Of Biryani and Baklava: Chefs reflect on rebooting tradition in an Eid feast

The holy month of Ramzan is drawing to a close and Eid al-Fitr, the festival that signifies the end of the month-long fast from dawn to sunset, is coming up. It is a much-awaited day that will begin with offering special prayers at eidgahs and mosques and then it is time to exchange greetings and tuck into a festive meal. “Eid ki tayyari ho gayi?” is a question most people will ask each other now that the festive day is around the corner. For, it is almost customary to go shopping for items for the meal, from buying fresh spices to dry fruit and or vermicelli for the sheer khurma and other ingredients, as families will call loved ones over for a special lunch or dinner. It’s about joy, spreading peace and bonding that is a big part of the delicious Eid indulgence….

Preparation that’s etched in beautiful memories

 Eid commences at the sighting of the new moon and homes everywhere are all set to begin with their cooking. Chef Anees Khan of Star Anise Patisserie, goes back down memory lane to his Eid celebrations during childhood. He recalls, “As kids we used to run home from the Eidgah (an open-air enclosure for Eid prayers) after the prayers because ammi was making our favourite sheer khurma (the festival vermicelli sweet). Her preparation for it would start at 4 am and sweet aroma of the milk, sugar, mawa, vermicelli, chironji and pistachio would waft through the whole house. After helping ourselves with a bowl of this delicacy, we used to have chilla (pancake) with gurda kaleji and this has been a tradition closely followed by my sister and me till today, since ammi and abba stay with me in Mumbai. While we had this, my mother would marinate succulent mutton with yoghurt, spices and mint leaves and soak long basmati rice for the kacchay gosht ki biryani.”

The important part is to wish family and friends either over a call or by dropping in to their homes and he adds, “After a good heavy breakfast, we would visit many relatives, wish them with a hug for Eid and also receive little cash envelopes, which brought us so much of joy as kids. Laughter would ring out among the elders as kids would run around with cousins, showing our hard-earned Eidi money to each other. Of course, half of that money was spent on the candy man who made these beautifully crafted watches and bicycles of candy on our wrists, as well on ice cream cones and on buying a few games.

We would then return home exhausted, hungry and thirsty to the dastarkhwaan (a big ceremonial dining spread on a special cloth). The biryani would be cooked on a wood fire stove and served around and the taste of that biryani has been forever etched in my mind and heart. When ammi used to lift the lid off the dumm pot, one would even smell the salt along with the meat, saffron, spices and the flavourful basmati rice. There was so much of love in her cooking and till date ammi is my executive chef of the house. Fast forward 2022 and we are once again in the holy month of Ramadan. Things have changed so much in these years, but the fervour of celebrating Eid is more or less the same.”

Taking a page of out biryani’s history

Think of Eid lunch and you immediately think of biryani. But the slow-cooked, one-pot delicacy has several interesting nuggets of history that go into its making. Kurush Dalal, food historian shares them. “Cooking meat and rice is a very old tradition, that by itself is not new. But the name and way in which biryani is made today has a lot to do with Persian traditions. The name comes from the word, ‘biriyan’ or fried onions and it’s about meat and onions cooked together. It was meant to be not rice, but a beautifully spiced meat and onions paste served with roti, traditionally in Persia. One had to break off the edges and start eating from the middle.

The biryani that we understand it as today has come over with Persian influencers. It was essentially used as food for the army and it was a way of having meat and rice, which is protein and carbohydrates. It was made all night by the khansamas and loaded into sealed deghs or cauldrons and onto carts. The hot, steaming food would travel beautifully and the meat and rice would continue to cook even after being taken off the fire. It may not have been the same as today’s biryani, much lower in taste, essentially just meat and rice and limited spices with few fried onions. Over the years, the biryani has definitely evolved.”

The dish also has a travel tale within India, with different regions and spices influencing it. He informs, “All the way down in the Mappila country of Kerala, you’ll find that biryani is made with fish on the bone. There’s also a beautiful biryani, roughly 100-years-old, which is the kappa biryani, made with tapioca roots. You have a rich, oily angoor biryani of Tamil Nadu, made with local rice. Another famous biryani known from references is a lassoon ki kali ki biryani, from Lucknow, which has no meat and is more of a pilaf.”

In Kokani households, biryani is not a traditional Eid fare

While it is the highlight elsewhere, the traditional biryani will not be the table for the Kokani Muslim community. Instead, another dish is prepared. Saher Khanzada, founder of The Bombay Glutton blog, says, “An important combination that you will find in Kokani households at Eid is mutton curry or maasa cha saalna that is relished with saandan, a savoury, steamed bread made of rice and coconut. This makes for our traditional meal. In some houses, a wheat and meat gruel called kas is also prepared.”

Shabana Salauddin who runs a home-dining service called Ammeez Kitchen, talks about other must-haves. She says, “For us Kokanis, biryani is not the main thing at Eid. We have dhan shikori, a dish that comprises plain kolam rice served with a spicy mutton gravy.” Traditional sheer khurma takes a back seat as well.

She informs, “There are other meethas that are a part of Eid for Konkanis such as doodhi halwa, with chunky pieces of doodhi and coconut milk, which is had with pav for an Eid breakfast. There’s also the light pancake called pelve and a delicious dum-style sweet called ande ka pudding.” The latter has an interesting way it’s made. She reveals, “This is old recipe followed by my mother where you mix elaichi powder, milk, dry fruit and sugar with an egg in a tagari (flat pot). It’s cooked on slow flame with dry coconut shells on top to ensure a well done, browned top brown layer.”

Embracing Middle Eastern flavours

Even five or six years ago, offering someone baklava at Eid would be either a one-off or not heard of at all. But of late, Middle Eastern flavours are being embraced and have found a special place on the festive table. Home chef Farah Syed who runs her home kitchen, Ala Rasi, affirms that these dishes been a hot seller in the run-up to Eid. “There is so much appeal around Middle Eastern savouries and sweets, as they are delicious. I’ve had orders for kunafa and baklava all through Ramzan for iftar gatherings and now, for Eid. Instead of carting along sheer khurma to someone’s home, they like to send these sweets or take it there themselves. Another dessert called Umm Ali, a rich bread pudding with dry fruit and milk, is also popular now. And I’m planning to make the sweet semolina cake basbousa, for my own family at Eid.”

Explaining the rise in this trend, Chef Anees adds, “So much has changed in terms of new flavours in food being embraced since we are travelling a lot and have tried new cuisines across the globe. One such cuisine that has resonated well is food from the gulf countries – Turkish, Arabic, Egyptian etc. Baklavas, kunafas, mandi and kepsas have made inroads in our homes and restaurants and people are loving these new flavours. When I curated my Ramadan iftar box menu, I made sure to have at least one Middle Eastern dish daily in my iftar box and kunafa turned up being one of the highest-selling dishes. This Eid, my wife plans to make Arabic lamb mandi rice with hawaij spices to compliment the sheer khurma that will be made by my ammi. I think the reason we are embracing Middle Eastern flavours is because of the simplicity and the authenticity of the dishes. The flavours are so unique and the taste goes well with our Indian palate.”

_Kunafa, kebab, biryani or korm_a, whatever will be your choice of festive indulgence, the table is set and it will be time to say Eid Mubarak, soon. Here’s to the festive meal!

Ismat Tahseen is a Mumbai-based journalist who writes on food, trends, culture and lifestyle for over a decade now.

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