It is impossible to mention Indian cuisine without the rich culinary heritage of the royal Kashmiri feast known as Wazwan. When one talks about Hindustani cuisine, Wazwan scores the top position. The 36-dish multicourse meal is not meant to satiate your hunger but to indulge you with an out-of-the-world experience.
Wazwan is the pride of the Kashmir valley as well as a celebration and an emotion. ‘Waza’ literally means cook and ‘wan’ means shop. All dishes are eaten by hand, as Kashmiris believe in an intimate relationship with food. The hosts also consider it disrespectful if anyone refuses food varieties. Two kilogram of mutton and chicken are prepped per person, without including the condiments. Hence, if you ever get a chance to go for a Wazwan, you may want to consider skipping breakfast and dinner. Here I have given the top six favourites, simplified for your benefit.
Kashmiri Rogan Josh
This mutton preparation in red curry is a signature Kashmiri dish that rarely fails to be appreciated.
INGREDIENTS
• Mutton: 500g, with bones, cut into medium-sized pieces
• Curd (dahi/yogurt): 1 cup
• Salt: As required
• Mustard oil: As required
#For whole spices
• Black cardamom
(badi elaichi): 2
• Cardamom: 4 pods/seeds
• Cloves: 4
• Cinnamon stick: 1 inch
• Bay leaf: 1
• Black pepper powder: ½tsp
• Fennel powder: 1tsp
• Asafoetida (hing): ½tsp
• Kashmiri red chilli powder: 2tsp
• Ratan jot (alkanet): ½ inch (infuse it in heated oil)
#For marination
• Fennel seeds (saunf): 1tsp
• Cinnamon powder: ¼tsp
• Kashmiri red chilli powder: 1tsp
• Black pepper powder: ½tsp
• Cardamom powder: ½tsp
METHOD
• Wash mutton nicely and drain water completely.
• Marinate the mutton with mentioned ingredients for approximately for 1½ hours. Cling wrap the bowl and refrigerate it for better results.
• Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed wok and add bay leaf and other whole spices mentioned.
• Immediately, add the marinated mutton and mix well. Fry on medium to high flames stirring occasionally.
• Now add asafoetida and stir well. Add almost 1 cup of water in the mutton mix and allow it to cook with lid closed.
• In a separate bowl, add yogurt and red chilli powder and fennel powder and whisk nicely.
• Take off the lid and add whisked yogurt and mix well such that everything incorporates nicely. Adjust salt as needed.
• Now add ratan jot root infused in oil in the mutton and cook till mutton is soft and tender. Garnish with fresh coriander and serve hot.
• Serve Kashmiri Rogan Josh with hot steamed rice or rumali rotis for a delicious weekend meal.
Tabakh Maaz
This is a fabulous dish from Kashmir that’s unique in its taste and flavour.
INGREDIENTS
• Mutton: 1kg rib cage (only the membranous part of the ribs, not the chop),un-separated
• Water: 5litre
• Ground garlic: 4½tsp
• Salt: 3½tsp
• Cold water: 12½ cups
• Salt: 2tsp
• Dry ginger powder: 2tsp
• Cloves: 8
• Black cardamom: 8
• Turmeric powder: 3½tsp
• Pure ghee: 2½ cups
METHOD
• Bring the water to a boil; add the ribs. Continue to boil, removing the scum that rises to the surface. Repeat until the water is clear. Boil covered till the ribs are half done.
• Add the garlic and mix well. Continue to boil for another 10 minutes.
• Add the salt and boil covered, continuously till the membrane between the ribs can be pierced with the thumb.
• Remove the pan from the heat and drain the water.
• Cool the ribs and then immerse in a pan of cold water. Wash thoroughly and keep them aside. Do not discard this water.
• Chop the ribs with a heavy, sharp knife into 8 equal rectangular pieces.
• Boil the water in which the ribs were washed.
• Add the chopped ribs, salt, dry ginger powder, cloves, black cardamoms and turmeric powder. Mix well.
• Let it boil until the bones can be extracted from the membrane easily.
• Remove the pan from the heat and take out the ribs with a slotted spoon. Keep aside.
• Discard the water.
• Arrange the ribs in a large frying pan, so that they don’t overlap.
• Pour the ghee over them. Fry until they are reddish brown all over. Turn occasionally.
• Drain out the ghee before serving.
Rista
Rista is a type of Kashmiri mutton kofta cooked in bright red gravy. Though it takes time and effort to prepare this item, here we will share with you some easy techniques for cooking this dish easily at home. In this dish, mutton balls that dissolve as soon as you put them into your mouth in yummy bright red gravy not only look good, but are wonderful to taste.
INGREDIENTS
#For preparation of Rista meatballs
• Minced mutton from the leg of lamb: 500g
• Meat fat: 100g
• Raw egg (optional): 1
• Cornflour/corn starch (optional): 2tbsp
• Baking powder (optional): 1tbsp
• Black cardamom powder: 1/8tsp
• Green cardamom powder: 1/8tsp
• Cloves powder: 1 pinch
• Fennel seeds powder: 1½tsp
• Dry ginger powder: ½tsp
• Salt: ½tsp
#For cooking Rista meatballs
• Water: 1 litre
• Clarified butter (ghee): 1tbsp
• Cinnamon stick: 1 inch
• Indian bay leaf: 2
• Black cardamom: 1
• Green cardamom: 4
• Salt: ½tsp
#For Rista gravy
• Garlic paste: 1tbsp
• Ginger paste: 1tbsp
• Onion: 2, medium size, chopped
• Fennel seed powder: 1tbsp
• Coriander powder: 1tsp
• Kashmiri red chilli powder: 2tsp
• Red chilli powder: ½tsp
• Moval extract (cockscomb) or saffron: ½tsp
• Asafoetida: 1 pinch
• Clarified butter or refined oil: 2tbsp
• Salt: To taste
METHOD
#To prepare meat paste for Rista meatballs
• Put the minced meat in a mixer jar and grind it for two to three minutes.
• To this add the meat fat and again grind it for 2-3 minutes. If you are health conscious and do not want to use meat fat, then you can replace it with 1 raw egg.
• Now to add 1/8tsp black cardamom powder, 1/8tsp green cardamom powder, 1 pinch cloves powder, 1 ½tsp fennel seeds powder, ½tsp dry ginger powder and ½tsp salt.
• Again grind it for 1 to 2 minutes so that the spices get mixed well and it turns into a spicy smooth paste — perfect to prepare meatballs.
• Transfer this paste to a bowl. Meanwhile, we do some preparation for cooking it.
#Preparing water to cook meatballs
• Take a wide deep and heavy-bottomed pan, add 1litre of water to it and put over medium flame. Add ½ tsp salt.
• Add whole spices — ½ inch cinnamon stick, 2 bay leaves, 1 black cardamom, and 4 green cardamoms. Before adding cardamoms in water, break and open green and black cardamoms.
• Mix 1tbsp of clarified butter (desi ghee) in this water.
• Cook it covering the lid till water starts boiling. Switch off the stove and let the water cool down a little.
• When the water cools down a little take another large bowl and place a large strainer on it. Pour the water over this strainer, thus separating the whole spices. Clean spicy and aromatic water stays at the bottom. Discard the whole spices and keep the spicy water. We will use this water for cooking our meatballs.
#To make meatballs for Rista
• Wet your hand and take a small portion of meat paste, which is enough to prepare a ball of a small size lemon. Hold the meat paste between your palm and fingers lightly. Then move your palm left and right gently, to roll the meat paste into a ball. This will help in forming a spongy ball of meat paste. Never squeeze the meatballs between your palm and fingers while making meatballs.
• If you are facing difficulty in making meatballs and they are cracking, then you can add 2tbsp of cornflour and 1tbsp of baking powder and again run the paste in your mixer to mix these items well in meat paste. Now again start making meatballs from this paste, with gentle hands as above.
• Pour these meatballs immediately in the warm spicy water prepared earlier and close the lid.
• Repeat the above steps to form meatballs from the rest of the meat paste. Do not forget to dip your hands in water before preparing the next meatball.
#Cooking Rista meatballs
• When all the meatballs are ready, transfer the bowl with spicy water and meatballs over a low flame and cook it for around 1 hour with closed lid.
#Preparing moval or saffron extract
• In traditional Rista recipe, moval extract is used to get a bright red colour of the gravy. Moval is a bright red flower available only in Kashmir; it is also known as cockscomb. Since it is not easy to get the flower, you may also use the saffron extract in this recipe.
• In a ½tsp of moval extract or ½tsp of saffron (as per availability), add ½ cup boiling water and leave it aside for around 30 minutes. We will use it later while preparation of gravy.
#Preparing Rista gravy
• While the meatballs are getting cooked let’s start preparing gravy for the Rista.
• For this, heat 1tbsp of clarified butter in a pan, add 1tbsp of garlic paste and 1tbsp of ginger paste. Fry till the raw aroma of ginger and garlic goes away.
• Now add 1tsp of coriander powder and 1tbsp of fennel seed powder; fry a little.
• Then add chopped onions, fry them till brown. Remove the fried onions from the wok, let it cool down a little. Then grind it in a mixer grinder to form a smooth paste of onion.
• In the same clarified butter in which we have fried the onions, add salt, asafoetida, and a glass of water and red chilli powder. Keep on stirring until you get the red colour.
• Add previously prepared saffron extract or moval extract as per your availability or choice to this.
• Meanwhile, the meatballs would have got cooked well in spicy water. The spicy water in which we are cooking the meatballs will turn into mutton stock with the flavour of meat in it. When these meatballs start floating up, remove them and put this mutton stock in the above pan in which we are cooking the gravy for the Rista.
• Stir well and let this gravy boil for 4-5 minutes.
• Now add cooked meatballs into this gravy and let it boil for another 5-10 minutes with closed lid.
• Check for salt. Remember we have added salt in water. And also added salt while preparing meatballs. Thus, add salt accordingly.
• Cook it uncovered on medium flame till you get the desired consistency of the gravy as per your choice.
• Turn off the flame after getting the desired consistency of the gravy. Your hot delicious Rista is ready to serve.
• Garnish with coriander and serve hot with steamed rice.
Kesar Phirni
When it comes to Indian culinary heritage, there’s a range of unique flavours that accentuate the taste and aroma and kesar (saffron) is one of them. Kesar Phirni is a simple dish. It makes for a perfect dessert to serve on special occasions and we bet your guests will love this awesome surprise. What’s more, it is an ideal recipe for festivals like Diwali, Holi and Id.
INGREDIENTS
• Milk: 1litre
• Sugar: 1 cup
• Rose water: 5 drops
• Saffron: 5 strands
• Rice flour: 75g
• Basmati rice: 50g soaked
• Green cardamom: ½tsp powdered
• Pistachios: 10, chopped
• Almonds: 25g, chopped
METHOD
• To prepare this dessert, bring the milk to a boil. Reduce the heat and let the milk simmer until it reduces a little.
• Grind the soaked rice to a coarse paste. Add a little milk to it to make it a little thinner.
• Add sugar to the remaining milk and keep boiling. Add the rice paste to the hot milk and stir continuously.
• Next add the cardamom powder and the rose water. Set aside in a small matki. Chill in refrigerator for about 3-4 hours.
• Serve after garnishing it with pistachios and almonds.
Kashmiri Dum Aloo
This potato dish may have originated in this northern state but it has found acceptance across the length and breadth of the country.
INGREDIENTS
#For the onion paste
• Onions: ½ cup sliced
• Oil: 1tbsp
• Cloves (laung/lavang): 2
• Cinnamon (dalchini): 1 small stick
• Ginger: 1 tsp roughly chopped
• Garlic: 2 tsp roughly chopped
• Green chillies: 1tsp, roughly chopped
• Dry Kashmiri red chillies: 3 whole, broken into pieces
• Turmeric powder: ½tsp
• Salt: To taste
#Other ingredients
• Baby potatoes: 2 cups boiled and peeled
• Chilli powder: ½tsp
• Salt: To taste
• Oil: 3 tbsp
• Fresh curd (dahi): ½ cup
• Cumin seeds (jeera): 1tsp
• Coriander (dhania) powder: 1tsp
• Turmeric powder (haldi): ¼tsp
• Garam masala: ½tsp
• Fresh tomato pulp: ¾ cup
• Sugar: ½tsp
• Dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi): 1tsp
#For the garnish
• Coriander leaves (dhania patta): 2tbsp finely chopped
METHOD
#For the onion paste
• Heat the oil in a broad non-stick pan, add the cloves, cinnamon, ginger, garlic, green chillies, red chillies and turmeric powder and saute on a medium flame for 1 minute.
• Add the onions and saute on a medium flame for 1 minute.
• Cool and blend in a mixer till smooth without using any water. Keep aside.
#To make Kashmiri dum aloo
• Combine the curd and ¼ cup of water in a bowl, mix well and keep aside.
• Combine the baby potatoes, chilli powder and salt in a deep bowl and toss well.
• Heat the oil in a broad non-stick pan, add the chilli potatoes, mix gently and cook on a medium flame for 5 minutes. Drain the potatoes and keep aside.
• In the same pan, add the cumin seeds.
• When the seeds crackle, add the onion paste, coriander powder, turmeric powder and garam masala, mix well and cook on a medium flame for 2 minutes, while stirring continuously.
• Add the tomato pulp, ¼ cup of water and salt, mix well and cook on a medium flame for 2 minutes, while stirring occasionally.
• Switch off the flame, add the curd-water mixture and sugar and mix well.
• Switch on the flame, add the dried fenugreek leaves and potatoes, mix gently and cook on a medium flame for 1 minute, while stirring occasionally.
• Serve the Kashmiri dum aloo hot garnished with coriander.
Kashmiri Nadru Yakhni
This is a delicious lotus stem curry in yogurt sauce that has wonderful flavours from Kashmiri cuisine. Lotus stem is most often used in their cooking and are sometimes used as an alternative for meat. The curry has a yogurt base which is infused with spices like cardamom, bay leaf and cinnamon. Serve it along with plain rice or naan.
INGREDIENTS
• Lotus stem: 1 cup
• Curd (dahi/yoghurt): 2 cups
• Gram flour (besan): 1tbsp
• Dry ginger powder: 1tsp
• Fennel seeds (saunf): 1tsp, powdered
• Carom seeds (ajwain): 2tsp
• Cinnamon stick (dalchini): 1 inch
• Black cardamom (badi elaichi): 2
• Cardamom (elaichi): 2 pods
• Cloves (laung): 2
• Bay leaf (tej patta): 1
• Asafoetida (hing): ¼tsp
• Garam masala powder: 1tsp
• Ghee: 3 to 4tbsp
• Salt: To taste
METHOD
• Peel the skin on lotus stem and slice them thin. Rinse well in water.
• Cook lotus stem in a saucepan until tender. Do not overcook or mash it.
• In a bowl whisk together curd, water (about ¾ cup) and besan well.
• Heat 3tbsp ghee in a pan. Add cumin seeds fry for a minute.
• Pour in the whisked yogurt mix, simmer and bring to boil. Let it simmer for about 10 minutes.
• Now add the cooked lotus stem, sprinkle garam masala, saunf powder, and continue to cook on low flame for about 5 minutes.
• In another pan melt remaining ghee. Add cumin seeds and stir for 10-15 seconds. Next add cinnamon, cloves and cardamom, bay leaves and fry until aromatic. Sprinkle asafoetida on Kashmiri Nadru Yakhni and turn off flame.
• Pour this into the yogurt gravy, stir well. Turn off flame and serve immediately. You can garnish it with dried mint before serving with naan for lunch or dinner.
Durri Bhalla is a cookery expert and author of Indian Bohra Cuisine and Inner Truth To Good Health And Weight Loss. You can find her at @DurriBhallaKitchen on Instagram, Durri’s Kitchen on Facebook and Durri Bhalla on YouTube.