Restaurant review: Curry, Cairo-style Gamal Nkrumah searches in vain for Mughlai food one will never forget On 21 April 1526 Dhahir Al-Din Mohamed, better known as Babur, defeated the Afghan ruler of Delhi and Agra, northern India, Ibrahim Lodhi. The battle was to change the face of northern India forever, for it impacted many facets of life in the vast country, including its culinary delights. The scribes at Moghul courts translated Hindu classics into Persian, the court language of the Moghul Empire. Architectural delights such as Fatehpour Sikri, the Pearl Mosques and the Taj Mahal were erected, and today stand testament to the magnificence of the Moghul legacy. From their hybrid haven in northern India the Moghul chefs created a cuisine that remains to this day a blend of unforgettable flavours. However, to follow the drift of the intoxicating scents of Mughlai cuisine, one must hark back to Moghul history. Theirs was a game of contacts, of discovering a new continent-playground, fabulously rich and sophisticated. The Moghul potentates desired something special, prepared only for them. India's strong artisan-rich culture, with its master craftsmen, including chefs, was retained. The raison d'être of the Moghul emperors was the satisfaction of the impulse to indulge. Legend has it that Ibrahim Lodhi advanced against Babur with 100,000 troops and 100 war elephants. Babur with 12,000 battle-hardened men routed his enemies and the Afghan potentate was slain in battle. Next, Babur proceeded to rid northern India of the control of the Hindu Rajput princes. Once he pacified the area and rid it of Rajput hands, he was presented with the world's largest known diamond -- the Koh-i-Noor. In due course, his Sikh and Hindu subjects paid obeisance. Babur, founder of the Moghul dynasty in India, and descendant of Tamerlane, or Timur the Lame, and the legendary Genghiz Khan, ruled northern India with an iron fist. His son, Humanyun, succeeded him and under their descendants Akbar and Jahangir Mughlai cuisine was perfected. Emperors and kings, princes and potentates competed to secure their services. The beguiling blend of Oriental dishes on offer at the courts of India's fabled Moghul emperors enchanted courtiers and princes. Those were the days of plenty. The Moghuls (derived from the Persian Mughal) did overrun South Asia from their original territory in the steppes of Central Asia. They were a primeval warrior people who had conquered and adopted the ways of their infinitely more superior subjects -- the Chinese, the Indians and the Persians. While the Mongols who conquered China and East Asia adopted Buddhism, those whose invincible armies sacked the then Persian-dominated legendary cities of Central Asia such as Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara and pushed further afield into the Persian heartlands in the Iranian plateau and across Afghanistan into the Indian sub-Continent adopted Islam as their newfound religion. In South Asia they mingled with the Hindu populace, but retained their Islam. Indeed, they contributed greatly to the Islamisation of enormous swathes of South Asia. And, hence the critical characteristic of their cuisine -- unlike their strictly vegetarian Hindu subjects, the Muslim Moghul introduced a wide variety of meat dishes, for they were decidedly carnivorous, but with a spicy Indian twist. And by the time the carnivorous nomadic warrior-kings settled into a sedentary and opulent lifestyle they truly became omnivorous. The Mohandessin eatery of Bukhara aspires to serve a taste of the fabled Moghul cuisine. It attempts to recreate the delectable wonders of authentic Mughlai cuisine -- the curries, the delights of the tandoor (clay ovens), and much more. Alas, the finer fruits of India's magnificent culinary heritage is found elsewhere. The Moghuls, aspiring to duplicate most sophisticated aspects of civilisation, fostered the arts and the sciences -- and their culinary tradition was both medicinal and utterly entertaining to the five senses. The dishes were a spectacle of colour. The aromas mouthwateringly enticing, the textures were varied and always exciting, the taste sublime. Mughlai cuisine is a rich blend of traditions -- Indian, Persian and Turkish. As Muslim nomads, there was no question of, no qualms about, employing meat in abundance. They had none of the prohibitions and inhibitions of their strictly vegetarian Hindu subjects. What emerged was a distinctive Mughlai cuisine. Like fabled libraries of exquisite manuscripts, the lavish lifestyles demanded dishes such as murgh makhani, chicken cooked in tomato, butter and cream sauce; ghost shahi tikka, boneless meat marinated overnight; tandoori prawns; reshmi kebab, minced chicken rolls cooked on charcoal fire; and last but not least, pudina paratha, layered bread drenched in butter, mint and subtle spices. We sampled them all. And, as the meal drew to a close, we were dizzy with the heady-scented delicacies. We walked away munching cardamom and cumin. Bukhara 5 Lebanon Street Tel: 3025669 Dinner for two: LE 250
