the powdered cardamom (in a small cotton bag tied). Remove vessel from fire, remove bag of cardamoms and check for bits and pieces in the jelly. Cool and store in glass jars.
Appendices have useful information on conversations about measures used for the book in our terms, English and Tamil words for Marathi words used, and a bibliography. The author laments the disappearance of the Maratha Military Hotels (in 1988, when the first edition was published) and it will be interesting to compare their menu with those in the book.
The Sarabendra Paka Shastram can be purchased from the Library at Rs.150.
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