Kashmir is like Scarlett O Hara from Gone with the wind,
beautiful but troubled, coveted by many but no one tries to understand her.
Just like Scarlett, Kashmir is tempting but temperamental, and many would call
‘volatile’. There is no denying the immense fascination that Kashmir holds.
On a whirlwind trip to Srinagar and Gulmarg, we managed to
sample enough Kashmiri food as well as the sheer beauty of the place to be left
craving for more.
The Dal lake is like a floating town, a fascinating maze of
handloom stores, general stores selling everything from sliced bread to mobile
recharges, and hair cutting saloons all lie in the middle of a lake. As you
drift along in your shikara, you can sample Kashmiri tea, and corn on the cob,
even kebabs, as they are made on other floating shikaras. Boxes of cherries,
tins of Kehwa tea powder and packets of saffron are sold by merchants. It’s
something out of the Arabian nights. The best time for a shikara ride is after
6 pm, atleast during june summer, the sunset doesn’t happen till 7 30 and the
sky is lit up till 8! There is a coffee house as well ona garden in the midst
of this immense lake. Cut fruits, and onion bhajjias, and potato fries as you
enjoy the cool weather during an Indian summer.
The dal lake has more to offer. If you are staying on a
house boat, then it is the perfect eway to sample Kashmiri homestyle cooking
and hospitality. We stayed in mumtaz mahal house boat and the food was tasty
and had the flavours were beautifully balanced. On our last night in Kashmir we
had a veritable feast of chicken and mutton roganjosh along with firni and
Kehwa tea to wash it all down. Everything seems more rich as you sit in the
warm light reflecting of the polished walnut wood furniture, even as an old
world chandelier presides over your dining table.
Want more? Opt for a
visit to the vegetable markets which start at 4 30 in the morning. These aren’t
mentioned in any guide books, but I read about them on a travel blog, and I am
glad to share it on my ‘travel blog’. We dragged ourselves to our pre booked
shikara at 4 in the morning and by 4 30 the sky was already a liht blue, since
it was reflected of the watery ways, it was as if it was mid morning already.
Fresh cut flowers, green leafy vegetables , and red turnips were being sold. It
was more of a market for the locals, and many exchanged vegetables ina form of
barter rather than exchange money. What was most fascinating was the floating
bakery, selling chocolate and honey biscuits, dry fruit cakes , and even homemade
‘belgian’ chocolates. We bought a few cookies and a cake to celebrate my
husbands birthday that day.
Sure you can have tea and biscuits in the comfort of your
home, but to have it on a floating shikara while you gaze upon a bustling
floating vegetable market with a bouquet of larkspurs, dog flowers and Kashmiri
roses on your lap- now that’s an experience.
Kashmiri hospitality and the wazwan food is much talked
about.one of the oldest and most famous places to eat wazwan food is Ahdoos.
Wazwan food is served on formal Kashmiri occasions such as weddings . most
dishes are made of lamb or mutton. We had just a single lunch here and decided
to overorder. Tabakmaas for starters which was marinated lamb ribs roasted
until crisp. It wasn't as succulent as lamb chops or even pork chops. It’s more
about the crackling skin than about the meat I suppose.
Then came rista which is meat balls In a red curry. The meat
balls are so smooth in texture that they are almost spongy in taste, but unlike
sponge they do not soak in the curry. Since they are deep fried individually
the rista balls have a characteristic taste and the coating doesn’t allow the
meat ball to break up in the gravy.
The same meat balls when served in a curd based slightly
sour white gravy is known as gustaba. It may seem like just a curd sauce, but
we are informed that it has many layers of spices, and all of them tend to coat
the inside of your throat. Our driver warned us against having cold water with
our gustaba lest we get a sore throat. ‘old wives tales’ our waiter at the
restaurant said.
Then came the mirchi qurma, which was meat pieces served in
a red gravy. This one had a sour vinegar after taste. A lot like the Goan
vindaloo.
Nadroo yakhni is lotus stems cooked in a similar sour curd
gravy as the gustaba. Here unlike the meat balls, the porous lotus stem soak in
the sour curry and is an all together different culinary experience.
Most of the curries are a little watery and best had with
steamed rice. In a typical wazwan meal, heaps of rice is served and the meat
dishes keep coming, sometimes 3 to 4 kg of mutton is served to a table of four.
As we stared down at our huge meal, we realised that we had definitely over
ordered. My advice try one red gravy and try one white one. Try one with meat
on the bone and one with the meat balls.
The food scene at Gulmarg was sadly lack lustre. Websites
and blogs will write about the fascinating culinary scene, and party scene in
Gulmarg. Unfortunately that’s all during winters, when the foreign tourists
come to the skiing capital off India. That’s when they bring out the cozy
fires, the fun board games, the hookahs and the fancy food. These are not just
my observations but the very words from our hotel manager. It angered me that
we ‘Indian tourists’ did not get the same treatment, but I realised later in
the evening that most Indian travellers like to have ‘home food’ even when
travelling to different places.
A very large number of travellers are Jains. Infact there
are many Jain restaurants in Kashmir. The food in most hotels are served buffet style and first its for the
Jains, followed by those on fasts, then for the rest of the Indians. ‘no onion’
no tomato, daal and sabji, staples which they know and love is what theaverage
indian traveller seeks, and the hotels serve. Some of the tours and travels
bring their own cooks along. After a non characteristic and average meal in
Gulmarg, our guide informed us that the best Kashmiri food in these parts were
in tangmarg, a small village at the base of the mountain before the climb to
Gulmarg. A place called ‘down hill ‘ was suggested, and we quickly realised
that the food here was even better than the one we had in Ahdoos.
We were served seekh kebabs, and mirchi qurma and steamed
rice. Having already had a teaste of mirch qurma at ahdoos, we voted this one
better. We finished the meal with a very fancy kehwa. Kehwa is a saffron
infused green tea with cardamom, cinnamon and almond. This one came with sticks
of cinnamon and slivers of almonds unlike the clear liquid which we had had on
the house boat. Great way to end a meal.
In many ways Kashmir is very different from rest of India.
For starters its got temperate climate unlike rest of us who live in the
tropics. There is none of the dusty brownness, which makes other towns look
dirty and grimy, here the ambient dust levels are lower making the scenery go
from green to grey to white. The grass on the road side grows effortlessly
pretty without manicuring, just the way it does in temperate European
countries. Enough reason for envy. The people yes, look different too. One
thing both my husband and I noticed is that the men here ogle less, they don’t
randomly stare down every tourist, a good sign. Maybe it is their religious
upbringing or the years of war ridden stife but they are cautious. Like any
other tourist place these guys are mercenary, and be prepared to be cheated
atleast once in your trip, but the govt fixed prices make matters a bit
simpler.
Every single turn is photogenic, be it poppies growing at
the airport or road side fruit stalls. Just like scarlett, Kashmir is
effortlessly beautiful.
We couldn’t end our trip without the famed bakery items of
Kashmir. The sheermal which was a mild salty biscuit with poppy seeds sprinkled
on top. Or the various varieties of walnut cakes, biscuits and pies. We bought
boxes of cherries which I thought of baking in a pie, but were devoured fresh
instead.
Kashmir has much to offer, be it apples, tulips, Kashmiri
roses, golden hued chinar leaves, strawberries or cherries, each during a different
season. Saffron and lotus may be political symbols but here they are valued
culinary items. As we left Srinagar, through three different security checks,
and two baggage checks, we couldn’t help but wish peace and prosperity to this
‘heaven on earth’.
