All in one:Osama Jalali is a rare combination of a food intellectual, hands-on cook and erudite communicator of food knowledge
Through festivals like the Rivaayat, the Jalali family makes sure we never forget traditional khandaan-based cuisine
If you’re in the know of Mumbai’s food happenings, chances are you have heard the name Osama Jalali. If you haven’t, well here’s your chance now. Jalali, his mother Nazish and wife Nazia are in Mumbai for the Rivaayat-e-purani Dilli festival at the Maya restaurant, Trident BKC. Jalali is a curator of khandaan- or community-based (Awadhi, Rampuri, Shahjahani, Nizami) menus at hotels around the country. He is also the owner of the popular Facebook group, Lost Recipes of India, where discussions on culinary heritage, heirloom recipes and food history reign. Food aficionados can look forward to two books in the near future.
Jalali is a rare combination of a food intellectual, hands-on cook and erudite communicator of food knowledge. However, being a curator of food experiences around lost recipes was not something Jalali ever thought he would do.
Born and brought up in the bylanes of Old Delhi, he did not start out with a food career in mind. Immersed in sports and studies, Jalali graduated in French language and literature and started out curating rock concerts, including one with Bryan Adams. When an article on food really impressedThe Hindu ’s editor, Jalali’s writing career took off. Soon after, he was asked to conduct food walks in Old Delhi; his Ramzan food walk is now an annual event.
A few years ago he had a chance to curate an Old Delhi food festival. With trends like ‘modern’ and ‘progressive’ takes on Indian cuisine with elements of molecular gastronomy, Jalali saw that traditional food was being transformed into unrecognisable avatars. “I had nothing against these trends, but I realised that 15, 20 years later, my daughter might identify chutneys as foams and never recognise them as something ground on a mortar pestle. It was important to me to go back to traditional cuisines and presenting them in a traditional manner.”
Together with his mother, Jalali lassoed in Delhi’s prominent food people. “For the first time after my father passed away, my mother got busy, got work, got recognition for her talent and for that I am thankful.”
Word about the Jalali family steadily got around. Chefs Ravitej Nath and Rohit Gambhir, of the Oberoi group, joined one of his walks. One thing led to the other and the Jalalis became part of the hotel’s Rivaayat festivals across the country.
Curating food experiences has been the Jalali way of life; the family entertains constantly. “Dastarkhaan laga rehta hai aur daavatein chaltie rehti hai , [the table is always laid and parties keep happening],” he says.
When it came to making their skills professional, the family learned to add more sophisticated details: menus, staff uniforms, attention to colours. Of course, the attention they got was unprecedented. The Jalalis are really proud that they serve home style food in five stars and people love them. “ Herat hoti thi ! [I am astonished] At the end of the day, we would go home and marvel that the simple things we cooked daily, our roz ka khana — aloo gosht, kofta, channe ki dall ka bharta — are being appreciated so much!”
The success of these festivals, Osama says, is also the right support. “The chefs don’t take time off, when we visit. They want to cook with us. To learn from my mother.” And the Jalalis do not hold back. “We don’t guard our recipes as secrets. We are happy to share and teach. Because that is the only way to pass on this legacy and keep it alive. Otherwise, like the khansammas of yore that never shared their knowledge, these will become lost recipes again.”
The Jalalis are exposed to people they would not normally reach — celebrities, movie stars — and are the cynosure of the media and bloggers, but it is not always easy. Leaving home for days on end, living in hotel rooms, and the responsibility of a professional kitchen can take their toll. And cooking in bulk is tough. “Every restaurant has a reputation and for 10 days that reputation is in our hands.”
The rivaayat-e-purani Dilli menu has an array of 45 dishes from Shajahanbad, the erstwhile walled city of old Delhi that was the capital of the Mughal Empire. These are recipes Ammi Jalali picked up from khansammas of homes in old Delhi. They would bring their specialties and share recipes with her. However, this is not Delhi street food you will find at Karim’s or Al-Jawahar. This is food made daily in people’s homes based on what is seasonal, economical and available. Like the kathal ki galouti, a subtly spiced soft, kebab of jackfruit. Or the absolutely delicious arvi ka salan, an unassuming dish of colocasia root — a vegetable often used as a last resort — braised with almond and yoghurt. Food just like our mothers and grandmothers would cook, is served up with pride. “We have to eat from the hands of ladies or women chefs, not just my mother, but all our nanis, dadis, aunts, mothers and grandmothers. I promote women chefs because they are the ones that have kept our traditions alive not male chefs.”
Curator of traditional food festivals, champion of lost recipes and documenter of the food heritage of India, the Jalali family is in Mumbai for the ongoing Rivaayat-e-purani Dilli festival at the Maya Restaurant, Trident BKC.
The writer is a food consultant, writer, stylist and the author of A Pinch of This, a Handful of That
“I promote women chefs because they are the ones that have kept our traditions alive”
