This is my second post for Show what you cook for guests hosted by Rak’s kitchen. 
The Kashmiri cuisine is predominantly of two types –
1. Wazwan cuisine which is a multi-course meal in the Kashmiri tradition, is treated with great respect. Its preparation is considered an art. Almost all the dishes are meat-based (lamb, chicken, fish, beef). It is considered a sacrilege to serve any dishes based around pulses or lentils during this feast. The traditional number of courses for the wazwan is thirty-six, though there can be fewer. The preparation is traditionally done by a vasta waza, or head chef, with the assistance of a court of wazas, or chefs.
Wazwan is only restricted to the Muslims of Kashmir and they regard it as the pride of their culture and identity.
Some dishes that are considered a requirement for wazwan include: Safed kokur or zafraan kokur ,Meth maaze ,Ristae, Rogan josh, Dhani phul ,Aloo bukhaar: chutney made with fresh plums onions sugar lime juice and spices, Gaade kufta
2. Kashmiri Hindu cuisine
Kashmiri Pandit food is also very elaborate, and is an important part of the local Hindu culture's identity. The food usually uses a lot of yoghurt ,turmeric, and oil & spices, and avoids onion, garlic and tomatoes. Unlike Kashmiri Muslim cuisine, it does not include many minced meat dishes, except machh.
Typical vegetarian dishes include:
Ladyar Chaman (Indian Cheese in Turmeric), Veth chaman (Indian Cheese, cooked in oil and Kashmiri spices), Dama oluv (Potato), Nadeir yakhni (Lotus Stem), Hak (with nadeir/vangan), Nadier palak
I am posting the recipe of Nadir Yakhni a delicacy of Kashmiri hindu cuisine. As I have mentioned earlier this is a curry cooked in yogurt and cooked in aromatic spices which yield a distinguished taste to the cuisine.
When my family tasted it, I curiously asked how does it taste. The answer I got was very confusing – it tastes different in different parts of mouth was S’s first answer. My elder one said it tastes likes biryani when mixed with rice. The most favorite answer was again by S which he said at the end..it tastes something like what we tasted in the Kashmiri restaurant in Mumbai. I was extremely confused by then and asked them in frustration…is it good? S started to laugh and said it’s good that’s why we are saying so many things, why do not you taste yourself to believe. And friends truly it was too good to resist and it tasted even better the next day.
One should try this at least once and I promise you will make it again and again. My family is going to confuse me again and again but I will keep making interesting things for them, as I know they are my true critic and only help me to improve and become better in my cooking skills.
Ingredients For Nadir Yakhni
serves 6
500 gms Lotus stem (3-4 medium sized)
2 cups yogurt
2-3 onions sliced
2 tbsp ghee
oil for frying
salt to taste
spices
6-7 cloves
2 inch cinnamon stick
6 cardamom
2-3 black cardamom
1/2 tsp shah jeera/ caraway seeds
2 tsp kashmiri mirch
1 tsp dry ginger pwd
1 tsp fennel pwd
2 tsp pudina pwd
Method
Cut the edges of lotus stem and peel them. Cut them into diagonal slices. Soak them in water.
Boil the slices in salted water till almost done.
Deep fry the onion slices in oil till brown in colour and then grind it with a little water. They impart the brown colour to the gravy.
Mix the yogurt properly with a whisk with half a cup of water and then strain. Boil the strained yogurt stirring continuously till it changes it’s colour. The colour changes from white-yellow on boiling.
Mix together fennel and dry ginger pwd , mix them with a little water. Now mix it with the onion paste. Heat the ghee and throw in cinnamon & cloves, when they crackle add the onion mix, kashmiri mirch and saute.
Put the boiled lotus stem and the boiled yogurt and bring it to a boil and simmer cook. When the lotus stem are completely cooked and the curry almost done add shah jeera, salt and cardamom. At the end add the pudina pwd and mix properly.
Serve it hot with rice/ naan/roti.
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