QnA : Lazzat-e-Taam

While the request of recipe of Lazzat-e-Taam (or Lazzat-e-taum) from the readers of Sonzyskitchen.com put me in the lanes and bylanes of Lucknow, it reminds me of that journey which is worth its weight in gold.

It is actually a blend of several spices which is otherwise known as the “Awadhi garam masala” but more complex than the normal garam masala readily available in most part of the world. It is very difficult to obtain this spice-blend outside Lucknow and some of the culinary terms I came across while decoding the recipe of this blend were not known to me before. It consists of almost 25 exotic spices and common spices. While none of the spice maker in Lucknow would divulge the details of the contents and quantities of the ingredients, one book called “Dastarkhwan-e-Awadh” which mentions this spice remains out of print for most part of the year. Here we discuss some of the exotic spices which form part of this intriguing spice mix.

Some ingredients for the Lazzat-e-Taam (Avadhi garam masala) are Mitha ittr (sweet perfume), makhana (dried lotus root, we have already discussed the recipe of makhane ki kheer in the previous blogs) sonzyskitchen), and jarakush not so readily available

Jarakush or Zarakush is dried lemon grass. Quoting the gentleman who helped in the compilation of the book “Regarding Baobeer we are clueless now becuse the elderly khansama who told us about it is no more alive and the shop in Aminabad where it was supposed to be available was gutted in a fire few years back”.
Even after getting the recipe out of the book, it will require herculean effort to assemble all the ingredients contained therein. Some of the other ingredients would be as per one of my friends from Lucknowi culinary fraternity

Coriander seeds           200 grams
Sandalwood powder     25 gr
Vetiver root dried        35 gr
Bay leaf                        35 gr
Rose petals                  20 gr
Black cardamom          25 gr
Cassia buds                 30 gr
Cinnamon                    15 gr
Stone flower                30 gr
Fennel seeds                20 gr
Beetle Tree Root          35 gr
Mace                           25 gr
Camphor                     25 gr
Dry ginger                  15gm

After seeing the complication of the recipe, I also pursued the path of procuring the spice mix for our kitchen from Lucknow as some of the terms were too complicated to be decoded.

Best of Luck, Kuntal

Tags: lentil, bhatura, sambhar, dhokla, indian food, kulfi, handi, dosa, chicken, paneer