LUCKNOW: Cooking is an extension of love and few people have mastered the art better than the chefs of our Old City.
Eateries that dot the street leading to the legendary Akbari Gate are not just rustling up exotic dishes this
Ramzan, but are using ingredients that promise to keep the body hydrated under the blistering sun. So, from ‘peshawari pizza naan’ and ‘shahi lagani tukda’ to ‘khus ka paan’ — it is literally a cool platter all the way.
Haji Zubair Ahmad, the owner of Raheem’s, told TOI that rozedars often ask for a sehri menu that could keep them hydrated all day. “And, that is when we discovered our special naan,” he said.
The dough for the ‘peshawari pizza naan’ is made of fine flour,
gram flour
, milk, curd, powder of pumpkin seeds and bottle gourd seeds. For toppings, capsicum, onion and tomato are used. All these help the body retain water.
“Baked in an oven, the naan owes its existence to Peshawar, Pakistan. Before the Partition, my grandfather frequented the place and learned to bake it for sehri. After the Partition, the bread lost its fame to the ‘kulcha’. But, the ‘peshawari naan’ is healthier,” Ahmad said.
Haji Shakoore, a specialist in sweets, is preparing the quintessentially festive ‘shahi tukda’ with bread, milk, cream, honey, orange peel syrup and pistachios. “Orange peel syrup and honey are the cool ingredients. So are pistachios. They help the body retain water. All one needs to do is eat the ‘shahi tukda’ with a glass of milk,” he said.
At Azhar Bhai ke Paan, the variety of betel leaf concoctions have always been mouth-watering. The owner uses naturally cool ingredients like khus syrup, roots of pineapple, coconut, fennel and sandal syrup, keeping the soaring temperatures in mind.
Nutritionist Neha Mohan Sinha agreed that herbs like vetiver roots (better known as khus) along with pumpkin and bottle gourd seeds, honey and orange peel keep the body hydrated. “These ingredients help the body retain water, which makes one feel less thirsty while helping in digestion. In fact, we often prescribe people to include these ingredients in their daily diet during summers,” Sinha said.