Recipe Background and History
Shah Jehan's Last Stew
It was Shah Jehan who, as the fourth Moghul Emperor, built the Taj Mahal in Agra. It was the privilege of the emperor to build the most opulent mosque imaginable, as a mausoleum to house his coffin. When his principal wife Mumtaz died in 1647, Shah Jehan, stricken with grief, immediately ordered the building of a mosque which would ultimately house himself, but would for now house Mumtaz.In just 11 years the most talented artists and craftsmen in the empire had erected the Taj Mahal, the white marble wonder of the world.
It had cost the treasury dearly. But the result was exceptional - and it was fitting that the greatest Moghul should have the greatest mausoleum. Then in a daring new pronouncement, Shah Jehan announced that the white Taj was to be used solely for Mumtaz. An identical one, sited on the opposite of the river Jumna, would be built for him. It would be made of black marble.
Work started, the foundations can be clearly seem to this day, but it was enough for Shah Jahan's eldest son Aurangzab. Releasing that not even the mighty Moghul empire had the funds to create a second Taj Mahal, he had his father arrested and imprisoned, within sight of the Taj Mahal, in the Red Fort. Aurangzab declared himself emperor and his father insane. Work on the black Taj Mahal stopped.
The story has a sad end. Poor Shah Jehan was never allowed out of his quarters in the Red Fort. He languished there for seven years, reportedly continuously grieving for Mumtaz. The story goes that he was allowed just one meal a day, containing what ever he wished. Shah Jehan interpreted thus to mean that he could never vary the choice, and he ate the same dish until he died. So we can say with authority that this dish was Shah Jehan's last stew. (The authority in this case is Manjit Gill, Corporate Executive Chef to the Indian Wecomgroup Hotel chain, who put this dish on the menu). But the saddest thing of all was the loss to the world of a black Taj Mahal.
This dish combines meat with vegetables, nuts and dried fruit (in Persian style) in a rich creamy Moghul-style sauce. It is very rich and nourishing and is perfect eaten with Indian bread.
Back to recipe
