‘Secret’ royal recipes to go public this Saturday

KOLKATA: The descendants of Tipu Sultan and Nawab Wajid Ali Shah — the twin legacies that started in Mysore and Lucknow respectively but ended in Kolkata — will take over the sprawling 104 acres of Tollygunge Club on Saturday to participate in Sham-E-Awadh, and evening of dance, music and food in royal tradition. It will be the first one in a series that the club is planning to celebrate the city’s curious mix of indigenous and colonial heritage.
While Tipu Sultan’s family was brought to Kolkata after he fell to the British in the Battle of Seringapatam in 1799, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, the last nawab of Awadh, came to Kolkata 57 years later after he was exiled to Metiabruz by the British. Though they lived some distance away from each other within the same city, it was natural that royalty would attract royalty and inter-marriages happened. One such liaison was Wajid Ali Shah’s son, Ibrahim Ali Mirza marrying Tipu’s great-granddaughter Ahmadi Begum. The two families dined and feasted together and this amalgamation added a whole new perspective to their royal tradition.
However, there was no scope for the rest of the city to get a peek into this till Humayun Mirza, a scion of both the royal lines, thought of approaching Tollygunge Club to host a evening to showcase the resplendent yore. Since the club is located on the land that is still owned by Tipu Sultan’s descendants, Sahabzada Mirza, as he is known in both the families, thought it appropriate that such an evening should be held there. Interestingly, he is the great grandson of Prince Ibrahim Ali Mirza, Wajid Ali Shah’s son.
He has teamed up with Manzilat Fatema, another direct descendant from the Lucknow line of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah. Fatema is a researcher of the royal Awadhi cuisine and has helped the films division to recently complete a documentary on Begum Hazrat Mahal, Nawab Wajid Ali’s queen who stayed back in Lucknow. She is the great granddaughter of Hazrat Mahal’s son, Birjis Qudr – the last king of Awadh.
“Dishes like Shahi Metiabruz Biriyani, Dum Ki Machhli or Khadi Masoor Ki Dal Gosht are cooked using old nawabi recipes and ingredients that have remained with the family. But times have changed and we would want Kolkata to savour these,” Fatema said.
“We were thrilled when we were approached by the twin pillars of the event – Mirza and Fatema – to prepare food following their family recipes,” said Shiladitya Chowdhury, who runs a popular period restaurant and will be helping to prepare the food for the banquet.
“Tolly Club came into existence in 1895, nearly 100 years after Tipu’s descendants were brought on to the same premises. So history connects us. Though Tolly Club is generally associated with its British heritage, we have decided to celebrate the city’s other roots too,” said club CEO Anil Mukerji.