Now that I've paid a more or less decent homage to my home state, I decided to head to our northernmost state - J&K.
True to our core philosophy, here are all the links referred to for the recipes:
Kashmiri Rajma - www.whiskaffair.com
Kashmiri Dahi Baingan (eggplants in yogurt) - mydaintykitchen.com
Kashmiri style Modur Pulau - www.archanaskitchen.com
Kesar Phirni - www.yellowthyme.com
The key features that strike you about J&K cuisine is the very prevalent use of red chillies. Kashmiri chillies are famous for the distinct shades of red they add to food without extra "hotness". Curd is important. And the distinct spices added to most dishes I found were ground up saunf (fennel seeds) and dry ginger. Also, liberal use of whole spices like cardamom, cinnamon and cloves.
Mutton or "Gosht" is very important here. When we stayed in Gurgaon, I was lucky to have 2 lovely Kashmiri and Wazwan restaurants within a 2 km radius of our place. So I have had the Yakhni, Mutton Roghan Josh etc. However, C and I are not big fans of mutton, I had run out of chicken at home and I was not sure how Paneer Roghan Josh would turn out. So I tried to explore the vegetarian side of Kashmir :)
 |
| Kashmiri Rajma |
My mother hails from Jammu and we've spent a few childhood summers in the valley. Rajma was one of the absolute must-haves at my mama's house whenever we visited. The Kashmiri Rajma is very different from the usual Punjabi tomato and masala loaded one we make. This one is lighter with very strong notes of ginger and fennel. And I don't think I made this properly because I continue to prefer the Punjabi version :D And I remember clearly being a huge fan of the version made by maami. I will nail it next time!
Ease of cooking: 4/5
Taste: 3.5/5
 |
| Kashmiri Dahi Baingan |
Coming to the star of the weekend. It has to be this Kashmiri Dahi Baingan. I have not eaten this before and honestly, I am not too fond of Baingan unless it's a bharta. If you fall in the same category, you HAVE to try this out! The gravy is loaded with masalas and curd and is beyond delicious! And the brinjal pieces melt in the mouth. This is now my favourite baingan recipe and I don't think i will have baingan any other way now (except bharta, of course). Sharing the recipe again because it is just THAT GOOD: mydaintykitchen.com
Ease of cooking: 4/5
Taste: 6/5 (Yes. Yes it is 6/5)
 |
| Kashmiri Modur Pulao |
Of course you've had Kashmiri pulao in restaurants! Good news: this can be recreated at home very easily. The version here was not too sweet. It did have dry fruits and I added pomegranate seeds as well. There are aromatic whole spices and saffron. And the rice was boiled in Milk+water. All of this gave the pulao a lovely fragrance. And it went so well with the baingan! Did not go great with the rajma, though.
Ease of cooking: 4/5
Taste: 5
 |
| Kesar Phirni |
Time for dessert! I was a little torn between phirni and shufta - checked the ingredients lists for both and found I only had the ones for a Phirni. So phirni it was! I have not made phirni before but the recipe was rather easy to follow, with delicious results. The ground up Basmati Rice provides a lovely texture. I added a tiny bit of Rose water too, so this phirni had notes of both saffron and rose, and it went well toegther! Ideally phirni should be chilled in earthen bowls, but I didn't have any and it still turned out great. Always eat phirni chilled. Soothes you down in this heat.
Ease of cooking: 4/5
Taste: 5/5
Here are more Kashmiri recipes I want to try:
Kashmiri Dum Aloo
Kashmiri Lal Paneer
Chicken Roghan Josh, maybe?
Chicken in Yakhni
Lotus stem curry
For now, moving on with our cross-country journey :)
Comments
Post a Comment