When it comes to Kashmiri food, Yakhni and Roganjosh are the two dishes that sum up the cuisine for most people from the rest of India.
Some food enthusiasts would go a little further to associate the cuisine with pulaos and saag. But, on an average, the Kashmiri cuisine is thought to be dominated by robust use of spices and meat.
However, the Executive Chef of Swosti Premium, Biswanath Dey, will certainly challenge your assumptions. The hotel is hosting a Kashmiri food festival at its restaurant Chandan.
And, the Chef is offering not just the better-known spicy meat-based dishes, but also the watery and subtle delicacies from Leh on an alacarte basis.
The dish Thenthuk can mislead you by its name and look. It resembles Thukpa from the North East. In fact, this dish from Leh is a noodle soup prepared with wheat flour dough, mixed vegetables, and some pieces of mutton or Yak meat. But, unlike Thupka, uneven pieces of noodles are mixed with wheat flour dough in Thenduk.
If you have had taro or sweet potato and like these for being starchy and high in fiber, the kebabs made up of roots of lotus will impress you too. “The crisp oil-free exterior of the lotus root ‘kebabs’ will satisfy the foodies. It is being served with mint sauce,” said the Chef.
While most of the Kashmiri dishes are non-vegetarian, there is something very special prepared with potatoes for the vegetarians. “Dum Olav or Dum Aaloo, is one of the most famous dishes of Kashmiri cuisine. Dum Aloo is cooked with yoghurt, ginger powder, fennel and other hot spices to give it a unique flavour and aroma. You can have it with chapatis or naan,” the Chef recommended.
Another regular dish from Kashmiri households that’s being served at the fest is Lyodur Tschaman. In this dish, cottage cheese is cooked in a creamy turmeric-based gravy.
“We have included some of the dishes which have originated from Leh. For instance, Skyu is a traditional dish of Leh. Skyu is thumb-sized small pieces of wheat flour or aata, cooked in sufficient quantity of water. It is eaten with meat and vegetables,” he said.
For the non-vegetarians, the options aren’t limited. If you want to relish something gluttony, Matschgand should be your pick. It is a dish of minced meatballs cooked in spicy red gravy. Some of the popular dishes have yoghurt as their base. “Yakhni is lamb cooked in yoghurt based gravy. It is flavoured with mawal flowers, black and green cardamoms, onion paste and dry mint leaves with aromatic fennel seeds.
There’s a royal dish on offer, the Goshtaba. It is again a dish made with minced mutton. The gravy is flavoured with yoghurt and aromatic spices,” the Chef said.
The Chef serves you fish in Kashmiri style. Kashmir Gaad is a dish made up of fish. It is also prepared with radish or nadur. “It is an amalgamation of vegetarian and non-vegetarian items as the taste of fish and lotus stem blend together,” the Chef said. One would also get to choose from a plenty of breads like Khambir and Kashmiri Kulcha. And, how can the dawaat be over without a cup of butter tea?
Chef's special
Veg Guldasta: A traditional Kashmiri dish cooked in batti and served with garlic naan
Moti Mahal: Crispy cottage cheese cooked in barbeque style
Nadur Monji: Spicy fritters made of lotus flower, cooked with red chilly paste and herbs
Modur Pulav: Sweetened rice prepared using cinnamon, a little saffron, milk, ghee, sugar, cashew nuts, almonds and green cardamom
Price Pinch: All the dishes have been priced between `300 and `800.
Image Caption
17/08/2018 - BHUBANESWAR: Kashmiri Food Festival at Swosti Premium in Bhubaneswar (for City Express) -- Express Photo by Biswanath Swain~17/08/2018 - BHUBANESWAR: Kashmiri Food Festival at Swosti Premium in Bhubaneswar (for City Express) -- Express P