With the winter chill settling in, it’s natural for the body to crave delicacies that keep one warm, provide comfort and are nosh up. A winter meal at The Leela Palace New Delhi’s ongoing ‘Kashmiri Food Festival’ which we experienced is one we highly recommend.
The meal started before a Kashmiri tablescape — a massive thali where quintessential Wazwan dishes like Nadru Churma, Mutton Tabakh Maaz, Mutton Badami Qurma, Kashmiri Waza Saag, and kebabs took centre stage. It evoked a typical Wazwan served at weddings and ceremonial occasions in Kashmir, and is much loved for its community-eating experience where locals dressed in tilla embroidered pherans, and kurta-pyjama, sit in groups on woollen carpets to eat from a single plate.
A Samovar — an intricately carved copper kettle to pour Kahwa — adorned the table with tiny copper cups. Beside it, fresh spices from the Valley, from the crisp marooned dried red chillies, and big cloves, and star anise to the fragrant bay leaves and cinnamon ensured we were in for authentic flavours.
Wazwan is not a feast easily replicated at home kitchens. It’s a test of endurance perfected over time by expert cooks, the Wazas. We met the man behind the fare, chef Tariq Ahmed, who belongs to one such Waza family from Srinagar. He has served actors Soha Ali Khan and Ashish Vidyarthi amongst others and earned wide praise for taking the Wazwan to five star hotels across India including The Westin, Hyatt, Marriott, and now The Leela Palace. “Chef Ahmed’s deep knowledge of Kashmiri cuisine, passed down through generations in his family, is sure to bring in guests,” says Karan Thakur, executive chef, The Leela Palace, who invited the Kashmiri chef for a 10-day food festival.
Meet the culinary maestro
Historically, Wazaz are said to have travelled from the Samarkand Valley in the northeastern region of Uzbekistan to Kashmir under Mongol conqueror Timur, around 1938. The art of Wazwan is passed down like a family heirloom. Chef Ahmed too learnt the basics from his father, brothers, and uncles — from the mincing of the meat, and the alchemy of spices to eventually mastering the signature dishes – at the huge kitchen at his home where the entire family would cook together on various occasions.
Says the chef who has been cooking since the age of 15, “I honour my heritage by keeping the recipes unchanged, yet I also believe in innovation. I enjoy using creativity to develop dishes that resonate with our diverse guests, like our Mutton Mushroom and Mutton Nashpaati — lamb dishes crafted in the shape of mushrooms and pears.” But mastering this culinary art at home came at the cost of education. “I never had the opportunity to take formal education. But I have told my kids to focus on their studies and will support them in whatever career they choose,” says the 39-year-old.
Chef Ahmed began his career by preparing Wazwan for Kashmiri weddings. “Kashmiri weddings are among the most beautiful and elaborate. Traditionally, we use wood-fire and copper vessels to prepare the food, which is then served on a trami — a large, copper plate filled with rice and a selection of meats. Groups share a meal from a single plate. I believe everyone should experience this tradition at least once in their lives,” he says with sparkling eyes showing us a few pictures of him sitting on the ground and preparing Wazwan for weddings.
He adds that what makes Wazwan much loved, even outside of Kashmir, is that it is prepared with fresh food from locally sourced items. “For instance, our meat is cooked right after it is cut and our vegetables and spices are also organic. We also use minimal spices, allowing the natural flavours of the meat and vegetables to shine. Plus the wood-fire cooking and usage of the copper utensils enhances its richness,” he says.
A meat-rich fare
Wazwan is a meat-rich spread with over 15-20 dishes that can even go up to 50! “The snow-capped mountains of Kashmir are unsuitable for vegetation. Hence, people are dependent on meat. It keeps them warm and is protein-rich,” Chef Ahmed tells us, adding that mutton is the most preferred meat in Wazwan.
Soon, a parade of meat delicacies arrives. The Mutton Tabak Maaz had tender goat ribs cooked and then pan-fried in clarified butter for a crispy brown crust that cracked under the fork to reveal succulent meat beneath. The Chicken Yakhni Shorba was a hearty soup with slow-cooked chicken in a broth infused with whole spices, yoghurt and dried mint. On cue came a hot and velvety Gushtaba — tender meatballs cooked in rich creamy yoghurt gravy.
“I might be biased but the flavour and richness that the wood-fire brings to the food can never be replaced with anything else,” the chef says. “The heat is evenly distributed while cooking, which is extremely important for the proper cooking of the meat and enhancing its natural flavours.”
A vegetarian surprise
Vegetarian dishes included Nadru (lotus stem), Shalgum (turnip), and Haak Saag (spinach). We bite into the Shalgam Nadru, a vegetarian crunchy snack filled with turnips and lotus steam. Nadru’s story dates back to the 15th century; the eighth sultan of Kashmir, Ghiyas-ud-Din Zain-ul-Abidin, on a shikara ride on Gil Sar Lake, tasted a meal made of lotus stem served by his boatman. Captivated by the beauty of the lotus flower and the taste of its stem, he ordered lotuses to be introduced in all lakes of Kashmir, which also led to the popularity of the Nadru dish.
However, it was the vegetarian item of Kashmiri Rajma that surprised us the most with a unique taste. The kidney beans were cooked in tomato purée with a hint of Kashmiri chilli, a contrast to the rajma cooked in onion-garlic paste in Delhi homes. For those who love the sour tangy taste, they can also try Khatta Baingan, where eggplant is cooked with a fried onion paste, spices, and tamarind for sourness and Tamatar Chaman, a cottage cheese dish where cubes of paneer are fried in mustard oil and then dunked in a tomato gravy flavoured with fennel seeds and dry ginger.
Our finale concluded in typical Kashmiri style; our spoon dunked in the decadent Phirni where semolina flavoured with saffron was complemented with hot sips of Kahwa, that gave a warm hug on a chilly night.
The Kashmiri Food Festival is on till November 17th at The Leela Palace New Delhi’s The Qube from 7 pm to 11:30 pm.