
() is a multi-course meal in
Kashmiri cuisine
Kashmiri cuisine is the cuisine of the Kashmir Valley in the Indian subcontinent. Kashmiris have developed the art of cooking to a very high degree of sophistication and evolved a cuisine quite distinct from that of any part of the world. Rice ...
, originating from
Kashmir.
Almost all the dishes are meat-based using lamb or chicken with few vegetarian dishes. It is popular throughout the larger
Kashmir region. Moreover, Wazwan is also served internationally at Kashmiri food festivals and reunions.
History
In the Kashmiri language, means 'cook' or 'cooking' and means 'shop'. The ultimate formal banquet in Kashmir is the royal . Of its thirty-six courses, between fifteen and thirty can be preparations of meat, cooked overnight under the supervision of a master chef called a . Guests are seated in groups of four and share the meal out of a large copper plate called the . A ritual washing of hands in a portable basin called the , which is taken around by attendants. Then the arrives, heaped with rice, quartered by two
seekh kabab
The seekh kebab (Pashto and Urdu: , Hindi: ) is a type of kebab, originating in the Indian subcontinent. It is made with spiced, minced or ground meat, usually goat, lamb or chicken, and in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, sometimes made wi ...
s and contains four pieces of , (mutton intestines flavored with a spice mixture containing dried
fenugreek
Fenugreek (; ''Trigonella foenum-graecum'') is an annual plant in the family Fabaceae, with leaves consisting of three small obovate to oblong leaflets. It is cultivated worldwide as a semiarid crop. Its seeds and leaves are common ingredient ...
(methi) leaves), two (twice-cooked lamb ribs, initially braised with ground spices, then browned in ghee), one (chicken with white sauce), one (chicken with saffron sauce), and the first few courses.
Yogurt
Yogurt (; , from tr, yoğurt, also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yogurt are known as ''yogurt cultures''. Fermentation of sugars in the milk by these bact ...
and
chutney
A chutney is a spread in the cuisines of the Indian subcontinent. Chutneys are made in a wide variety of forms, such as a tomato relish, a ground peanut garnish, yogurt or curd, cucumber, spicy coconut, spicy onion or mint dipping sau ...
are served separately in small earthen pots. Up to about 20 items are served thereafter by (the junior cook). Seven dishes are a must for these occasions — , (meatballs in a red, paprika-saffron-fennel spice gravy colored with
dyer's alkanet),
, (lamb roasted with yoghurt, spices and onion puree, topped with
leaves), (lamb chunks cooked with a fennel-based spice mixture, cardamom and partially evaporated milk), (chicken legs/thighs cooked in a spicy browned-onion sauce) and (meatballs cooked in a spicy yoghurt gravy).
The main course usually ends with .
The is a large meatball which signals the end of the main course. After that, desserts are served. In winters, the dessert can be a hot sweet dish and in summers, it is usually something cold.
List of main dishes
* Rista (
meatball
A meatball is ground meat rolled into a ball, sometimes along with other ingredients, such as bread crumbs, minced onion, eggs, butter, and seasoning. Meatballs are cooked by frying, baking, steaming, or braising in sauce. There are many types ...
s in a fiery red gravy)
[
* Lahabi kabab or Moachi kabab (flattened mutton kababs cooked in yogurt)
* Waza kokur (two halves or two full chicken cooked whole)
* Daeni phoul (mutton dish)
* Doudha ras (mutton cooked in sweet milk gravy)
* (tender lamb cooked with Kashmiri spices)][
* Tseer-e-Gushtab (A soft meatball with apricot inside cooked with yogurt)
* Tabak maaz (ribs of lamb simmered in yogurt till tender, then fried)][
* Daniwal korma (a mutton curry with coriander)
* Waza palak (green spinach cooked with small mutton balls known as )
* Aab gosh (lamb cooked in milk curry)][
* Marchwangan korma (an extremely spicy lamb dish)
* ]Kabab
Kebab (, ; ar, كباب, link=no, Latn, ar, kabāb, ; tr, kebap, link=no, ) or kabob (North American) is a type of cooked meat dish that originates from cuisines of the Middle East. Many variants of the category are popular around the wor ...
(minced meat roasted on skewers over hot coals)[
* Gushtaba (a velvety textured meatball in white yogurt gravy)][
* Yakh'n (delicately spiced yogurt curry)][
* Ruwangan chhaman (cheese (paneer) squares with tomato gravy)
* Dum aelva (potatoes cooked in yogurt gravy)
* Dum aloo][
* Gand aanchaar (chopped onions mixed with chilies, salt, yogurt and spices)
* Muji chetin or mooli akhrot chutney (radish and walnut ]chutney
A chutney is a spread in the cuisines of the Indian subcontinent. Chutneys are made in a wide variety of forms, such as a tomato relish, a ground peanut garnish, yogurt or curd, cucumber, spicy coconut, spicy onion or mint dipping sau ...
)[
* ]Phirni
Kheer, also known as payasam, is a sweet dish and a type of wet pudding popular in the Indian subcontinent, usually made by boiling milk, sugar or jaggery, and rice, although rice may be substituted with one of the following: daals, bulgur wh ...
(a milk pudding thickened with semolina or ground rice, flavored with cardamom and optionally saffron, set in individual bowls with slivered nuts and silver leaf)
File:TabakMaaz wazwan.jpg , Tabak maaz
File:Rista wazwan.jpg , Rista
File:Kabab wazwan.jpg , Kabab
File:Daniphol wazwan.jpg , Daeni phoul
File:Goshtaba wazwan.jpg , Gushtaba
File:Wazwan prep.jpg , Preparation of wazwan
See also
* Kanger
A kanger (; also known as kangri or kangid or kangir) is an earthen pot woven around with wicker filled with hot embers used by Kashmiris beneath their traditional clothing pheran to keep the chill at bay, which is also regarded as a work of art ...
* Kashmiri cuisine
Kashmiri cuisine is the cuisine of the Kashmir Valley in the Indian subcontinent. Kashmiris have developed the art of cooking to a very high degree of sophistication and evolved a cuisine quite distinct from that of any part of the world. Rice ...
* Kashmiri literature
Literature of Kashmir has a long history, the oldest texts having been composed in the Sanskrit language. Early names include Patanjali, the author of the ''Mahābhāṣya'' commentary on Pāṇini's grammar, suggested by some to have been the sa ...
* Kashmiriyat
''Kashmiriyat'' (also spelled as ''Kashmiriat'') is the centuries-old indigenous tradition of communal harmony and religious syncretism in the Kashmir Valley in the Indian-administered union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Emerging around ...
* List of chicken dishes
This is a list of chicken dishes. Chicken is the most common type of poultry in the world, and was one of the first domesticated animals. Chicken is a major worldwide source of meat and eggs for human consumption. It is prepared as food in a wi ...
* List of lamb dishes
This is a list of lamb and mutton dishes and foods. Lamb and mutton are terms for the meat of domestic sheep (species '' Ovis aries'') at different ages. A sheep in its first year is called a lamb, and its meat is also called lamb. The meat of a ...
* Noon Chai
Noon chai (), also called Sheer chai (), Namkeen chai (), Kashmiri tea or Pink tea, is a traditional tea beverage, originating in Kashmir. It is made with gunpowder tea (green tea leaves rolled into small balls), milk and baking soda.
Etymolog ...
References
http://kashmironline.net/category/food/wazwan/
Further reading
*{{cite web, url=http://kashmirikitchen.blogspot.ae/p/kashmiri-food-genesis.html, title=History
Kashmiri cuisine
Indo-Caribbean cuisine
Lamb dishes
Indian chicken dishes
Pakistani chicken dishes