About The Author
Hello! From Chuchura (in Hooghly District) and a foodie, I created this blog with a mission to preserve the food of the land; with a message to encourage and promote clean and real food. I hope you enjoy and gain out of this blog, happy reading!
Looking forward to read and hear your feedback.
To understand the Sheherwali cuisine, you must know about the sheherwalis. Coined in the 18th century, the word “sheherwali” means city dweller.
A Bit of History
Manik Chand travelled all the way from the deserts of Rajasthan to the fertile lands of Undivided Bengal. He settled in Maksudabad and managed to become the personal banker of Nawab Murshid Quli Khan, aquired the title of Jagat Seth (meaning banker of the world), the first Nawab of Bengal, who renamed the city from Masudabad to Murshidabad.
On Manik Chand’s inivitation, the Oswal Jain merchant families migrated to the lush banks of Bhagirathi river around Azimganj, Jiaganj, Lalbagh, Nashipur, Cossimbazar – all suburbs of Murshidabad which was then capital of Undivided Bengal.
The word “sheherwali” was used for these very families who who traveled from the smaller towns of Rajasthan to the bustling city of Murshidabad.
Sheherwali community has a distinct identity. Very different from that of the Marwaris of Rajasthan.
Murshidabad is also where the Battle of Plassey (or Palashi) happened!
Before Sheherwali Cuisine Happened
Rajasthan is known for its extreme climate and scarcity of water.
Food in Rajasthan had to be cooked keeping extreme climate conditions in mind – which meant that food had to last for more than a day without the need to reheat.
In order to compensate the shortage of water, milk and ghee was used liberally. The flavors were bold and spicy.
Fresh vegetables did not grow much and hence lentils, bajra, corn and beans were used commonly.
The royal kitchens in Rajasthan also helped popularize some of the most rare food ingredients like rose water, saffron, food aromatics and herbs.
The Oswal Jains were a closely-knit community with a very distinct culture, way of living, cooking style and food habits. On arriving in Murshidabad, they understood the local practices, adjusted and accepted the local customs; which also impacted their food habits.
The Birth of Sheherwali Cuisine
As the Oswal Jains settled, they found themselves amidst greenery, abundance and fertile soil of the land – seasonal fruits, fresh vegetables, the fertile soil and the abundance of fresh water.
With time they adapted, absorbed and evolved a fusion cuisine that combined the techniques and rich ingredients from their home land with the fresh and seasonal produce like vegetables and lentils available locally.
Sheherwali cuisine is a vegetarian’s paradise where Rajasthani meets Bengali, Mughlai, Awadhi, European culinary experiences making it a unique mix of ingredients and flavors that wow the tastebuds.
PS: The community was so rich that they would finance the trading companies of Europe!
What Influenced the Sheherwali Cuisine?
To suit the climate of Rajasthan where unavailability of water was a serious issue, the cuisine would compensate by using loads of ghee and spice (read chilis). When this cuisine arrived in Bengal, the flavors got married to the local practices of cooking, before infusing with the flavors of the Afghans and Mughals.
Do not forget that at this very time, the Portuguese, French, Dutch, Armenians were all at Bengal – the region being a hub of trade and politics.
It is the Bengali local cuisine that acted as the melting pot where all these cultures marinated and stewed. The end result is a unique culinary experience.
Restrictions of Oswal Jains & It’s Influence in Sheherwali Cuisine
The Oswal Jain families had a strict sense of food. For example, theirs was a vegetarian cuisine that practiced strict Jain laws that did not allow the use of root vegetables, onions, ginger and garlic.
The Love for Mangoes
The Oswal Jains had a knack for huge varieties of mangoes. These mangoes earned reputation and were even exported by ships to the Buckingham Palace in London, drawing appreciation from Queen Victoria herself.
They developed and grew more than 50 species of mangoes, many of which remain famous even today.
The Sheherwalis would keep the mangoes in the water for hours and then cut them with the thinnest knife possible, making sure that knife marks are not present on the flesh.
The Bengali Influence
Bengali words like jal (water), gaach (tree), torkari (curry) are commonly used by the Sheherwalis.
A lot of their recipes include the use of Pnach Phoron spice, which is a very common whole spice blend of cumin, fennel, fenugreek, nigella and brown mustard seeds used in regular cooking in Bengal.
The Sheherwali Cuisine also used mustard seeds and mustard oil which are a daily affair in Bengali cuisine.
Not to forget the abundance of vegetables that the region produced, many of which were lapped up by the community – like plantains (raw banana), banana flowers, pointed gourds, wood apple, raw jackfruits among others.
The Mughal Influence
The Mughals were fond of rich gravies that included cashew nuts, poppy seeds, other dry fruits, etc. And because the Mughals also used saffron, kewra water and rose water, the same was also adopted by the Oswal Jains in their cooking.
The Mughal cuisine influenced the Sheherwali cuisine to include dishes of pulaos and tikkas. Not to forget the art of slow cooking, which was lapped up by sheherwalis.
Samples from the Sheherwali Kitchen
While I am still experimenting with few of these dishes in my kitchen, here are a few examples to help you understand the diversely unifying nature of this cuisine.
They loved flowers and this interest also led them to cultivate unique varieties of roses. The rose water mixed with saffron was used to play Holi!
Raw banana is a commonly cooked vegetable in Bengal. In Sheherwali Cuisine, these are simmered in a rich cashewnut gravy inspired from the Mughlai cuisine.
The very humbly grown cowpea beans from Bengal (and called as barbati in Bengali) is cooked in a thin kadhi. Isn’t kadhi a staple in Marwari cuisine?
Sheherwalis’ Sweet Tooth
Sheherwalis had a knack of eating sweets before, during and after a meal. This sweet tooth is inherited from their Rajasthi roots and influenced by the Bengalis’ love for sweets.
One of the many breakfast customs include a glass of milk along with a sweet like malpua, chhana bara or raskadam.
The Oswal Jains were in love with mangoes that grows in abundance during the summers.
Consider the kachhe aam ke kheer. They used unripe mangoes to prepare kheer! The mango was grated, boiled to remove the sourness and then cooked in milk, saffron, sugar, rose water.
Take for example the bode ke boondiya which is a dish of deep fried sweet balls made from black eyed bean flour. This recipe uses kewra water which is a Mughal import.
Sweet balls made from wheat flour called as ghaal ka laddoo which used rose water.
Pumpkin is another vegetable that features in regular Bengali cuisine. The Sheherwalis took this pumpkin, and inspired from the murabba culture of the Mughals, developed the kumra ka murabba.
Snacks in Sheherwali Cuisine
Savory snacks are a norm for the sheherwalis.
They made kachoris stuffed with cucumbers (a local produce) and named it khira ka kachori.
Sheherwalis had a particular liking for cucumbers which is why they prepared many dishes with it. Another example is kheera ka pitod where cucumbers were dunked in a batter made from gram flour and deep fried.
Spiced gram flour balls are fried and dunked into a tangy tamarind syrup. This khatte ka pakori was provided refreshment during the summer months.
Curries & Main Course
Kela Parwal ka Jholgiri is a delicious curry made using plantain and pointed gourds. Note the use of the word “jhol” which is a Bengali word for a thin gravy.
Kheera Shimla Mirch ka Tarkari is a unique vegetarian curry made from cucumber and capsicum. Again, the word ‘tarkari’ is a Bengali word for ‘curry’.
Sheherwali cuisine makes finer choices on how to cut and chop the vegetables, including grading of vegetables. Take for examples the peas. The smaller ones are used in salads, the medium-sized ones are used in curries, while the larger ones are used in kachoris as stuffing.
What we call as pnach torkari or pnach mishali torkari in Bengali (or simply mix veg), is milao ka tarkari in Sheherwali Cuisine. Locally grown vegetables are cooked using pnach phoron and mustard oil. Tamarind is added to introduce tang in the dish.
Paniphal ka tarkari is a unique curry that most Bengalis never had in their lifetime. Murshidabad grows water chestnuts in some of the areas. They are sliced and cooked to a simple curry using turmeric powder, chili powder and aamchoor powder. Innovation at its best!
Bengal gram or chana dal is adopted to cook curries by adding veggies like ridge gourds. This taroi boot ka dal uses hing like most other curries cooked in this cuisine.
Another interesting recipe from the kitchen of the sheherwalis is the mattar ke chhilke ke tarkari. The peel from fresh peas are stir fried with capsicum.
The Sheherwali Bread
Rajasthanis are known to cook a variety of breads that include a deep fried bread from urad (or arhar) dal, semolina and wheat flour called as kalai ka kachori, besni poori or puffed puris made from gram flour or besan, shallow fried bread stuffed with green moong dal called bedmi.
The most intriguing bread for me is however, the khichdi ka roti. Wait, what? Isn’t khichdi a rice preparation? This Sheherwali preparation is a rare example of wit and innovation. The first step is involves cooking a khichdi by pressure cooking rice, moong dal, salt and turmeric.
Then wheat flour is added to it along with salt, chili powder, coriander powder and ghee. The entire mixture is kneaded into a dough.
The dough is then cut in shapes, made into a flat bread and roasted on a hot pan till half done. This is cooled and pinched, and then directly roasted on fire till full done.
To serve, brush with ghee!
Where to Find Sheherwali Cuisine?
- Royal Vega by ITC Royal Bengal
- Barikothi, Murshidabad
References
Vegetarian cuisines of India: The food of the Sheherwali Jains from Murshidabad
Another food secret laid bare: Introducing ‘Sheherwali’ cuisine
Image Source: Financial Express
Very interesting and informative artical.
Hats of to people from Rajasthan they know what food is