What India Likes to Eat: Story of Kashmir and Its Food

May 17, 20203 min read

Updated: Jul 29, 2020

As far as your eyes can see, it looks like an artist's extraordinary painting is hung on the wall. Many emperors, Sufi fakirs, great poets and writers have tried in vain to define the beauty of this place. But the story of Kashmir and its people is not so simple that it could be defined in words.

This obsolete story is quite intriguing. It's said that once sage Kashyap was performing penance. Unnerve locals told him that there is a monster in the lake who is harassing us. Sage Kashyap executed the monster and hence the lake was named Kashmir after sage Kashyap. So whatever the reason, whether it's a belief, legend, or ancient history right from the beginning,

Kashmir has been the land of fantasies. Kashmiri food is like a king's crown on the map of India. It is as precious as the language and the history of its people. From the hubs of the great popular silk way in India, there were many different routes. Hence there's a Persian, central Asian and to some extent Tibetan impact in the food here. The locals had their own heritage. The story of Kashmiri food is very vibrant.

Embroidery on Jamawar shawls, handicrafts, craftsmanship and artwork on the wood, all this is reflected in the food of Kashmir. There have always been fruits like walnuts, cherries, apricots, apples. Some of them arrived here during medieval times. Hence you have a variety of fruits and their preparations. Saffron is cultivated in Pampore. And saffron is called as Pamposh here. Hence Pamposh is an essential part of the food and beverages of Kashmir. Altogether you find many ingredients in Kashmiri cuisine that reminds you of Samarkand cuisine.

Kashmiri Pandoras also known as Kashmiri pandits living from ages in Kashmir valley are accustomed to having meat and fish. One of those dishes is Rogan Josh. In India, Rogan Josh is often made with goat instead of mutton, since genuine lamb is less widely available than goat meat. Here is a recipe for this delicious savoury:

Recipe: Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes Servings: 4 People Calories: 715kcal
Ingredients: 1/2 kilogram mutton/ chicken 4 tablespoon clarified butter (Ghee) 2 pieces black cardamom 1/2 teaspoon saffron 1 teaspoon whisked curd For fresh Garam masala: 1 bay leaf 2-3 green cardamom 1 petal mace (Nutmeg's flower or Javitri) ½ tablespoon cumin seeds Muslin cloth (Malmal ka kapda)
For the spice mix: I tablespoon Kashmiri red chilli powder ½ teaspoon dry ginger powder. 1 tablespoon fennel seeds powder 1 teaspoon of asafoetida powder (Hing) ½ teaspoon red chilli powder

Instructions: How to prepare Fresh Garam Masala for Mutton Rogan Josh: 1. On a muslin cloth put 1 bay leaf, 2-3 whole green cardamom, 1 petal of mace, half teaspoon coriander seeds, half teaspoon cumin seeds, 1-inch cinnamon stick and bundle it into a bale and keep aside.

How to Prepare Spice Mix For Mutton Rogan Josh: 1. In a small bowl add asafoetida powder, dry ginger powder, fennel seeds powder, Kashmiri red chilli powder, red chilli powder with 3 tablespoons of water. Mix it into the water and keep aside.

How to Make Kashmiri Mutton Rogan Josh: 1. Take a heavy bottom pan and pour the 4 tablespoons clarified butter in it and heat it on medium-high flame. Then put the black cardamom into it and roast it for 1-2 minutes.

2. Now put the mutton pieces in clarified butter and fry it till outer coating of meat turns brown in colour. Occasionally stir and turn the mutton pieces to cook it from all the sides till brown in medium-high flame.

3. When the outer coat of mutton pieces got caramelized and brown from all the sides add the watery spice mix to it. Cook it for a minute or two.

4. Now add half teaspoon of saffron, salt to taste and pour 2 cups of water to it.

5. Put the whole spice bundled bale into it. Cover and cook it on high flame for 5 minutes and let the mutton simmer. After 5 minutes turn the flame to low and let the mutton cook with spices for 40 minutes on low heat.

6. After 45 minutes open the lid. You will find the gravy has turned into Rogan (red), thick and oily. Now add 1 teaspoon of garam masala powder along with 2 tablespoons of whisked curd. Mix it well and again cook covered for another 30 minutes on low flame.

7. After 30 minutes open the lid and remove the spice bundled bale from the gravy. Your delicious Mutton