REGIONAL CUISINE

Kashmir

Fragrant rice, slow-cooked meat and warming breads suited to mountain seasons.

Signature dishes

• Harissa. A slow-cooked, pounded meat and wheat porridge, traditionally simmered overnight and served for breakfast in winter.
• Gushtaba. Finely pounded meatballs cooked in a yoghurt-based gravy, considered the closing dish of a formal Kashmiri multi-course meal.
• Bakarkhani. A dense, slightly sweet tandoor-baked bread, thicker than naan, often eaten with tea rather than curry.

Regional ingredients

Slow-cooked meat, Yoghurt-based gravies, Warming whole spices — fennel and dry ginger. Kashmiri cooking favours yoghurt over tomato as a gravy base, and leans on warming spices like fennel and dried ginger suited to a colder, mountainous climate.

Traditions

Wazwan multi-course meal tradition, Copper cookware (degchi), Saffron cultivation and use. The wazwan — a multi-course meal of pounded and slow-cooked meat dishes served at weddings and major occasions — represents the most formal expression of Kashmiri cooking, with gushtaba traditionally marking its final course.