Kashmiri Cuisine

  Kashmiri Cuisine: Through the Ages

Traditional Kashmiri cooking is called ‘wazwan’ and comprise mostly non-vegetarian dishes. Wazwan is cooked in special nickel-plated copper vessels over simmering fire of wood preferably from old fruit trees. Between fifteen or thirty preparation of meat are cooked overnight under the supervision of master chef (Vaste Waza). It is rich and aromatic with a wonderful unique flavour. Most Kashmiri including the Brahmins (Kashmir pandit) is meat eaters.

The Kashmiri cuisine is mainly divided between two main communities i.e. Kashmiri pandit and Kashmiri Muslims. Kashmiri pundits are non-vegetarian and they prefer got meat, especially young goat but they do not use onion and garlic in their traditional dishes.

An unavoidable ingredient of Kashmiri cuisine in curd and asafoetida .kashmiri use curd in almost all dishes. Curd helps to reduce the spiciness and impart tartness and also give smooth creamy consistency.

Kashmiri has developed its own specialities in cooking. Locally grown varieties of rice are sweetly fragrant and very light. All the dishes are built around the main course of rice and use saffron colouring and seasoning agent as an ingredient in many of the dishes especially sweets and pulao (a rice preparations). 

The delicious saag is made from the thick-leafed green leafy vegetable called Haak that grows throughout the year. Lotus steam is also an important product for boat-dwelling people and makes a very good substitute for meat.

Mushroom called gucchi are harvested and consumed fresh in summer. They are expensive, therefore used only for specific religion occasion and wedding feasts. Cornbread is an alternative for rice.

Kashmiris use two types of tea that are noon chai, or sheer chai and kahwah. This noon chai where noon means salt in the Kashmiri language. It is made of tea leafs, salt, milk and bicarbonate of soda. The tea gets its unique pink colour from the distinct style of its preparation and of course due to the use of soda. 

While the Kashmiri Muslim call it namkeen chai or noon chai, and the Kashmiri pundits generally call it the ‘sheer chai’. It is usually consumed in Kashmiri households along with breads during breakfast. ‘kahwa tea’ is green tea and it’s exceptional because it has flavour in it like saffron, cinnamon, cardamom, nectar. They serve it with lunch or supper on uncommon events.

A special masala cake is made from spice – blends, onion and locally grown chillies that can be stored for a long period of times and used in flavouring curries. Sauces are made from dairy be stored for a long period of times and used in flavouring curries. Sauces are made from dairy-rich products.

Specialities of Kashmiri Cuisine

Yakhni Shorba: a rich, thin mutton based stock flavoured and enriched with ginger, garlic, garam masala etc.

Dhaniwal Korma: meat here is cooked gently in a yoghurt sauce flecked and flavoured with lots of fresh green coriander.

Gosh Taba: large, silky meatballs cooked with curd sauce.

Rogan Josh: meat cubes cooked with whole garm masala, asafoetida, dried ginger, fennel and lots of red chillies.

Rajma Gogji: this is red kidney beans cooked with turnips.

Khurbani Ka Meetha: it is a popular dessert in Kashmir in which dried apricot – socked water are simmered in sugar syrup and mildly flavoured with kewra and saffron.