Eating out Punjabi, Kashmiri, and other food in Pahalgam
Eating out Punjabi, Kashmiri, and other food in Pahalgam
K
a
s
h
m
i
r
Bread, wazwan, Kahwa, etc. is Kashmiri food available all over Kashmir. Pahalgam also has many bakeries. You can find all kinds of restaurants in Pahalgam - Punjabi, Gujarati, South Indian, Chinese, etc.
One could find many bakeries in Pahalgam villages.
Kashmiri Bakeries
Kashmiri Bakeries in addition to patties and pastries, serve Kashmiri breads like 'sheermal' and 'baqerkhani', without which no Kashmiri breakfast is complete. Kashmiris use a variety of breads seldom seen elsewhere.
Tsot and tsochvoru are small round breads, topped with poppy and sesame seeds and traditionally washed down with salt tea. Lavas is a cream coloured unleavened bread; baqerkhani is the Kashmiri equivalent of rough puff pastry and kulcha is a melt-in-the mouth variety of short-bread, sweet or savoury, topped with poppy seeds.
Kashmiri Food
Rich and redolent with the flavour of the spices used cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, saffron, etc. -- Kashmiri food can be the simple meal of a family, or a 36-course wedding banquet called Wazawan. The staple diet of every Kashmiri is rice, the most preferred being the dense, slightly sticky grained Kashmir variety, which is prized in the Valley.
Mutton, chicken or fish are of prime importance in Kashmiri meal and everyday cooking often combines vegetable and meat in the same dish. Mutton and turnips, chicken and spinach, fish and lotus root are also very popular combinations. Pure vegetarian dishes include dum-aloo - roasted potatoes in curd-based gravy, and chaman- fried paneer (cottage cheese), in a thick sauce. Non-vegetarian dishes are considered in Kashmir to be a sign of lavish hospitality and at a Wazwan or banquet, not more than one or two vegetarian dishes are served. Sweets do not play an important role in Kashmiri cuisine. Instead Kahva or green tea is used to wash down a meal.
Wazawan is usually served at weddings and parties. The most commonly served items are rista (meat balls) made of finely pounded mutton and cooked in a gravy; seekh kababs, tabak maz, or flat pieces of meat cut from the ribs and fried till they acquire a crisp crackling texture, roganjosh, which owes its rich red colour to the generous use of Kashmiri chillies. Yakhni, a cream coloured preparation of delicate flavour, is made with curd as a base. Gushtaba, which is the last item to be served in a traditional wazawan, are meatballs moulded from pounded mutton like large-sized Rista but cooked in thick gravy of fresh curd base. Dam-Aaloo and chaman are the commonly served vegetarian dishes - to serve more than this would indicate an unseemly tendency on the part of the host to economize!
Kahwa
The Kashmiri word kahwa is also a derivative of Arabic, yet the ingredients that go into the making of Kashmiri kahwa are not coffee beans but green tea leaves along with cinnamon and cardamom. So although it is called coffee it is actually tea.
For ages the local (green tea) drink has continued to appeal to the taste buds of residents and tourists.
With an increased number of tourists from various parts of the country and abroad, Kashmir's special drink--Kahwa, the rich, aromatic specially brewed Kashmiri tea-is also becoming famous among all. It is viewed as a must-drink for all tourists visiting the valley for the first time from different parts of the world.
A concoction of green tea, cardamom, cinnamon, nuts, saffron and Kashmiri roses the flavourful and aromatic traditional drink dates back to times immemorial and is known for it therapeutic properties.
Kashmiri Kahwa is liked and enjoyed by both-local as well as foreign tourists. It is believed that it has no chemicals. It is good for headaches, stomach. It has a great aroma.
Traditionally, Kahwa is prepared in a brass kettle known as a samovar, which consists of a fire-container in which live coals are placed keeping the tea perpetually hot. Around the fire-container there is a space for water to boil and the tealeaves and other ingredients are mixed with the water for a perfect blend.
For many tourists Kahwa serves as a perfect relaxant after a long journey across the Valley.
Ingredients:- Kashmiri green tea 4 tsps
- saffron 4 strands
- Crushed Green cardamom pods 2
- Blanched and chopped Almonds 8
- Cinnamon 1 stick
- Cloves 2
- Sugar 2 tbsps
Boil 3 cups of water along with cinnamon, cardamom and cloves and pour over the tea. Cover and leave for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, dissolve saffron in a little water. Strain the tea and add the saffron liquid together with almonds. Serve hot.