Think about Kashmir and you are transported to a world where all your senses are in for an exquisite treat! Be it the sheer beauty of landscapes that makes your eyes glitter like starry nights or the tranquil mountain breezes that your nose inhales; be it the piercing cold against your skin or the whispering trumpets of tall pine trees that serenade your ears!
How about I increase the sphere of this sensory ecstasy to the fifth sense of taste? Let me take it one notch above with a list of 10 lip smacking Kashmiri delicacies, which are sure to make your next trip to this beautiful state an extravagant experience!(Psst. - make sure you don't read this if your dinner is quite some hours away! ;) )
Let's 'Dig in', shall we?
1. Gustaba:
This delectable meatball is an indispensable dish of the Kashmiri Wazwan (a multi-course meal consisting of Kashmiri cuisine). Meatballs made with mutton keema and locally sourced spices are simmered till tender in a milk based gravy. Spice is on the milder side in this melt-in-the-mouth dish and is typically for those with a slimmer knack for spices!
2. Rista:
Another dish in the get-up of meatball in a lip-smacking gravy is Rista. Main ingredient in this dish is tender meat of lamb, which is cooked in a blend of plethora of spices with onion and garlic based gravy. Be sure to experience a soiree of flavors in your mouth as you dig in this heavenly cuisine. Authentic Kashmiri flavour is derived from the local Kashmiri red chilly, which imparts beautiful color and taste to the dish. Be warned though, the spice level here is not for the faint-hearted!
3. Mutton Roganjosh:
Although an equally popular dish among non-vegetarians around the country, the taste of Mutton Roganjosh cooked in authentic Kashmiri spices is something that you need to try. Mutton marinated with a ginger-garlic coating is cooked in a gravy cooked with whole spices such as black and green cardamon, cinnamon and other, imparting a wonderous aroma to the dish! Watch out, the aroma, coming from the restaurant's kitchen might make you restless!
4. Chicken Yakhani:
Yakhni is a generic term used for a gravy or curry made using yogurt and saffron. Tender chicken pieces, fried in hot oil, are the simmered in the Yakhani gravy, cooked in the typical Kashmiri style with cardamom, cinnamon and fennel powder. This dish is typically served with white rice. The delectable combinations of spices is sure to give your taste buds the bliss they crave for!
5. Yakhani Pulav:
Also locally known as 'Yakhani Pilaf', this one is for those who get weak in the knees at the sight of rice! And when you top it with some authentic Kashmiri yakhini recipe, your senses are sure to feel a blast of joy! Aromatic, long grained rice cooked with succulent pieces of mutton, wrapped in sheer joy of delicious spices - once you dig in a steaming bowl Yakhani Pulav, be sure it will be difficult to break that trance and come back to the real world.
All the vegetarians in the house, do I hear sounds of heartbreaks somewhere?? Well, fret not because in this land of meat-lovers, you will also find a variety of delectable dishes which will make your vegetarian palates dance with joy! (Hearing 'om-nom-noms' now, am I? :D )
Click here to view a colorful Kashmir through my lens
6. Kashmiri Dum Aloo
Who hasn't heard of Dum Aloo? Loved by one and all, this flavourful dish has donned some additional badges of taste in Kashmir. The secret lies in the usage of local Kashmiri chilly, which makes the taste so very different and so very yum! Whole baby potatoes are par-boiled and then cooked in a chilly based gravy. It is served typically with parathas, naan or rice. If you are digging in a bowl of Dum Aloo, I'm sure your non-vegetarian friends would want to steal a bite or two! :)
7. Wazawaan Paneer:
A bliss in a bowl for spicy lovers! Large, juicy chunks of Paneer (cottage cheese) are cooked in a tomato based gravy. However, let the subtleness of tomato not fool you. One bite of this extravagant dish will kick in some serious fireworks in your mouth! Be sure to have a glass of water handy ;)
8. Nadru Yakhni:
Nadru Yakhani is unlike any other dish you would have ever tasted. Nadru is local word for Lotus stem, more popularly known as 'Kamal kadki' in other parts of the country. These lotus stems are freshly sourced from local lakes in the state. Locus stems are cooked in the typical style of yakhani preparation with aromatic spices which is on the milder side. Nadru has a distinct texture of its own, which might not be the the convention lover. However people with a sense of adventure are recommended to surely give this a try!
9. Phirni:
Desserts are to a full course meal what snow is to Kashmiri mountains! Hence, a list of the state's delicacies can not be complete without the mention of this mouth-watering sweet-dish. Kashmiri Phirni is made of ground rice paste, cooked with aromatic saffron in milk and topped with dry-fruits. Sometimes, flavours of fruits like mango or pineapple may also be added to enhance the taste even more. A spoonful of Phirni melts in your mouth and reached straight to your heart! (No, desserts don't go to thighs or waist, their place is in the heart!)
10. Qahwa:
I have saved the best for the last! I call this one as 'Sunshine in a cup'. Qahwa is a traditional Kashmiri beverage which religiously performs its duty of keeping people warm in freezing cold temperatures. But, that is not it! As much as it is beneficial for the body in the cold weather, it is just as delicious. This golden beverage is made with ground cardamom and cinnamon, boiled along with saffron and rose petals in water. With a hint of sugar, this is then topped with shredded dry-fruits like almond, ground nut or pistachios. Some variants of Qahwa tea are also made with green tea leaves. Sipping on a steaming cup of sweet Qahwa is all you need to get out of your warm cozy blanket and set out for another day of adventure in this wonderous land of Kashmir.
Hope you have enjoyed reading this as much as I did while penning down. I gotta go now, hunger pangs are now taking the best of me! :D
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