Saffron and Pearls
Page 14
Drs Radha & Raja Reddy
Doreen is legendary for her table and evenings at Peter and Doreen’s are always a pleasure! Apart from the interesting conversations, it is Doreen’s table laden with delicacies and treasured family recipes that are a highlight.
Priya Paul
At the risk of being stoned by Patthar ka Gosht, I am convinced that the best Hyderabadi food is not available in Hyderabad. It is in New Delhi in Doreen Hassan’s home. I can vouch for this as a fairly regular visitor to her place for the last thirty-five years. Given the authentic, high quality of Hyderabadi food that she has been dishing out for more than three decades in Delhi, Doreen’s book promises to be the last word in cuisine from that part of India.
Sona & Ashok Jha
This is the story of a young Goan girl who barely knew how to brew a cup of tea when she got married to a man from Hyderabad and who has transformed herself into a connoisseur of the most delicate and flavourful Hyderabadi cuisine. The thing about the Hassans, as I’ve seen first-hand over the years, is that the fine line between intimacy and otherness is bridged by Doreen’s food.
Jyoti Malhotra
I feel very proud to say that I have always shared a very special relationship with Peter Toghrille Hassan. In my mind, the Hassan family symbolizes the unique cradle of cosmopolitan culture which was the hallmark of the Hyderabad of yesteryears. I have known many distinguished members of his family for nearly eight decades, or to be precise, since 1940.
I have known Peter, as also Doreen, on very intimate terms from their childhood days. Both of them hail from well-known Hyderabadi families. In their marriage, one saw the coming together of two of Hyderabad’s prominent, highly erudite families of that memorable era, which remains etched in one’s mind as a golden epoch in the annals of the state.
Nawab Shah Alam Khan
My husband’s ties with the Hassans go back many years, and we have long been friends with Peter and Doreen - our children have grown up together. I love seeing her, eating the delicious meals she makes and spending time with her. Doreen’s food is really the best of Hyderabadi cuisine.
Leela Khan
Dining at the Hassans’ is always an unalloyed pleasure. The Hassan home is always an open house where even an impromptu meal is no less than an elaborate feast. Doreen’s delectable food is doubtlessly the centrepiece of the famed Hassan hospitality. But equally exceptional is the warmth and spontaneity with which they indulge their guests, making each one feel special and wanted.
Ameeta & Rajiv Kapoor
The Hassans’ hospitality is legendary and the food is to die for. I always feel so welcome the minute I step into their beautiful home. May the contents of this book inspire all everyone – be it by honing their cooking skills or just understanding the true meaning behind the saying ‘united we stand, divided we fall’.
Aruna De Souza
Peter and Doreen moved from Hyderabad to Delhi where with their own brand of charm and hospitality, they quickly became the toast of the town. Whether it is in Hyderabad, Delhi, or Goa, the doors of this gracious couple’s home are always thrown wide open in a warm welcome to family and friends. It is my privilege and honor to be so closely associated with the Hassans and their children.
Joyce & Felix Campos
Striking a beautiful balance of elegance, style, graciousness and warmth, Doreen and Peter have generously hosted and welcomed the world into their home on many an occasion, always turning an evening into a beautiful and memorable occasion with Peter’s charisma and engaging wit and Doreen’s charming and bountiful hospitality. A meal at the Hassan home is indeed a culinary and a cultural privilege.
Cleta & Rommel Valles
As aristocrats from Hyderabad, and the city from which the Nizam once ruled, Doreen and her family epitomize grace and warmth. She has an extraordinary passion for cooking in the authentic Nizami way and this book is like no other, just like the author.
Rosalita Lawrence
Doreen Fernes Hassan, with her collection of life experiences and her devotion to home and husband’s personal and professional considerations, has evolved into a culinary expert in her own right, a gracious hostess and it is always a pleasure to spend time and dine with the Hassans at their homes in Delhi or in Hyderabad.
Marie & Eugene Campos
CLOSING NOTE
All her life, our mother has done everything she can to make sure that every single member of the family has achieved their dreams, and felt supported and loved. And this book has been her dream for as long as we can remember. For years – maybe even decades – Mummy has been writing down her recipes, organizing them and filing them away so when the time came to write the book, she would have everything she needed. At the same time, she has taken the care with characteristic graciousness to always remember the people who taught her how to cook each dish, when they did and why she chose to learn it.
This book is really a record of our mother’s wonderful life, filled as it is with people she loves and who love her, stories of family and friends, and of course, the food that she has cooked, nearly every day for four decades, bringing all of us together to the table with generosity and happiness. As the three of us, our father, our spouses and children have been a part of the making of this book over the past year, it has given our family a chance to revisit our memories and map the journey of our family – a rare and wonderful opportunity that has reaffirmed what we have always believed. That when cooked with love and shared with a full heart, food can create abiding, precious relationships that stand the test of time.
Anisha and Vijay, with Rhea and Raoul
Nihal and Neha, with Anahi and Riaan
Sahil and Neha, with Anaia and Aliana
With this collection of recipes, stories and photographs, what Mummy has done is pay homage to our families, friends and a way of life that we hope we will always honour. It contains the lessons that we have learnt from her – to pay attention to detail; to make our surroundings beautiful; to welcome people into our homes and lives with genuine hospitality; to cherish friendships and nurture them over the years; to respect every person’s contribution to our lives; and to live with integrity and kindness.
Saffron and Pearls is truly Doreen Hassan’s labour of love and we could not be happier or prouder of our mother.
Anisha, Nihal and Sahil
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My parents, Lui and Emma Fernes; my in-laws, Khurshid (Kuchu) and Mary Hassan; and our mentor, Abid Bhai (Abid Hussain) – though they are no longer with us, their love and support, and our family’s memories of them are woven through this book.
A special thank you – Jose; Timo; Johnny; Ann; Chintara, Munna; Sumbul
In fond memory of President H. E. SR Nathan (President of Singapore 1999-2011); Bilkis Aapa (Begum Bilkis Latif); Nawab Shah Alam Khan
For their wonderful pieces and their long-standing friendships with our family –
Habib Bhai (Habib Rehman); Sunil and Marshneil Gavaskar; Sanjaya and Rama Baru; Anoushka Shankar and her dear parents, Sukanyaji and the late Pandit Ravi Shankarji.
For generously making the time to contribute – Amitabh Kant; Rt. Hon. Sir Anand Satyanand (Governor General of New Zealand, 2006-11) and Lady Susan; Anita Dongre; Aruna D’Souza; Cleta and Rommel Valles; Girija and H.E. Yashvardhan Sinha; Guadalupe and H. E. Tovar Da Silva; Joyce and Felix Campos; Jyoti Malhotra; Marie and Eugene Campos; Muzzafar Ali; H.E. Melba Pria; C. Raja Mohan; Priya Paul; Dr(s) Radha and Raja Reddy; Rajeev Kapoor; Raylin Valles; Rosalita Lawrence; Sangita and Vijay Chahal; Kitty (Sona) and Ashok Jha.
For sharing their memories and stories, which helped me put my own together – Bizeth Banerjee; Fatima Aapa (Fatima Attari); Karki Bhabi (Karki Hussain); Leela Aapa (Leela Khan); Sanjar Bhai (Sanjar Ali Khan); Suraiya Aapa (Suraiya Hassan Bose); S. Kulandaveil (Velu).
Chinmayee Manjunath, my editor, who helped me put this book together and anchored the process; and Cyrus Dalal, who helmed all the shoots – I sincerely thank th
em both for being such an integral a part of this journey.
At HarperCollins India, I would like to thank Shreya Punj and Ananth Padmanabhan for championing the book, and Bonita Vaz-Shimray and Natasha Chandhok for designing it.
For being a part of the team on shoots – Akshita Phoolka and Namrata Phoolka, who helped style the food; Rolika Prakash and Arvind Kumar for make-up and hair.
It would be impossible for me to name every well-wisher of mine whose unstinted support I have received over the years, as I prepared to write this book. There have been many associates, friends, family members and acquaintances who have played a part in this journey – I thank each of them with all my heart.
And finally, my love and gratitude to my husband, children and grandchildren, to whom this book is dedicated.
Doreen Hassan
About the Book
For Doreen Hassan, Hyderabad is not just where her roots lie, it is also the city that informs the way she and her family lead their lives.
Known and loved for their legendary hospitality for over four decades, Doreen and her husband, Peter Toghrille Hassan, have preserved a way of life, a culture and a cuisine with great affection and pride in their cosmopolitan home in Delhi, passing their love for food, family and friendships to their children and grandchildren.
This is not a collection of Hyderabadi recipes that stops at the biryani or the Mirchi ka Saalan or kebabs or Shahi Tukra. It is a personal story – a tribute to the city that Doreen calls home.
Over the decades, she has archived priceless family recipes from her husband’s storied Hyderabadi family. The result is an astonishingly rich record of culinary history, which speaks of a city that absorbed influences from across the world and made them its own.
About the Author
DOREEN HASSAN is considered one of Delhi’s finest hostesses, and is celebrated for the elegant parties she hosts with characteristic grace and generosity. The meals she crafts with absolute mastery have been perfected over the years, based on heirloom recipes she has inherited from family members. Doreen is married to Peter Toghrille Hassan and is the mother of three, and grandmother of six. The family lives in Delhi and they also spend considerable time in their hometown of Hyderabad. Doreen has been a fashion entrepreneur and is an art and design enthusiast.
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First published in India in 2011 by
HarperCollins Publishers India
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Copyright © Doreen Hassan 2018
P-ISBN: 978-93-5277-032-8
Epub Edition © February 2018 ISBN: 978-93-5277-033-5
Doreen Hassan asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
The views and opinions expressed in this book are the author’s own and the facts are as reported by her, and the publishers are not in any way liable for the same.
All rights reserved under The Copyright Act, 1957. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins Publishers India.
Cover image : Cyrus Dalal
Cover design : HarperCollins Publishers India
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