Delhi gets a taste of Kashmiri Cuisine

One dish that pulls North Indians to Kashmiri food is their love for Rogan Josh. And before we enter summers, these are the last few days to relish the flavoursome Kashmiri Cuisine that is being served at some of the restaurants in Delhi. 

Explaining the relevance of organising the Kashmiri food festival from December to March , Chef Ashish Joshi, Jaypee Siddharth Hotel said, “ As we all know, Kashmir is one of the coldest regions of the country and the main ingredient of most of the Kashmiri dishes is ‘Laal Maas’ or red meat with rice. A perfect concoction of Kashmiri chilies, ginger and yoghurt thus make winters as the perfect time to host a Kashmiri Food Festival.” Concurring to which Chef Neeraj Tyagi, Shangri-La’s - Eros Hotel said, “Kashmiri cuisine is so rich and flavourful, and is tailor made to survive the cold climate that Kashmiri natives face. The hearty broths, rich, flavourful meats, and multi-layers of spices perfectly compliment the wintery wrath that the capital faces at this time of the year. Kashmiri cuisine is inherently warming, making it unsuitable to enjoy in the warmer months.” 

Trivia behind Kashmiri cuisine 
Chef Vivek Kapoor from Radisson Blu Kaushambi tells us that Gushtaba is the traditional Kashmiri dish that is prepared in important ceremonies and functions in Kashmir. Another mouth watering dish is Rista which is prepared in Kashmeri red chilly and spices in a very special manner. Chef Neeraj Tyagi shares that ‘Wazwan’ is the traditional name of Kashmiri cuisine which is an amalgamation of two words: ‘waz’- which means to cook, and ‘wan’ – which means shop.  Wazwans are the ultimate dining banquets, and comprise of multiple courses of meals. He said, “Typically, wazwans are prepared under the supervision of a master chef called vaste waze.

Meat dishes are almost always prepared overnight, as the slow-cooking intensifies the flavour and ensures a tender texture. Fish is a rare offering in typical Wazwan cuisine. Mujh Gaad is one of the few Kashmiri dishes that is based on fish, and is served with radishes.” Chef Ashish Joshi feels that Kashmiri food that is devoured by almost every non-vegetarian has evolved over the years of being influenced by the culture and features of cooking style of various countries such as Persia and Afghanistan. He said, “Because of the predominance of Kashmiri pundits in the Jammu-Kashmir, who were predominantly meat eaters, the cuisine has mostly non-vegetarian items which are prepared without the usage of onion and garlic. Due to the absence of onion in the food, yoghurt is mostly used as a thickener.”

Favourite Kashmiri dish
When asked about one dish that everyone loves in the Kashmiri cuisine, chef Ashish Joshi and Chef Vivek Kapoor agreed upon Rogan Josh being the all time favourite dish amongst children and adults but chef Neeraj Tyagi had another personal favourite dish that is loved by all age groups. He said, “While one would think Rogan Josh is the most popular dish originating from Kashmir, something that is almost as popular as this is good old household Rajma Chawal.  Some of the best Rajma or kidney beans are said to be grown in the Jammu region and is a part of the staple diet there.”