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Imtiaz Qureshi, 1931-2024: ‘The more you innovate, the tastier it will be’
Updated On: 25 February, 2024 07:24 AM IST | Mumbai | Team SMD
Maverick restaurateur Jiggs Kalra calls late Imtiaz Qureshi a visionary intent on bringing different worlds of flavours together. In Prashad: Cooking with Indian Masters, he shares the wonders of ‘choking off steam’ in the kitchen
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Qureshi, a former wrestler, is remembered for his genius at transforming north Indian cuisine. File pic
The innovative Dum Pukht came into vogue during the reign of the benevolent Nawab Asaf-ud-daulah. Dum Pukht (choking off the steam), has been described as the “maturing of a prepared dish”. Dum Pukht originated in Persia, where a prepared dish was sealed and buried in hot sand to mature. In India, Dum Pukht was born a little over 200 years ago. To feed his starving subjects during the famine of 1784, Nawab Asaf-ud Daulah decided to provide jobs by building the Bara Imambara. The monument was built by day and destroyed by night. During its build-and-destroy stages, huge quantities of food were cooked, sealed in degs (gigantic handis) and then kept warm in massive double-walled bukhari or ovens. As a result, the prepared food would get steamed in the gentle heat of the bukhari.
One day, the Nawab decided to sample the food—he relished every morsel. He adapted the bukhari for use at royal banquets and hunts. His chefs used exotic spices and herbs to impart subtle flavours and aromas, before putting on dum. Dishes prepared for the humble Avadhis became delicacies fit for their sovereign.
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