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Kashmiri cuisine
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Kashmiri cuisine
Kashmiri cuisine is the traditional culinary practices of the Kashmiri people. Rice has been a staple food in Kashmir since ancient times. The equivalent for the phrase "bread and butter" in the Kashmiri language is haakh-batte (greens and rice).
Kashmiri cuisine is generally meat-heavy. The region has, per capita, the highest mutton consumers in the Indian Subcontinent. Lamb or sheep is the preferred choice of meat amongst Pandits, whereas Muslims prefer goats.
In a majority of Kashmiri cooking, bread is not part of the meal. Bread is generally only eaten with tea in the morning, afternoon and evening. The cooking methods of vegetables, mutton, homemade cheese (paneer), and legumes by Muslims are similar to those of Pandits, except in the use of onions, garlic and shallots by Muslims in place of asafoetida. Cockscomb flower, called "mawal" in Kashmiri, is boiled to prepare a red food colouring, as used in certain dishes mostly in Wazwan. Kashmiri Pandit cuisine uses the mildly pungent Kashmiri red chili powder as a spice, as well as ratanjot to impart colour to certain dishes like rogan josh. Kashmiri Muslim cuisine uses chilies in moderate quantity, and avoid hot dishes at large meals. In Kashmiri Muslim cuisine, vegetable curries are common with meat traditionally considered an expensive indulgence. Wazwan dishes with rice, some vegetables and salad are prepared for weddings and special occasions like Eid.
From the Mahabharata to the Iranian invasion of Kashmir (which was a part of Gandhara) by Darius in 516 BC, to the Mauryans who established Srinagara to the Kushan Empire to the invasion of Kashmir by Timur in 1398, the culture and cuisine of Kashmiris are linked to South Asia, Persian and Central Asian cuisines mixed with local innovations and availabilities of ingredients. The cuisine of Kashmir developed in response to the region's cold climate and long winters, contributing to the widespread use of slow-cooked dishes, dried vegetables, and preserved ingredients. The term kabab is Arabic in origin, korma has Turkish roots, and rogan josh, yakhaen, ab gosht, riste and goshtabh stem from Persian sources.
There is a legend that aeons ago Kashmir valley was a vast mountain lake. The soil contains remains of fresh-water fish and fossil-oysters and the black shells of water chestnut may be found in layers embedded in the earth at a height of 457 metres above the level of the valley.
The process of Kashmir's amalgamation with outer world commenced with the importation of primitive forms of snake and fire worship from Iran. Since Paleolithic times, serpents were worshipped and buried with a supply of insects in their graves as a provision for their future life. In addition, they splashed grains at shrines and graves to express regard unto snakes and other animals. Bommai Sopore archaeological site, discovered by Dr Mamtaz Yatoo in 2005, has a prehistoric rock engraving, the first of its kind found in Kashmir. This Upper Paleolithic engraving depicts chase and game engagements of the prehistoric population. Recent investigations by archaeologists at Overa valley of Pahalgam have revealed stone tools of Paleolithic ages, including single-edged stone blades used for preying of animals.
Even before the Megalithic culture that followed the Neolithic period, there is evidence of wheat, barley and lentil cultivation. Clear evidence for agriculture in the form of large domestic storages of grain and rachises of wheat and barley, as well as millets, were found after 2500 BC in Qasim Bagh in Kashmir. The Kashmir Valley contains multiple sites of the so-called Northern Neolithic, possibly dating as early as 3000 BC when climate became warmer. Excavations from Pethpuran Teng suggest a wider network of contact of this early population, and a significantly deeper time transition of broom-corn millets across the Inner Asian mountains. The date range returned from the lentil samples at Pethpuran Tang represent one of the earliest dated pulse crops from the region (c. 2700 BC). While the valley is altitudinally comparable to other inter-montane agro-pastoralist sites in Central Asia, Kashmir's slightly lower latitude presented the valley as a geographic threshold where crops could be grown without the necessary introgression of traits allowing their cultivation in higher and more northerly regions.
The range of tools recovered at the Neolithic site of Burzahom, in the district of Srinagar shows the men were skilled hunters with knowledge of implements for cultivation. Stone hearths have been found at ground levels, near the mouth of pits. The Period II (Ceramic Neolithic) structures show a dish with a hollow stand and a globular pot. Rectangular harvesters with a curved cutting edge have also been recovered. Presence of harpoons indicates fishing. The art-producing behaviour of Neolithic men is witnessed in a hunting scene, with human, a dog and a sun path diagram. Mortar and pestle characterised by a rectangular cross-section are made of the same volcanic rock as used by the current Kashmiris. The presence of lentil explains that the people of Burzahom had wide contacts with Central Asia. Harvesters (both in stone and bone) with two holes for handling it indicate contacts with China.
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Kashmiri cuisine
Kashmiri cuisine is the traditional culinary practices of the Kashmiri people. Rice has been a staple food in Kashmir since ancient times. The equivalent for the phrase "bread and butter" in the Kashmiri language is haakh-batte (greens and rice).
Kashmiri cuisine is generally meat-heavy. The region has, per capita, the highest mutton consumers in the Indian Subcontinent. Lamb or sheep is the preferred choice of meat amongst Pandits, whereas Muslims prefer goats.
In a majority of Kashmiri cooking, bread is not part of the meal. Bread is generally only eaten with tea in the morning, afternoon and evening. The cooking methods of vegetables, mutton, homemade cheese (paneer), and legumes by Muslims are similar to those of Pandits, except in the use of onions, garlic and shallots by Muslims in place of asafoetida. Cockscomb flower, called "mawal" in Kashmiri, is boiled to prepare a red food colouring, as used in certain dishes mostly in Wazwan. Kashmiri Pandit cuisine uses the mildly pungent Kashmiri red chili powder as a spice, as well as ratanjot to impart colour to certain dishes like rogan josh. Kashmiri Muslim cuisine uses chilies in moderate quantity, and avoid hot dishes at large meals. In Kashmiri Muslim cuisine, vegetable curries are common with meat traditionally considered an expensive indulgence. Wazwan dishes with rice, some vegetables and salad are prepared for weddings and special occasions like Eid.
From the Mahabharata to the Iranian invasion of Kashmir (which was a part of Gandhara) by Darius in 516 BC, to the Mauryans who established Srinagara to the Kushan Empire to the invasion of Kashmir by Timur in 1398, the culture and cuisine of Kashmiris are linked to South Asia, Persian and Central Asian cuisines mixed with local innovations and availabilities of ingredients. The cuisine of Kashmir developed in response to the region's cold climate and long winters, contributing to the widespread use of slow-cooked dishes, dried vegetables, and preserved ingredients. The term kabab is Arabic in origin, korma has Turkish roots, and rogan josh, yakhaen, ab gosht, riste and goshtabh stem from Persian sources.
There is a legend that aeons ago Kashmir valley was a vast mountain lake. The soil contains remains of fresh-water fish and fossil-oysters and the black shells of water chestnut may be found in layers embedded in the earth at a height of 457 metres above the level of the valley.
The process of Kashmir's amalgamation with outer world commenced with the importation of primitive forms of snake and fire worship from Iran. Since Paleolithic times, serpents were worshipped and buried with a supply of insects in their graves as a provision for their future life. In addition, they splashed grains at shrines and graves to express regard unto snakes and other animals. Bommai Sopore archaeological site, discovered by Dr Mamtaz Yatoo in 2005, has a prehistoric rock engraving, the first of its kind found in Kashmir. This Upper Paleolithic engraving depicts chase and game engagements of the prehistoric population. Recent investigations by archaeologists at Overa valley of Pahalgam have revealed stone tools of Paleolithic ages, including single-edged stone blades used for preying of animals.
Even before the Megalithic culture that followed the Neolithic period, there is evidence of wheat, barley and lentil cultivation. Clear evidence for agriculture in the form of large domestic storages of grain and rachises of wheat and barley, as well as millets, were found after 2500 BC in Qasim Bagh in Kashmir. The Kashmir Valley contains multiple sites of the so-called Northern Neolithic, possibly dating as early as 3000 BC when climate became warmer. Excavations from Pethpuran Teng suggest a wider network of contact of this early population, and a significantly deeper time transition of broom-corn millets across the Inner Asian mountains. The date range returned from the lentil samples at Pethpuran Tang represent one of the earliest dated pulse crops from the region (c. 2700 BC). While the valley is altitudinally comparable to other inter-montane agro-pastoralist sites in Central Asia, Kashmir's slightly lower latitude presented the valley as a geographic threshold where crops could be grown without the necessary introgression of traits allowing their cultivation in higher and more northerly regions.
The range of tools recovered at the Neolithic site of Burzahom, in the district of Srinagar shows the men were skilled hunters with knowledge of implements for cultivation. Stone hearths have been found at ground levels, near the mouth of pits. The Period II (Ceramic Neolithic) structures show a dish with a hollow stand and a globular pot. Rectangular harvesters with a curved cutting edge have also been recovered. Presence of harpoons indicates fishing. The art-producing behaviour of Neolithic men is witnessed in a hunting scene, with human, a dog and a sun path diagram. Mortar and pestle characterised by a rectangular cross-section are made of the same volcanic rock as used by the current Kashmiris. The presence of lentil explains that the people of Burzahom had wide contacts with Central Asia. Harvesters (both in stone and bone) with two holes for handling it indicate contacts with China.
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