Bengal's mangoes find a home in Awadhi flavours

Time of India

24-06-2025

Chef and writer Taiyaba Ali known for documenting and celebrating home cooked aspects of
Lucknawi
cuisine brought to Kolkata her pop-up titled
Aam Baat
co-curated by Shuli Ghosh of Sienna and bespoke experiences designer, Rini Chatterjee on June 14.
The pop-up delved deeper into everyone's love for mangoes through a seven-course dinner of mango inspired dishes.
While the pop-up represented Awadh and its flavours, the highlight of the seven-course dinner was the
Jugalbandi
between the flavours of Awadh and the mangoes of Bengal. Alongside the pop-up, we caught up with the chef who told us about the versatility of mangoes, its use in Awadhi cuisine and more.
Riwayat aur raunaq:
Breathing new life into old Awadhi recipes
Chef Taiyaba Ali approaches her craft with a profound respect for culinary heritage, yet she believes in its dynamic evolution.
'Cultural continuity demands a balance between nostalgia and relevance. That's the lens I bring to every menu: to honour tradition while pushing its edges." For Chef Taiyaba, Awadhi cuisine is far from a static historical artifact. "Awadhi cuisine, rich with stories, techniques, and community wisdom, deserves to be seen not as historic but as something very much alive and moving forward, as a cuisine of the local communities as much as of the Nawabs,' she added.
Mango- the muse, the medicine, the philosophy
Mango is far more than just a sweet seasonal treat. Chef Taiyaba Ali, in her recent Kolkata pop-up, demonstrated its incredible versatility, calling it a "seasonal muse" that respectfully bridged two distinct culinary worlds. "With mango as our seasonal muse, this pop-up pays tribute to Lucknow's kitchens and flavours, while gently conversing Kolkata's lovely mangoes," Historically, the mango's role extended beyond mere flavour.
'Mango was integral to nutrition, medicine, and even philosophy. In the royal kitchens of Lucknow, raw mango proved its multifaceted genius by acting as a natural tenderizer in meat dishes, lending not only a distinctive sourness but also unique textures and sophisticated techniques, as seen in forgotten gems like Achraj (minced meat with raw mango) or Kalyan Amba (mutton simmered with mango). Furthermore, its adaptability shines through its ability to be savoured fresh in season or ingeniously preserved—pickled, dried, and stored—to enrich meals long after summer fades,' added the chef.
'Both Awadhi and Bengali cuisines thrive on seasonality. While the flavours of our menu were rooted in Lucknow, we made it a point to use mangoes local to Kolkata—like Gulab Khas and Himsagar, fazli. That's where the magic really began'
'We wanted diners to experience the emotional landscape of mango—its joy, nostalgia, surprise, and simplicity. Each course is anchored in a different variety of mango, reflecting how it's loved in different pockets of Lucknow at different times'
'I want people to feel the plurality of mangoes, of communities, of recipes passed down quietly over generations. The real flavour of Indian mangoes is not singular'
-Chef Taiyaba Ali
On the menu
>Aam papdi
>Dal moradabai
>Murgi karari kairi wali
>Akhti
>Aam panna popsicle
>Qalya amba
>Achraj Pulao
>Mango balai