Kashmir cuisine

tips on Kashmir
food & beverages

 

Kashmir
culinary insights

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Why the cuisine
of Kashmir is special

It is the home of the elaborate wazwan wedding feast - and complexly seasoned dishes like Roghan Josh.

Insights on the cuisine

Meat

Unlike most of the rest of India, Kashmiri dishes are overwhelmingly meat based.

Rice

Rice is far more popular than bread, which is a notable exception to India's "bread in the north" convention.

Other popular ingredients

Nuts and dried fruits are also widely used, as are spices such as chili, clove, cardamom and saffron. The last is frequently employed by cooks, especially for pilaf style rice dishes and sweet desserts.

Dairy products

Curds and other dairy ingredients are often used in Kashmiri recipes for their creamy. tenderizing attributes.

Culinary styles

The two major cooking styles in Kashmir are Moslem and Pundit (Hindi). The former has the greatest impact because Kashmir is largely Moslem.

Famous specialties

Roghan Josh

The most celebrated dish of Kashmir. Mutton chunks become tender and acquire a glistening thick reddish coating as they are braised for hours in a curried liquid rich in yogurt, almonds, chili, and toasted spices.

Yakhni

Gently cooked lamb stew flavored with sweet (not hot) spices.

Tabak Maz

Baby lamb ribs slowly cooked till crispy.

Wazwan - the famous
Kashmiri wedding feast

I had the good fortune to experience a wazwan. It takes a day or longer to prepare the dozens of distinct dishes (mostly meat based) for up to hundreds of guests.

Groups of four diners each sit on the floor and eat with their fingers. The foursome shares the food on a large communal platter called a trami, which holds meats set around a heaping mound of rice. Several rounds of meat dishes are served, each different. The traditional final meat is the Gustaba, a tennis ball sized meatball made from spicy, well pounded lamb.

Clickable cuisine maps

Test yourself

How many of these major
world cuisines do you know well?

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