Every conqueror is known to has left their imprint on the places they took over. Not just through official changes in the seat of power but also by contributing to the culture, cuisine and lifestyle of the region. So did the Marathas, who ruled the region of Thanjavur from 1676 to 1855.
Kesar mass is a royal dish associated with the Thanjavur Marathas. It takes only a few minutes to prepare and can be kept for a week. ‘Lady mamamud’ is made of mutton and ribbed gourd. Even though mutton looks like a cutlet, it is not. It is a vibrant world of recipes but only a few in the family know how to make it today.
Pratap Sinh Serfoji Raje Bosle, the 14th descendant of Thanjavur royal family, has documented more than 100 such dishes which were once popular in the royal kitchen of the Marathas. He collected details from his mother Ayshwarya Serfoji Raje Bosle, an expert of the family cuisine.
Even though Pratap Sinh grew up seeing his mother cook royal dishes with much aplomb, it was a handwritten menu of unique chicken and mutton recipes of the restaurant run by his parents at Anna Nagar in the 1980s that made him want to record the secrets of the kitchen before they are forgotten. “We served signature dishes with our traditional Thanjavur Maratha royal dishes at the restaurant. ‘Sunkti’ (similar to ‘kola urandai’ or mutton balls) were available only at our restaurant in those days. My parents ran the restaurant for three years,” said Pratap Sinh, a software professional who also helps his father in running his electronics components unit in Chennai’s Ritchie Street.
The menu was a turning point. Pratap Sinh started exploring the royal cuisines. He found King Serfoji II (1798-1832) was not only a scholar but also a connoisseur of food. “King Serfoji maintained three kinds of kitchen. A non-vegetarian (Marathi), a brahminical (vegetarian) and one for ‘Angriji’ (European). The Marathi kitchen cooked up rare dishes that were not known in the state of Maharashtra. The Marathi food in Thanjavur was different from the typical cuisine followed in Maharashtra. Those cuisines blended with the flavours from Thanjavur,” he said.
In Maharashtra, tamarind is not used for sour taste, unlike the Maratha cuisine from Thanjavur. The dishes prepared in the king’s kitchen were influenced by the regional taste of Tamil Nadu. “The handwritten manuscript of Sarabhendra Pakasastra from the time of Serfoji II contains more than 100 recipes. The first volume in Marathi talks about vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes and the second volume contains recipes of Thanjavur Marathas. The pages of the book bear a number of water marks of the year 1816 and still remains a source of authentic Thanjavur Maratha food,” said Pratap Sinh, author of ‘Contributions of Thanjavur Maratha Kings’.
“My mother has published many books on cuisines of the Thanjavur Marthas and western delicacies. I find only a few know about our rich heritage and cuisines. I want to create awareness among people about our dishes so that they will not disappear,” said Pratap Sinh, who plans food walks in the city.
