Imtiaz Qureshi’s secret sauce is the passion he infuses in the dish

The octogenarian Dum Pukth expert has won a Padma Shri for his work.

January 30, 2016 10:53 pm | Updated September 23, 2016 04:07 am IST - Kolkata:

For Imtiaz Qureshi, a chef who has recently been awarded Padma Shri for his contribution to Indian cuisine, cooking is not just a profession but also an art, which requires the involvement of heart and the mind.

“I am so happy that I got this award and that I am being recognised a craftsman. It is a result of years of hard work and sacrifice and, of course, the love of people whom I have served over the years,” he tells The Hindu .

The honour for Mr. Qureshi is unique because chefs are rarely recipients of the fourth highest civilian award. Earlier, Tarla Dalal, food writer, chef and cook book author, was conferred the Padma Shri in 2007.

A grand master chef of the Dum Pukht restaurants of ITC hotels, Mr. Qureshi is a striking figure with a long twirling moustache and piercing grey eyes. He will turn 86 on February 2. The chef is as passionate about cooking in his octogenarian years as he was as a nine-year-old in his brother-in-law’s kitchen.

Dum Pukht is a slow cooking (in sealed containers) technique associated with the Awadh region. Hailing from a family of chefs from Lucknow, Mr. Quershi is full of stories about of the Awadhi cuisine and how he has amalgamated the culinary delights of Nawabs and Maharajas.

“The history of Awadhi cuisine is 250 years old or even older. During Muharram, the Nawabs ate Khichdi and Halem. There was a unique style to cooking Khichdi. First the water was boiled using firewood and then the vessel was closed to slowly cook the food using coals at the bottom and on top of the vessel,” he explained. It could take as much as eight hours to cook a simple dal using the technique, the chef adds.

Warm memories

Mr. Qureshi has warm associations with the technique. It brings up memories of food lovingly cooked at home. At times, he emphasises that the ambience of a temple or mosque should be maintained during the process of such cooking.

After working at several eateries and hotels, he joined ITC in 1979.

“It was at ITC that my finest moments of cooking arrived. For a person who started working in a dhabha, I learnt discipline here,” Mr. Qureshi says. The appreciation of authentic Indian food is a matter of pride for the grand master chef. He even gets angry when attempts are made to tamper the original nature of a dish.

“Food is such a universal subject, particularly in India, so you see so many eateries doing good business. Anyone who pours all his heart into cooking and does it with passion will always be a good cook,” Mr. Quershi says.

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