Kashmir, the northern most state of India, is very famously called the "Switzerland of India". A Mughal Emperor once said about Kashmir “Gar firdaus, ruhe zamin ast, hamin asto, hamin asto, hami asto”, which means “If there is a heaven on earth, its here, its here, its here”. Along with exquisite beauty, the food from Kashmir is an awakening of all the senses. Mutton is the main ingredient of Kash
mir traditional cuisine, and everything is prepared without ginger, garlic, onions or tomatoes. Spices used include dry ginger powder, fennel seed powder, asafoetida, and Kashmiri red chilly powder. Those of you, who are born there, would remember the taste of nyenya batta (mutton and rice) that your mom would feed you while you were playing in the snow, or picknicking in the Nishat Bagh. The salle batte thal (wedding delicacies) with crispy kabargah (crispy fried mutton ribs) and pullav (Rice delicasy), wazul (red) roganjosh (mutton curry), nyenye yakhin (mutton yakhni in yogurt curry), haak nadur (greens with lotus root) and, last but not the least, dumollu (Whole Potatoes fried and cooked in red curry). In our super busy lives, with multiple commitments, we do not get enough time to indulge into elaborate cooking. You look for your favourite food in the Bay Area restaurants to satiate your cravings, and come across Rogan Josh which is “cooked in onion and tomato gravy, with nuts and cream” – and that too costing an arm and a leg. Such a disappointment…
As a Kashmiri born and brought up in Srinagar, and having feasted on amazingly delectable delicacies all my life, I want to recreate the experience for all of us. Allow me to awaken the taste buds of everyone of you by serving the food that Kashmir is proud of and rest of the world relishes.