Food in affluent homes was served on brass or silver plates—metal being considered pure and non-polluting. Bone china was tainted, due to the prefix that exposed the process of its manufacture. Glass, which would, with the passage of time, become a synonym for tumbler, wasn’t commonly used at home. Delicacies were prepared with ghee, and enriched with dried fruits and nuts. Seasonal fruits and vegetables were relished. Food prepared at home was considered the best.
Gunjan Goela has documented in her book, The Baniya Legacy of Old Delhi: Culture and Cuisine, many interesting details pertaining to Baniya cuisine based on her interviews. She quotes Atul Gupta, grandson of Lala Bhagirath Mal:
My mother would cook lunch herself sitting in the chownka. A typical meal in the afternoon would comprise arhar ki dal, chawal, bhune alu and another sookhi sabzi like baigan or tinda. Alternatively, there would be kadhi-chawal. No meal would be complete without dhaniya-pudina chutney. There would be mooli ka kas and adrak ka laccha accompanying the raita or plain curd or simple raita usually made of bundi. There would be halwa as dessert or we would have fruit cream, kheer or jave. Mother would always take out gau gras that would be served to the cow. Lunch was the main meal of the day.
There were many ritual foods prescribed for different celebrations. Sabut moong ki khichadi was prepared for Makar Sankranti and only ‘stale’ food was consumed on Basora, observed right after Holi. As the name of the day marked for the ritual indicates, it was food cooked and kept aside to go stale, not leftovers.
Large banquets on occasions like marriages, with hundreds of invited guests, were contracted to high-caste, high-class professionals. Between 1940 and 1960, the most popular halwai caterers were Hariram in Kucha Patiram and Shibo Mal from Sitaram Bazaar. We know little else about them, as they are no longer in business. Others have stepped in, but these are not traditional maharajs. More like caterers for banquets specializing in some traditional Marwari dishes. Some of them claim to be descendents of the old masters.
The baratis were, traditionally, first served kachoris and two laddoos. This was followed by a tashtari (small plate, often an earthern or leaf plate) with three, five or seven varieties of sweetmeats. At times, a namkeen was placed in the middle, to balance the taste. The main meal had two or more dry vegetable and the same number of gravy dishes. The menu didn’t have any paneer item. The most exotic delicacy was raswali matar with almonds. Koonje ki barfi (kulfi) provided the dessert finale. Water was sipped from an earthen kulhad.
Most traders were addicted to a substantial snack in the late afternoons. They would be hungry by then. The practice was for the menfolk to eat lunch, complete with dal, sabzis, curd, roti and pickles, around 9 o’clock in the morning, before setting out for business or to the office. Vendors with their khomchas (portable wickerwork stalls), held in hand or clasped by the side, would walk down the street with their treats—moong dal chilla (pancakes prepared with green moong lentils batter), aloo matar ki chaat (boiled potatoes and green peas chaat) or phalon ki chaat (assorted fruits sprinkled over with chaat masala), kanji bada (black or green moong dumplings, fermented in brine water with mustard and spices) and kalmi bada (re-fried Bengal gram flat cakes, cut in diamonds or squares)—and do swift business.
A number of fasts were observed by the devout—mostly ladies in the house—and on such occasions the family partook of phalahar (light snacks). The satvik fare included bhune aloo, ras ke aloo, kotu ki puri, shakarkand ka halwa, makhane ki kheer, sitaphal, dahi pakori, saunf wale tinde, ajwaini arbi, chapte dahi bade, all prepared without sea salt. Sea salt obtained by evaporation of saline water was prohibited on days of fasting as it could possibly contain residues of creatures living in the sea. Rock salt and black rock salt were considered kosher. Nibbling gola giri, chironji, makhane, badam, mungphali was allowed, though not favoured by the orthodox elders. Thandai slaked the thirst and fortified the fasting. Gulgule, Gurh ke chawal tickled the sweet tooth.
On Gobardhan Puja, performed the day after Deepavali, chhappan bhog (fifty-six ritual foods) were offered to the Lord. Fifteen sweets and fifteen savouries, along with varieties of khichdi, kadhi, chawal, and kheer made up the number.
Lauki ki lauj, gajar ka halwa, assorted laddoos, gujjiyas, coloured puris—naturally tinted with spinach and beetroot—kaanji, namak pare, papdi, dahi bade, basi paranthe, besan papdi, zimikand (elephant foot yam) curry were cooked for the Rang Pashe dinner before Holi. On this day, it was customary to sprinkle the guests with rose water from a silver gulabdaani or gulab-jaldaani (rose water sprinkler) as they entered—a kind of curtain raiser of what would follow the next morning.
Many seasonal specialties were common to Baniya, Kayastha and Khatri kitchens. Among these kale gajar ki kanji (black carrot wedges pickled in brine water with spices), and kanji bada were the most popular. Gondh ke laddoo and panjiri in winters were considered to be tonic food. At home, extraordinary care was taken by housewives to impart their signature on relishes like nimbu ka laccha achar.
In her book, Gunjan describes her father as a ‘Baniya who was Not’—he belonged to the class of shaukeen (bon vivant) who loved meats. He relished not only kebab and qorma but also Continental and Chinese dishes served by relatively new restaurants in Connaught Place. He enjoyed chicken sandwiches and cutlets at Wenger’s and Embassy. His favourite outlet nearer home was the Flora restaurant. He ordered food regularly from it and instructed the cook in advance about how he liked a particular dish. Mian Shujauddin, who started Shereen Bhawan, near Jama Masjid, was a close friend. Before Mianji migrated to Karachi, he gifted his traditional family recipe for qorma to Lala Prem Chand, since he loved that preparation. He was, indeed, an exceptional Baniya who was a practicing Master at the Masonic Club and took his family out for weekly picnics to Okhla Barrage, Lodi Gardens and Qutub Minar. For these outings, special delicacies like choti pakori ka pulav (pulao with tiny lentil dumplings) and kali masoor ke kebab (brown lentil kebabs) were cooked.
This excerpt from From the King’s Table to Street Food: A Food History of Delhi by Pushpesh Pant has been published with permission from Speaking Tiger Books.