Kashmiri cuisine consists of a wide variety of dishes, listed below.
Barbecue
One version of the origin of kababs is the one in which Turkish soldiers were first known to grill chunks of meat on open fires. Kashmir's kababs are cooked with local spices and accompanied with dips:
Kabab, condimented minced meat, roasted or fried, on skewers. According to chef Ghulam Nabi Dar (aka Bitte Waaze), the meat for the kabab is first minced with a very sharp knife (haché au couteau), then it requires an egg, cumin, cardamom and garlic, then it needs to be minced some more until it becomes a paste, then it is mounted on 1 m long skewers to be reheated the day after. Kokur kabab, chicken kebab. Lahradar kabab, also known as lahabi/moachi kabab. Minced mutton classically shaped like a boat with a depression in the centre, cooked in curd based mild spicy gravy. Once softened, the meat is soaked overnight in egg and at least nine different seasonings and spices, including onions, red chili powder, nutmeg, garam masala, ginger, garlic and coriander. It is typically served with yoghurt. Kokur lahabdar kabab ruwangan, chicken kebabs in rich tomato gravy. Shammi kabab, wazwan style mutton patties with ground chickpeas, egg and mild Kashmiri spices. Champ, lamb chops. Nadur maund, Kashmir's answer to hash browns, lotus root ginger and mint patties with a dash of eclectic Kashmiri spices. Buzith Tsaman, grilled paneer marinated in yoghurt, cream and aniseed. It is said a poet wandering in the lovely forests of Kashmir, cooked this dish out in the open. Buzith gaad, charcoal grilled fish marinated with Kashmiri spices. Buzith olav, thool, maaz etc., the round oven-baked clay-pot kangir works as an oven for baking food-items such as eggs, potatoes, pea beans, chunks of meat etc. Talith gaad, fish marinated in black pepper, cumin and Kashmiri chilli and then shallow-fried. Gaad talith ta badaam, fried fish with almonds. Talith kokur, Fried chicken. Tujji, meat marinated in Kashmiri red chillies and aniseed powder, then barbequed. Gaad tujji, fish kababs. Tsaaman tujji, Kashmiri style marinated cottage cheese chunks barbecued on a skewer and served with a side of chutney. Tshaap maaz, sausages. Kaleeng, thick membrane that covers sheep's head, skull and all, chopped coarsely and set to cook with spices and minimal liquid over a low fire for hours.
Breakfast
For the average Kashmiri, breakfast normally means fresh bread from the local bakery and a cup of noon chai (salt tea). While the bread is there in all the seasons for the breakfast, its accompaniments change. Some affordable luxuries include:
Harisa, made by specialised cooks called harisaguyr, Harisa is a popular meat preparation made for breakfast, it is slow cooked with spices in a special underground oven for a 24-hour period and hand stirred. A good harisa entails a meticulous mincing of deboned mutton, mixed with local rice, fennel seeds, cinnamon, cardamom and salt. Cooked on sim fire for at least 6 to 8 hours, boiling smoky mustard oil and some milk is poured while the wooden masher continues to stir. Small kebabs are made to be served along with and also a small serving of Methi (lamb's intestines cooked in fenugreek) and tempered onion rings. In legend, an 18th century Afghan governor found the food so tasty he ate himself to death. Harisa zafrani, sprinkled with Kashmiri saffron. A maker in Aali Kadal was known for this peculiar dish. Luchi & halwa, by luchi makers outside Kheer Bhawani shrine. Makai vath, cooked granular maize meal. Used to be a staple food in the unirrigated highland villages, where rice could not be grown. Gaer vugra, water chestnut flour porridge. These water chestnuts or buffalo nuts are called gaer in Kashmiri. They grow in shallow waters at many places, especially near the shore of the famous Wular lake. In India, these water chestnuts also grow but are generally bigger in size and have more water content. Generally eaten with churned yoghurt diluted with water (gurus). Vushki vath, barley meal porridge. Cooked as a staple food in some hilly villages of Kashmir, where rice or maize is not easily available or grown.
Wazwan dishes
Unlike most dishes of the Indian subcontinent where the flavour is added to the food while cooking on the flames, the wazwan flavours are added while the dish is still uncooked by adding flavoured water to the preparation or soaking in flavoured water (osmosis):
Tabakhmaaz, rib racks in ghee with sweet fat lodged between lacquered slips of meat Kashmiri Hindus commonly refer to this dish as Qabargah. It seems to have travelled from Kazakhstan where it is known by its Pandit name, Qabargah. While Qabargah is simmered on a low heat for a longer duration and then fried very quickly, Tabakhmaaz is boiled with salt and garlic and characterised by a slightly elastic texture. Tang ta lahabi kabab, whole Kashmiri pears and mutton kababs that often go with a tomato-yoghurt gravy. Waaza kokur, whole chicken cooked in saffron gravy with mild Kashmiri spices. Safed kokur, chicken with white sauce. Dani phoul, mutton shank. Aab gosh, also known as dodhe maaz. A famous milk-based curry cooked in spices and ghee over a low flame. Ten litres of pure cow milk is reduced to one and then mixed with the mutton. Methi maaz, mutton intestines flavoured with a spice mixture containing dried fenugreek (methi) leaves. Waazeh hedar, Kashmiri wazwan-style mushrooms. Martswangan kormeh, meat cooked with spices and yogurt and mostly using Kashmiri red chillies and hot in taste. Kokur martsawangan kormeh, Chicken cooked in red hot chilly gravy. Aloobukhar kormeh, mince cooked with dried plums. Badam kormeh, tender mutton pieces cooked in creamy almond gravy. Danival kormeh lamb cooked with coriander or parsley. Kokur danival kormeh, chicken cooked in curd based gravy, flavoured with saffron and fresh coriander. Monje kael, knol-khol prepared in onion gravy.
Soups
Tshatt/maaz rass, mutton stock with mutton pieces flavoured with aromatic spices and salt. Channa rass, easily made chickpea soup.
Domestic meat stews
Qaliya, a mutton delicacy in which all flavours are included, excluding red chilly powder. Kokur qaliya, chicken qaliya. Shab Deg: dish cooked with turnip and meat/duck/chicken/beef and balls of ground meat, left to simmer overnight. Dani, marrow-bone in gravy. Matshgand, lamb meatballs in a gravy tempered with red chillies. A lot of emphasis is put on the shape of the meat (oblong and not round) and the colour of the gravy. Methi matsh, muttonballs with fenugreek leaves that have been boiled, crushed or liquidised into a paste. Matsh ta tser, lamb fingers with apricot. The dish looks beautiful when laid on the table as the apricots remain yellow and the minced meat red making it very colourful. Olav bokhara barith matsch, minced meat balls stuffed with plums. Mith ta golemach, minced meat balls with fenugreek. Matsh ta phul gupi, minced lamb fingers with cauliflower. Matsch ta olav, lamb fingers cooked with potatoes. Tser kofta, minced mutton balls with an apricot inside. Nadir ta maaz, lotus stems and mutton. Nadir, oluv ta maaz, lotus stems, potatoes and mutton cooked on low heat and gravy thickened with garam masala and caraway seeds. Maaz vangun, aubergine with meat. Kokur aloobukhar korma, chicken cooked with dried plums with Kashmiri ingredients. Palak ta kokur, spinach with country chicken. Gand ta kokur, chicken and onion curry. Kokur ta torreil, chicken with snake gourd. Bam chunth ta maaz, quince with lamb. Gogjee-aare ta maaz, sundried Turnips with Lamb. Gaazar ta maaz, carrots and mutton. Bote-tser maaz, lamb and dried apricots. Haand ta kokur, dandelion greens and chicken. Haand ta maaz, dry dandelion and meat curry. Old age Kashmiri recipe for lactating mothers. Haakh maaz, Kashmiri saag cooked with mutton. Woste haakh ta maaz, green/red leaves with lamb. Monje ta maaz, Kashmiri style knol khol and mutton. Kashmiris don't only eat knol khol, its leaves are mandatory. Gole al syun, pumpkin cooked with lamb. Torreil ta maaz, ridged gourd with mutton. Monje qaliya, kohlrabi with mutton. Rogan josh, a lamb based dish, cooked in a gravy seasoned with liberal amounts of Kashmiri chillies (in the form of a dry powder), ginger (also powdered), garlic, onions or asafoetida, gravy is mainly Kashmiri spices and mustard oil based. The Persian and central Asian influence is evident in the large quantities of saffron, and asafoetida, favourite Persian flavourings, and the Mughals cultivated these plants in the subcontinent to provide their cooks with a ready supply. Kashmiri Muslims use praan (a type of shallot), plus garlic and cockscomb flower for colouring. Columnist Vir Sanghvi has nominated it as world's most famous Indian curry. Kokur roghan josh, fried chicken cooked in cock's comb flower gravy with Kashmiri condiments. Hindi roghan josh, Roghan Josh with tamarind. Vunth roghan josh, for the past two decades, camel meat is sold on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha in keeping with the tradition of Muhammad who mostly used to sacrifice camels on holy occasions. Pachi roghan josh, trotter in red gravy. Yakhean, a yoghurt-based mutton gravy without turmeric or chilli powder. The dish is primarily flavoured with bay leaves, cloves and cardamom seeds. This is a mild, subtle dish eaten with rice often accompanied with a more spicy side dish. Yakhean came to be known in Kashmir during Akbar's rule. Yoghurt-based meat curries were part of Persian cuisine, and the emperor introduced this style of cooking to his new state when he annexed it in 1586. Kokur yakhean, succulent pieces of chicken cooked in curd flavoured in Kashmiri herbs. Shyaem, minced mutton cutlets cooked with curd. Kokur shyaem, chicken cutlets in yoghurt.
Innards and offal Chuste, spicy dry curry of goat's intestines. Naihkala ta phendeir yakhean, certain parts of innards of sheep or goat, cooked with curd. Tshagael yakhean, testes of sheep or goat cooked in curd etc. Damin yakhean, tripe yakhni (curd curry). Bokavachi Tshagael, kidneys and testes of goat or sheep. Tsarvan, cooked diced liver of sheep or goat. Tsoek Tsarvan, sour diced liver of goat or sheep. Tsarvan oluv, curried liver and potatoes. Kalle maaz, goat's head meat. Pachi ta heri rass, cooked legs with hoofs, and head of sheep or goat.
Meatballs The wazas are trained for years to learn techniques for making cuts and grinding meat. Traditionally, the lamb is mashed with walnut wood: Goshtabeh minced mutton balls with spices in yogurt gravy. Also known as 'The Dish of Kings' in Kashmir region and the last dish of the banquet. Jawaharlal Nehru once named it 'the cashmere of meats'. The Bollywood actor Yusuf Khan aka Dilip Kumar was said to love goshtabeh the most. In December 1955, Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad, the then Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir and Nikita S. Khurschev, the first secretary of the Soviet Communist party were photographed feeding each other goshtabeh. Beef riste. Beef goshtabeh. Pulverised beef with 25 per cent fat is pounded into a pulpy mass and seasoned before being shaped into meatballs. It is then immersed in a seasoned hot water bath, before being placed in a bubbling-hot broth of well-churned yoghurt, laced with milk and some beef stock and cooked to a semi-thick consistency. The original recipe calls for very fatty buffalo meat. Palak riste, usually four small 'rista' pieces, along with some spinach Leaves, are ladled on a 'Traem' for four guests. Safed riste, Goshtabeh meatballs are the biggest, next rista and palak rista meatballs are the tiniest.
Vegetarian sides Kashmir produces tons of vegetables and forest produce. The traditional dishes are: