>Akx at 17:22, 20 June 2021

2021-06-20T17:22:43Z

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[[File:Asma Khan about to open traditional Calcutta-style dum biryani.jpg|alt=woman with a very large pot sealed with dough|thumb|Chef [[Asma Khan]], about to open a dum biryani]]
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2018}}
{{refimprove|date=April 2014}}'''Dum pukht''' ({{lang-fa|دم‌پخت}}), '''larhmeen''', or '''slow oven cooking''' is a cooking technique associated with the [[North Indian cuisine|Northern Indian subcontinent]] in which meat and vegetables are cooked over a low flame, generally in dough-sealed containers with few spices. Traditions assign its origin in [[Partition_of_India|pre-partition India]] to the reign of [[Nawab]] [[Asaf-ud-Daula|Asaf-ud-Daulah]] (1748–97). The technique is now commonly used in other cuisines such as [[Pakistani cuisine|Pakistani]] and [[North Indian cuisine|North Indian]].

==Method==
''Dum'' means to 'to keep food on slow fire' and ''pukht'' means 'process of cooking', thus meaning 'cooking on slow fire'.<ref name="Feerozul Lughat">{{cite book|author=Al Haj Maulvi Feerozuddin|title=Feerozul Lughat|publisher=Feerozsons Limited Lahore Rawalpindi Karachi}}</ref> Dum pukht cooking uses a round, heavy-bottomed pot, preferably a ''handi'' (clay pot), in which food is sealed and cooked over a slow fire. The two main aspects to this style of cooking are ''bhunao'' and ''dum'', or 'roasting' and 'maturing' of a prepared dish. In this cuisine, herbs and spices are important. The process of slow roasting gently allows each to release their maximum flavour. The sealing of the lid of the ''handi'' with dough achieves maturing. Cooking slowly in its juices, the food retains its natural aromas.

In some cases, cooking dough is spread over the container, like a lid, to seal the foods; this is known as ''pardah'' (veil). Upon cooking, it becomes a bread which has absorbed the flavors of the food. The bread is usually eaten with the dish.

Fewer spices are used than in traditional Pakistani cooking with fresh spices and herbs for flavouring.

==Legendary origin==
Legend has it that when [[Nawab]] [[Asaf-ud-daulah]] (1748–1797) found his kingdom in the grip of famine, he initiated a food-for-work program, employing thousands in the construction of the [[Bada Imambara]] shrine. Large cauldrons were filled with rice, meat, vegetables, and spices and sealed to make a simple one-dish meal that was available to workers day and night. One day the Nawab caught a whiff of the aromas emanating from the cauldron and the royal kitchen was ordered to serve the dish.<ref name="Brien2013">{{cite book|author=Charmaine O' Brien|title=The Penguin Food Guide to India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BGhBAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT129|date=15 December 2013|publisher=Penguin Books Limited|isbn=978-93-5118-575-8|pages=129–}}</ref>

Other sources, however, simply state that dum pukht appears to be based on a traditional [[Peshawar]] method of cooking dishes buried in sand.<ref name="KalraGupta1986">{{cite book|author1=J. Inder Singh Kalra|author2=Pradeep Das Gupta|title=Prashad Cooking with Indian Masters|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-UFwsluKqM8C&pg=PA58|year=1986|publisher=Allied Publishers|isbn=978-81-7023-006-9|pages=58–}}</ref>

==See also==
{{portal|Food|India}}
* [[List of cooking techniques]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Cooking techniques}}

[[Category:Pakistani cuisine]]
[[Category:Indian cuisine]]
[[Category:Cooking techniques]]
[[Category:Telangana cuisine]]
[[Category:Hyderabadi cuisine]]
[[Category:Punjabi cuisine]]
[[Category:Pashtun cuisine]]
[[Category:Mughlai cuisine]]
[[Category:Muhajir cuisine]]
[[Category:Balochi cuisine]]

Dum pukht - Revision history

>Akx at 17:22, 20 June 2021