The beauty of Kashmir is eternal. Snow-capped mountains and houseboats floating in Dal Lake. Saffron fields, fruit-laden trees and spring flowers. The beauty of Kashmir is rarely mentioned. Every season has its own beauty but the view of autumn is so mesmerizing that one gets lost in these views.
The cooks who came with Timur Ling in the 15th century still live in Kashmir. If the home of traditional cooks in Lucknow is the Kachi Tola, then in Srinagar, Wazapura is where skilled cooks have resided for years. Waza literally means food shop.
Given the number of eateries in Waza, the name is apt and apt.
36 varieties of dishes are the result of Waza's hard work throughout the night. Preparing Wazawan dishes is not something a mere cook can do. Their skill and the deliciousness of the food they make is unparalleled.
Four or eight guests are seated around a clear white shiny table on the floor and a copper plate placed on it, waiting impatiently for their meal. The attendant washes his hands by offering a plate and a nari to each guest and begins the meal with the words of the Muslim Bismillah and the Hindu Lord Rudra.
In the waza itself, chicken dishes made of meat, chicken and salad are placed in the plates of the guests one after the other. The atmosphere is filled with the aroma of the food and the guests are engrossed in eating. Most of the dishes are based on meat and chicken, like kebabs, chicken made with Kashmiri curries or various meat kurmas, tabak maaz, saffron kokar, yakhni. , Rasta, Lugan Josh, Abgosht, as well as curd in small delicate earthen bowls, various types of chutneys, saffron-scented pulao and warm breads coming out of the oven, bowls of pudding or a bowl of farni.
Where can the guest find leisure elsewhere?
It is said that whenever Pandit Nehru used to visit Kashmir, Sheikh Abdullah used to arrange Wazawan for him. Although most of the Wazawan dishes are based on meat and chicken, there is no shortage of subtle and delicious dishes even for the vegetarian guests. .
Dishes like nadru yakhni, gochi pulao, dum aloo, rajma gogji, hook ka sag are dishes that form part of wazaan.
Abgosht is the last dish of wazwan served to the guests. That is, the announcement of the end of Alma Goshth Wazwan banquet.
Then there is a period of laughter and the guests barely get up and leave for their homes remembering the chicken dishes. For any guest, the arrangement of wazwan is the first letter of hospitality and a representative of the dignity and status of the host.
Although Kashmiri food shops have opened in big cities today and wazwans are also organized in some places, but what about the traditional wazwans of Kashmir? has been
Salma Hussain is a cooking enthusiast, expert cook and food historian. His Persian language has explained the mysteries of the history of medieval Mughal cuisine. She has also written several books and works as a food consultant with major hotels. (BBC Urdu)
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