Mughal melon with rosewater and crushed ice

The imperial Agra table: musk melon wedges arranged on crushed Himalayan ice and perfumed with rosewater and saffron, the most luxurious summer fruit preparation of the Mughal court

Origin: Agra and Delhi, Mughal Empire

From the journey of Musk Melon.

Babur, the founder of the Mughal dynasty and one of the most eloquent food writers in any royal memoir, describes in the Baburnama the profound homesickness he felt for the melons of his homeland in Fergana and Samarkand after arriving in the Indian subcontinent. He wrote of weeping when presented with a melon from Khorasan years later: 'It made me think of the old days and the old country; I could not help crying.' Babur imported Central Asian melon seeds and cultivated them first in Kabul, then in the gardens of Agra. The Mughal emperors made the presentation and serving of musk melon a court ceremony, with the Ain-i-Akbari of Akbar's reign listing numerous melon varieties and their preparations. The luxury element of this preparation was the ice: crushed and chipped ice carried down from the Himalayan foothills by relay runners, an extraordinarily expensive logistics operation that placed chilled melon firmly in the category of imperial consumption. Saffron from Kashmir, rosewater from Lucknow, and the finest cantaloupe from the imperial gardens completed the preparation.

Ingredients

base

  • 1 large perfectly ripe musk melon, preferably cantaloupe or a fragrant honeydew (about 1.5kg)

dressing

  • 2 tbsp rosewater (food-grade, distilled)
  • 1 generous pinch saffron threads (about 15 to 20 threads)

preparation

  • 2 tbsp warm water, to steep the saffron

sweetening

  • 1 tsp icing sugar or caster sugar (optional, to taste)

to serve

  • 4 large handfuls crushed ice

garnish

  • 1 sheet edible silver leaf (vark), optional, for a historically faithful presentation

Method

  1. Steep the saffron threads in 2 tablespoons of warm (not boiling) water for 10 minutes until the water turns a deep golden colour. Add the rosewater to the saffron water and stir gently to combine.
  2. Halve the melon, scoop out the seeds, and cut into elegant long wedges. Cut the flesh away from the rind. Refrigerate for 30 minutes if not already well chilled.
  3. Arrange a generous mound of crushed ice on each serving plate or in a large bowl. Place the melon wedges on the ice, slightly overlapping.
  4. Spoon the saffron-rosewater dressing evenly over the melon. If the melon is not fully ripe, dust very lightly with icing sugar.
  5. If using vark (edible silver leaf), lay a piece gently over the melon wedges; it will adhere to the rosewater-damp flesh. Serve immediately, before the ice begins to melt into the fruit.

Notes

The historical preparation used ice carried down from the mountains in insulated, straw-lined containers: an extraordinary logistics operation that placed chilled melon firmly in the category of imperial luxury. Crushed ice from the freezer produces a faithful modern version. The saffron should come from Kashmir (the world's most aromatic variety), Spain (La Mancha Coupe grade), or Iran. In South Asia, varieties such as the Pusa Madhuras and Kashi Madhu cantaloupe are prized for this preparation; in the UK, a ripe Charentais or good cantaloupe from a farm shop will produce excellent results.

The Gastrographer

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