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Dum Pukht is a slow-cooking style used in Indian and Pakistani cuisine, where ingredients are sealed in a pot and slowly simmered without being disturbed. Meats with bones are commonly used, along with vegetables and fresh herbs and spices. The dish is less spicy and more focused on local tastes and textures. The three stages of cooking involve greasing the pot, sauteeing the ingredients, and sealing the pot with wet paste. The dish is served at the table, with the lid only removed just before serving. The cooking style can be emulated with alternative equipment and ingredients.
Dum Pukht is a cooking style common in Indian and Pakistani cuisine where meats and other ingredients are slowly cooked in a sealed pot. An Indian clay pot known as a handi, a thick, deep pot with a wide-mouthed opening, is the most common Dum Pukht vessel, but meals can be made dum-style in a variety of different pots. Most importantly, the contents are sealed and not disturbed during cooking and are slowly simmered.
Many dishes can be made in the Dum Pukht style. Most involve meats, especially meats with the bone still on the inside. When simmered, the marrow will cook slowly, leaching its flavor and juices into the meat and larger dish. Cooks also often add vegetables and use fresh herbs and spices as a seasoning.
In most cases, Dum Pukht dishes are less spicy than many other popular meals in Indian and Pakistani cuisine. They’re almost always made strictly with available ingredients, and only rarely include the dried spice rubs, chiles, or more concentrated heat so common in other meals. The goal is usually a very organic dish that tastes fresh and is very flavorful. Local tastes and textures are often more valued in this preparation than spice or heat.
There are usually three stages to cooking in Dum Pukht. First, the cooks will grease or grease the handi, then briefly sautee the ingredients. The main idea here is to heat the pot and to ensure that raw meats have a chance to brown briefly on the outside. Once everything is heated through, the cooks reduce the temperature to low and seal the top of the device.
Simply placing a lid on top of the handi’s mouth forms a rudimentary seal, but steam can still escape. The most traditional way to seal the pot completely is to use wet paste. Cooks make the dough with a little flour and water, then press it around the edge of the pot before placing a tight-fitting lid or saucer on top. As the dough cooks, it will pick up a lot of moisture from the food and also create an airtight seal. Usually, the seal is baked into some sort of bread which is served alongside the dish.
Serving is the third and final step of preparing dum pukht. Most often, the whole sealed handi is brought directly to the table from the fire or stove. The lid isn’t removed until just before serving and eating, and when it is, the results are usually dramatic. Opening the pot releases a burst of steam, as well as the aroma of the freshly cooked meal. The intensity of that smell is described by many as the most important part of the experience.
Cooks without access to a handi can still emulate many of the key cooking techniques in a slow cooker or sealed bean pot. The results won’t be identical, but they are often recognizable, especially when paired with quality ingredients and fresh spices. Many aspects of Indian cooking are easy to imitate with alternative equipment and ingredients. Dum pukht is no exception.
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