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Recipes carry memories with them. Centuries-old dishes have evolved and transformed into delights - some have become a staple part of households, others feature on the menus of restaurants, and then there are some that people wait for to relish during the festive season. Mutanjan is one such rice dish - a beloved of Indian royals and cherished by meat lovers. If you dive deeper into the accounts of historians, this dish was a staple part of the spread among Nawabs, even when the food was sent to them. Boasting sweet, savoury, and nutty flavours, it’s a treat for not just taste buds but all the senses, making relishing it a sensory experience for foodies. Being an integral part of the Awadhi cuisine (though its roots are not Awadhi) today, you can easily spot it in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, where restaurateurs sell it along with smoky kebabs, vibrant biryani, and creamy kormas.
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons
History Of Mutanjan
The name of the dish is derived from the Persian-Arabic word ‘Mutajjan’, which translates to ‘frying/ fried in a pan’. If you trace the roots of mutanjan, you will land in the Middle East in medieval times. The Arabic cooking technique of bringing meat, sugar, savoury elements, and rice together is far from the dishes cooked in the Indian Subcontinent. Author Tarana Hussain Khan's accounts in her 'Deg to Dastarkhwan' book described this dish as sweet and savoury rice layered with meatballs and gulab jamun.
In Qadeem Lukhn'ow Ki Akhiri Bahar by Mirza Jafar Husain, you can read about the 13 gifts that the old Lucknow has gifted the world with, and in this list, mutanjan shines out. It is believed that the dish made its way from Mughal kitchens to the royal courts of the Nawabs. How, you ask? Abu'l Fazl, the grand vizier of the 16th-century Mughal emperor Akbar, wrote about mutanjan being served in the royal courts.
Evolution Of Mutanjan
Mutanjan is not merely a dish but one that gives you a lesson in history and culinary arts. It has travelled countries, evolved, and continues to appeal to wide palates. It looks like biryani at first glance, but it does taste like one. And it has a distinct identity from pulao. Mutanjan is a part of festivities and weddings today, but it does not have just one recipe. Everyone makes it in a slightly different way. For Muslims in this region, this dish is extra special as it encapsulates emotions and cultural memories.
Maroof Umar, a content creator and storyteller on Instagram, shared the story of Mutanjan on Instagram. The video featured Mr. Arshi, a man from a family of khansamas in Bawarchi Tola, Pul Gulam Hussain, Lucknow, who cooked the dish for the first time when he was just 15 years old. He explained that this dish was initially prepared by blending sweet rice (meethe chawal) and pulao, but he has a detailed recipe that shows how this dish is a work of art and patience.
He shared that he uses saffron to impart a light yellow hue to the grains, which have a slightly darker appearance in biryani. One of the main ingredients of this dish is mutton - tender and juicy. Apart from rice, saffron, and mutton, he adds milk while cooking the meat and layers the rice with dry fruits. Dum cooking enhances the aroma and turns a regular dish into a delicacy - a legacy of sweet and savoury flavours carried in an earthen pot.
