Various Flavors and Colors of Indian Cuisine

We Indians, as the world know us, are blessed with a rich cultural heritage and our country  is the biggest democracy in the world too. We possess world's fourth largest Army and our music touches souls of everyone in the world.{ Proud Indian }.

But one thing that takes India to a different peak is its "FOOD".

"Paani-poori, Bhel - Poori, Samosa chaat, paapadi chaat, paper dosa, uthappam, medu vada, daal vada, mirchi bhaji,paava bhaji,vada paav,dahi vada,...................so on".

Search for any color, taste, smell,texture and you would see at least a dozen of Indian dishes lined up under your search results.



So what are we waiting for.. let's begin our Journey. I am starting my first food journey from the northern most state of India: Jammu & Kashmir. J&K, as it is popularly known, is a state which is haunted by terrorism and militant attacks. But this doesn't stop people of J&K from spreading love and warmth. And this reciprocates on  flavors and colors of their food which is famously known as Kashmiri Cuisine.

Kashmiri Cuisine offers a delightful feast for the meat lovers and yes it does provide some impeccable delicacies when comes to the Vegan too.

Some of the famous dishes from Kashmiri Cuisine are : 

Qabargaah (Kashmiri Muslims commonly refer to this dish as Tabakhmaaz)

Goshtaba (Prepared from minced lamb, spices and curd)

Lyodur Tschaman : (Lyodur means yellow (turmeric) and tschaman  means Paneer: Paneer cooked in creamy turmeric based gravy)

Matschgand : ( lamb meatballs in a gravy tempered with red chilies )

Modur Pulaav : (Modur’ means sweet, so it is sweet Pulaav)

Monji Haak/Gogji Haak : (This dish consists of spinach/saag along with radish)

Mujh Gaad, a dish of radishes with a choice of fish.

Qeleeya, a delicate preparation of lamb cooked in a milk-based gravy incorporating bay leaves and turmeric.

My personal favorite from Kashmiri cuisine is the exotic  Rogan Gosh which is also known as an aromatic lamb dish of Persian origin. Lamb is cooked in a gravy seasoned with liberal amounts of Kashmiri chili powder, powdered ginger, asafoetida  and bay leaves . Rogan Gosh is prepared without using onions so yogurt cats as a thickener for the gravy and it also blends the spices into the meat.

Rogan Gosh goes awesome with steamed rice, but you can have it with tandoori roti, Naan or Roomali roti as well.




From Vegan option, I love the mouth watering Kashmiri dum aaloo. It is a dish that is cooked with  baby potatoes in a spicy vibrant curd based gravy. Kashmiri dum aaloo stands out from other potatoes dishes from different parts of the country in two main aspects : firstly boiled potatoes are fried before putting into the gravy, secondly Yogurt or Curd plays a very important role in thickening the gravy.

Thanks to my Father's profession (Army officer), I did get a chance to taste these delicacies at J&K itself, in its full ethnicity. And I would definitely want to visit Kashmir again!!

So if next time you visit Kashmir then don't forget to get your hands on to my recommended list of dishes from Kashmiri cuisines. Dal lake, Shikaara ,beautiful gardens, snow mountains, jewellery , shawls and exotic Kashmiri cuisine, that might be the reason why Kashmir is called "heaven on earth".

"Rind posh maal gindane drai lo lo"
Kashmir ke pakwaano ka mazaa le lo....

Food journey continues....