Cuisine of Kashmir

Kashmiri cuisine has evolved over hundreds of years. The first major influence was the food of the Kashmiri Pandits, the Hindus who lived in the valley in the middle ages. The cuisine was then influenced by the cultures which arrived with the invasion the Kashmir region by Timur from the area of modern Uzbekistan. Subsequently, it has been heavily influenced by other central Asian, Persian and Afghan cultures.

Kashmiri Pandit cuisine

The food usually uses a lot of yoghurt and turmeric, and avoids onion and garlic

Typical dishes include:

* Chamani qaliya
* Veth chaman
* Dama oluv
* Nadeir yakhean
* Hak (with nadeir/vangan)
* Nadier palak
* Choek vangan
* Muji chetein
* Razmah goagji
* Razmah dal aanchar

Wazwan

The traditional wazwan (or wazawan) feast is considered the height of Kashmiri cuisine. Probably no other cuisine in the world has so many courses, except for the Chappan Bhog (56 courses). It is usually served for weddings or other major events.

The meal is treated with great respect and the preparation is considered an art. Considerable time and effort are invested into the preparation of the banquet. The traditional number of courses for the wazwan is thirty-six, though there can be fewer. The preparation is traditionally done by a vasta waza, or head chef, with the assistance of a court of wazas, or chefs.

Guests are grouped into fours for the serving of the wazwan. The meal begins with a ritual washing of hands as a jug and basin called the tash-t-nari are passed among the guests. A large serving dish piled high with heaps of rice, decorated and quartered by four seekh kababs, four pieces of methi korma, two tabak maaz, sides of barbecued ribs, one safed murg, one zafrani murg, along with other dishes.

Certain dishes that are considered a requirement for wazwan include:

* Kashmiri Chicken
* Methi
* Rista
* Rogan Josh
* Dhani Phul
* Aloo bukhaar
* Gaad kufta
* Tabak Maaz
* Daniwal Korma
* Aab Gosht
* Martswangan Korma
* Shami Kabab
* Kabaab
* Gushtaba
* Yakhni

The meal ends with the gushtaba. Every Kashmiri wishes to organize the royal Wazwan once in his life time for his near and dear ones.