Mughlai Cuisine: From Babur to Bahadur Shah Zafar, this is what the Mughals loved eating (2024)

The Mughal period India is known for its richness, opulence, splendid architecture, cross cultural interactions and delicious food. Mughal food has a history of over 500 years of scrumptious dishes. It included a whole range of cuisines which were modified and improvised with time and with the introduction of new ingredients. Many Mughal emperors had their own detailed cookbooks that could easily fit into any omnibus of gastronomical texts. In fact, as per Mughal traditions, food formed a part of the gift-giving culture and laid the rules for diplomatic etiquette. The gifting and sharing of food could at various times convey messages of friendship and goodwill, status and power. The food practices and culture of that time shaped the Indian food scene over the years and led to development of many contemporary dishes too. Here is a look at the food habits, developments and practices during the Mughal era!

When Babur came to India, he was fascinated by the country’s cuisine and the large variety of spices available. He was used to eating chicken and meat cooked over log fire. In India he began to improvise dishes. Born in Uzbekistan, Babur loved the food of Farghana and Samarkand and got fruits and vegetables from there. In Baburnama, his memoirs, the emperor complains about the lack of muskmelons, grapes and other fruits plentiful in his Afghan homeland. At one place he mentions, "There is no ice, cold water, good food, good bread in the markets." However, he loved free availability of fresh and salt-water fish in India. Also, Babur did not drink on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays.

Humayun is credited with bringing refined Persian influences to Delhi’s cuisine. This resulted from his time in Persia after having been defeated by Sher Shah Suri. He also brought the typical Persian manners to the country and particularly loved to eat Khichdi. Also, it was his Iranian wife Hamida who introduced the lavish use of saffron and dry fruits in the royal kitchens. Humayun was also greatly fond of Sherbet. So beverages in the royal household were flavoured with fruits. For this, ice was brought from the mountains to keep the drinks cool and palatable.

It was during Akbar’s reign that Mughlai cuisine truly began to evolve. Because of his many marital alliances, his cooks came from all corners of India and fused their cooking styles with Persian flavours. After his widespread conquests, goat’s meat was added to the food which was hardly available in countries like Persia and Afghanistan. This resulted in some of the most unique, elaborate and delicious meals in Mughlai food which include Murgh Musallam and Navratan Korma. Also, Akbar’s wife, Jodha Bai, is believed to have introduced Panchmel Dal (also called Panchratna Dal) into the predominantly non-vegetarian Mughal kitchen.

Jahangir was fond of eating and drinking. In his reign, numerous dishes were added to the Mughal Dastarkhuan, or meal spread. The reins of the empire lay with his wife, Nur Jahan. An enormously powerful figure at the royal court, she was often gifted unique preparations by visiting traders from Europe. A true connoisseur by nature, Nur Jahan used these ideas to create her legendary wines, rainbow-coloured yoghurt and dishes decorated with pretty patterns of rice powder glaze and candied fruit peels.

Shah Jahan’s menu was an enlargement of the one devised by his forefathers. He loved flavorsome spices and drank moderately. He would only consume the Yamuna water and was a big fan of mangoes. A kitchen orchard and garden supplied fresh vegetables and fruits such as lemons, pomegranates, plums and melons. He instructed his cooks to add more of spices like Haldi, Jeera and Dhania to royal recipes because of their medicinal properties. A legend explains the origins of the Nihari (spicy meat stew that is slow-cooked overnight in large cauldrons called Shab Deg):

In the 17th century, soon after Shah Jahan established his capital in Delhi, a contagious flu swept through the sprawling city. It was then that the Shahi Khansama and the Shahi Hakim joined their hands to devise a robust spice-packed stew that would keep the body warm and fortified.

The extravagance of Mughlai cuisine during Shah Jahan’s reign was toned down by his son Aurangzeb. The most religious of all the Mughal emperors, Aurangzeb fancied vegetarian dishes like the Panchmel Dal. According to Rukat-e-Alamgiri (a book with letters from Aurangzeb to his son), Qubooli - an elaborate biryani made with rice, basil, Bengal gram, dried apricot, almond and curd, was a favourite of Aurangzeb.

Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last of the Mughal emperors, was fond of deer meat or venison because of his fondness for hunting in his younger days. He also liked lighter food, particularly Moong-ki-Daal, which came to be known as ‘Badshah Pasand’.