बनारसी खान पान 3.23

Of course, we got talking about Banarasi food — which is to my mind one of the most sublime cuisines of the north. What makes it so good is that most dishes are full of flavours but not overwhelmed by the usual onion-tomato masala.

Take, for instance, the aloo dum Banarasi. Now many parts of the country have their aloo dums, but what makes the Banarasi one special is the fact that the potatoes are stuffed and cooked in gravy thickened with jaggery, fennel and chilli paste. Or take nimona, a dish cooked with boiled peas, potatoes and moong dal vadis, and flavoured with spices.

The chokha bati dal is another city favourite — and consists of a flour bati with a stuffing, served with chokha — brinjal slow roasted on a dung fire and then mixed with mustard oil. “Because the city is close to Bihar, its cuisine has some influences of Bihar too,” the chef points out.

With the food of Varanasi, you can tell how diverse the state of Uttar Pradesh is. Banarasi khana of eastern UP can’t be more different from the food of the western region. Banarasi food — unlike the food of the Jats of west UP — is elaborate. Flavours matter, and any dish — such as tahari, a simple rice dish — is cooked with various kinds of vegetables and spices. West UP’s tahari is a simple pilaf cooked with seasonal vegetables. The Banarasi version has the flavours of kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves), asafoetida, ginger, bay leaves, cloves, cardamom and cinnamon.