highlights
Prince Salim Jahangir got bored of eating laddu, barfi and jalebi, so he demanded a new sweet from the butler.
Urad dal gives a crisp and crispy taste to Imarti and there is a special balance in the flavor with sugar syrup.
Beniram’s 200 year old shop in Jaunpur gave a special identity to Imarti in its own style.
The country’s oldest royal bridge is built by Akbar in Jaunpur city of Uttar Pradesh. Where this bridge built on Gomti river ends towards Olandganj, there is Beniram’s 200 year old Imarti shop. Which is filled with people eating Imarti since morning. People buy Imarti from here throughout the day and carry it in special compartments. It is said that Imarti has also given a lot of fame to this district in its own way. This royal dish will give a special crisp, sweet and syrupy taste as soon as it comes on the tongue. You will feel its crispy sweet taste on your tongue for a long time. This is a purely Indian dish originating from the Jalebi family, which was first made in the Mughal kitchen.
The story of Imarti begins during the reign of Akbar. It is said that Prince Salim was very fond of food and drink. But he was bored of eating sweet dishes like laddu, barfi, jalebi and halwa, so he demanded from the head of the royal kitchen to make something new which would be fun to eat. Now it was a challenge for the royal kitchen to decide what to do.
Let us tell you that the common and special dishes found in our daily diet once originated from the Mughal kitchen or were innovated in the kitchen of the Mughal emperors. There were always experiments going on regarding food. Along with these experiments, it was also seen how they would be edible, how they would be for health, and in which season they would be better. How long will they stay on the tongue and what ingredients should be used to give them flavour? So after a lot of brainstorming and experiments, a dish would come out of the kitchen.
Jalebi is made of flour batter and when the confectioner makes the sweet in a pan with a hole in the muslin cloth (now cotton cloth is used) in the shape of three circles and 8 on hot oil, then it is jalebi. Which is taken out of oil and then left in sugar syrup for some time, so that its hollow veins absorb the syrup.
Imari something different, shaped like flowers
Imarti is something different from this. It is made from grinding urad dal and its thick solution made in water. When the paste of ground urad dal starts being shaped in hot oil, first a main circle is made and then many small circles are made on it and molded into a sweet dish with a wonderful circular artwork.
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Special concentration of sweetness and special taste
When it becomes crisp and golden while frying in oil, then it is time to take it out and keep it aside so that the ghee drains out. Now put it in syrupy solution. When it comes out from there, it would have acquired the characteristics of Imarti along with that softness and crispness, which we all have come to know after eating.
A special difference between it and the sweetness of Jalebi is that the urad of Imarti not only gives it a special crispness, when it comes in syrup, this crispness also gets a special softness. Urad gives a wonderful balance to the sweetness of this dish. Its taste and sweetness are different. Giving special consistency and taste to sweetness.
Made in Mughal kitchen on the demand of Jahangir
Since this sweet dish originated in the Mughal kitchen of Fatehpur Sikri on the recommendation of Jahangir, it is also called Jangri, Jhangri or Jahangiri. Needless to say, Prince Salim i.e. Jahangir liked this new sweet very much. Then it kept becoming popular. Imarti is eaten with malai or rabri in North India. In Jaunpur and Banaras it is served with curd.
In Bengal, Imarti is made from cheese and cottage cheese, which is now also available in North India, it is called Amitti, Amriti or Omritti. It is also very popular and hit in Bangladesh and Pakistan. At some places it is made with black gram flour instead of urad dal, at other places it is mixed with saffron and given saffron colour.
Famous Beniram’s Imarti of Jaunpur
Let us also mention the Imarti shop of Beniram Sao of Jaunpur, because without it the Imarti story is incomplete. As the Shahi Bridge ends in Jaunpur, the busy and noisy area of Olandganj begins. In my childhood, while going to school, I always used to see Beniram’s shop, which was full of taste-loving people. Every celebration and every party of that city is incomplete without Beniram’s Imarti.
When someone goes to Jaunpur or comes from there, this Imari is definitely demanded from him. Some people drive from neighboring cities to buy Imarti here.
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The British opened it 200 years ago during the British rule.
Benarim’s shop opened 200 years ago during the British rule. Beniram, who opened this shop, was an ordinary employee of the British. Imarti used to make good food. His Gore Sahib liked the Imarti made by him very much. With their help, Beniram started this business. Then this business continued to flourish with the generations. Now it has become a symbol of Emirati’s desi journey.
What is the story of Beniram?
Beniram started making Imarti in the middle of the 19th century. Initially he used to make hobby to feed his family and friends. He used to work in the postal department. Once his British officer asked him to cook food. Beniram created Imarti among other things. The next day his officer called and said that he no longer needed to do the job.
Beniram is shocked and upset. He told the British sir, if any mistake has been made, forgive him but do not fire him from the job. Then the officer said, he should start Imarti business. By the grace of Gore Sahib, Beniram was given a prime place next to the Shahi Bridge to start his shop. Also a full year leave from job. The shop left.
Now it is in the hands of the fourth and fifth generations of the shop. Its owners claim that they have not changed its recipe ever since their ancestor Beniram opened the shop. Even now, to make it, he uses green variety of urad dal, pure ghee and traditionally purified raw sugar.
Was this Imari already present in India?
However, it is also claimed that Imarti was present in India even before the Mughals. This has also been mentioned in ancient texts. It is referred to as Sudha Kundalika (coil of nectar) in Sanskrit. An ancient temple sweet from Kanyakumari called Inippu Thenkuzhal (honey coils) is similar to Imarti. This is also made from urad dal and rice flour. Its design is also tubular like.
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Tags: food, food 18, food business, Food Recipe, Jaunpur City, Mughals, Prayagraj cuisine
FIRST PUBLISHED: January 25, 2024, 13:21 IST
