Haak, Rogan Josh and notes from the Valley

Three parts recipe, two parts memoir, one part history -- the latest cookbook on the shelves tells us the story of Kashmir through Sarla Razdan's experiences of growing up in firdaus

Sarla Razdan is out with her first book, but for the 60 year-old debutante author, it has been in the making for a long time. Kashmiri Cuisine Through the Ages is not just an ordinary recipe book -- it's two parts memoir and one part history.


Red chillies hang outside windows to dry

Razdan, who has cooked for the likes of former Prime Minister AB Vajpayee, singer Lata Mangeshkar and cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, peppers her recipes with memories they invoke. We learn, for instance, of the time when Tendulkar visited Razdan's New Delhi home without informing her, for fear of a crowd collecting.

Unfazed, Razdan whipped up four exquisite dishes for the Little Master, including the Yakhni (lamb cooked in yoghurt) and the Kabargah (fried lamb breasts), which Tendulkar later tried to make at home with little success.


Townsfolk gather scented saffron flowers. Both ingredients are specific
to the region's cuisine. Pics/Mukhtar Ahmad for Kashmiri Cuisine
Through the Ages

The footnotes make for interesting reading too -- the Shufta (sweetened cottage cheese with dry fruits), we are told, is Lata Mangeshkar's favourite dish, and the plain-looking Roth (sweet fried flour bread), is the centrepiece of the Kashmiri Pandit festival, when the entire clan comes together. It's a pity, there are not too many of these footnotes, though.

The book also has some breathtaking photographs of Kashmir, and while there may be little connection between the recipe of Nadir Monjvor (lotus stem cutlets) and photos of a papier mache merchant from the 1900s that flanks it, you remain absorbed by the Kashmir Razdan reveals through her book.

Excerpts from an interview with Sunday MiD DAY:

Why is Kashmiri Cuisine Through the Ages such a personal book?
I took me seven years to write it, and in it, I have included stories of the Kashmir I grew up in. The book is a dedication to my father-in-law, Jia Lal Razdan, who inspired and motivated me to jot down my recipes and publish them. I started cooking at the age of 14 under the watchful eyes of my mother. I was lucky because I found the best teachers inu00a0 my mother and later, in my mother-in-law. In here, I have written whatever they taught me.

But I also interacted with many experts on Kashmiri cuisine, while writing this book.

There aren't too many books on Kashmiri cuisine, though.
True, and there is a myth that Kashmiri cuisine is oily, spicy and time-consuming. I have tried to bust these myths by providing recipes that are simple and adaptable without compromising on taste. I have also tried to introduce dishes for calorie-conscious readers using less spice and oil, in a separate section in the book.

The recipes include a mix of greens like lentils, lotus stems, radish greens, French beans and cabbage with grilled fish, lamb and meat. Most can be prepared in a pressure cooker.

Most people outside the state haven't tasted Kashmiri food. Why is that?
Outsiders don't write a lot about the region's food and culture because they prefer focussing on the turmoil. It's sad that we are losing out on our culture, our tradition and food. Now you can find restaurants and stalls serving Chinese and Lebanese cuisine in Kashmir.

When I was growing up in Kashmir in 1950s and early 1960s, things were very simple, non-commercial and authentic. Never in my dreams had I imagined that I'd get Lebanese food in the Valley. I want to revive interest in traditional Kashmiri cuisine through my book to make sure that it doesn't die out.

You mention the distinction between Kashmiri Pandit and Muslim cuisine.
Yes, Kashmiri Pandits and Muslims have lived together in Kashmir in harmony for ages. Our food is more or less the same and so is our culture. The basic difference is in the spices. Pandits, for example, do not use onions and garlic in their cuisine. I am a Kashmiri Pandit and I have interviewed several Wazaas (chefs) from restaurants in Kashmir and in Delhi to get the Muslim recipes right.

In the author's note you talk about your mother cooking for hours in the morning to feed you the simple Haak (collard greens) and Batta (rice). Have the traditional ways of cooking changed since?
They have. Those days, a pressure cooker was unheard of in most Kashmiri households. My mother would take two hours to make Haak. Today, I take 20 minutes to cook it. New implements like the pressure cooker and the oven have reduced cooking time by less than half. But as long as you do not change the basic ingredients of a dish, the essence of the cuisine can be preserved.

A significant number of recipes are made using lamb. Is lamb central to the cuisine?
The Mughals introduced lamb to Kashmir. The winters in the region are so severe, you can't do without lamb. I now live in Delhi. But if you put lamb and chicken in front of me, I will naturally reach out for the lamb.
The recipes provided in the book can be adapted very easily. All one needs to do is to replace lamb with chicken. For example, if people who prefer chicken wish to cook Rogan Josh, they can replace lamb with equal quantity of chicken (the remaining ingredients are the same) and the dish will taste as nice.

Could you name three of your favourite recipes?
There is sentimental value attached to the Haak and I prepare that at home every day. Other than that, Rogan Josh, Haak T, Nadir and Kabargah are my favourites.

In dishes like Tamatar t, Gogje t, Raszma t, what does the 't' refer to?
It's a way of speaking. The 't' in Kashmiri literally stands for 'and' but also means 'with'. So when you talk about a dish like say, Mach t Cher, it means lamb fingers with apricot.

Cook up a flavourful kashmiri lunch

Haak
Serves: 6
Ingredients
>>1 kg / 2.2 lb Kashmiri Spinach (haak)
>>1 cup / 220 ml Mustard oil
>>1/2 tsp Asafoetida (hing)
>>Salt to taste
>>5 Dried red chilliesu00a0(sookhi lal mirch)

Method
Wash the green leaves and drain in a basket with holes.
Heat the oil in a pressure cooker; add asafoetida and salt. Pour 6 cups water and bring to the boil. Add the leaves and keep stirring for a few minutes. Pressure cook for 10 minutes. Remove the lid under running tap water to retain the green colour.
Add dried red chillies and cook for 2 minutes.
Serve hot with steamed rice.
Note: Haak is the main green leafy vegetable in a Kashmiri meal. If haak is not available, cook spinach the same way.

Kabargah
Serves: 6
Ingredients
>>1 kg lamb breast, cut into square/ rectangle pieces, washed
>>3 cups / 750 ml water
>>3 cups / 720 ml milk
>>2 Bay leaves (tej patta)
>>2 Cloves (laung)
>>2 Cinnamon (dalchini) sticks
>>2 Black cardamoms (badi elaichi)
>>5 Green cardamoms (choti elaichi)
>>1 tsp / 3 g Cumin (jeera) powder
>>1/2 tsp / 11/2 g Ginger powder (sonth)
>>1/2 tsp / 11/2 g Fennel (saunf ) powder
>>Salt to taste
>>1/2 tsp Saffron (kesar)
>>1 cup / 220 ml Ghee/refined oil
>>2 portions Silver leaves (varq) (optional)



Method
Cook the meat in a deep vessel. Add water, milk, and all the ingredients except oil. Cover and cook till the meat is tender.
Remove the lid and check if the meat is tender. Boil till the gravy is absorbed and the meat is tender.
Remove the meat pieces, one by one, with a tong so that they don't break. Separate them in a large plate.
Heat the oil in pan; fry the meat, 2-3 pieces at a time,
until light brown. Serve hot
as a snack or with main course

Rogan Josh
Serves: 6
Ingredients
>>1 kg / 2.2 lb lamb, cut from leg, washed
>>1 cup / 220 ml mustard / refined oil
>>Salt to taste
>>1/2 tsp Asafoetida (hing)
>>2 Cinnamon (dalchini) sticks
>>2 Bay leaves (tej patta)
>>2 Cloves (laung)
>>1 tsp / 2 g Cumin ( jeera) seeds
>>3 tsp / 6 g Red chilli powder
>>1/2 cup / 110 g Yoghurt (dahi)
>>2 tsp / 6 g Ginger powder (sonth)
>>3 tsp / 9 g Fennel (saunf ) powder
>>3 Black cardamoms (badi elaichi), crushed
>>3 Green cardamoms (choti elaichi), crushed
>>1 tsp / 3 g Cumin powder
>>1/2 Saffron (kesar), optional

Method
Heat the oil in a vessel; add salt, asafoetida, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, cloves, cumin seeds, and meat. Fry till the meat turns brown.
Add 1 cup water and red chilli powder; keep stirring with a ladle till the colour turns red.
Whisk yoghurt and add to the meat. Add 2 cups water, ginger powder and fennel powder; cook till the meat is tender. Add the cardamoms and cumin powder; mix well. Finally, add saffron. Simmer for 2 minutes and serve with steamed rice.

Note: Cook in a pressure cooker, if in a hurry. Personally, I do not use a pressure cooker if the quality of meat is good, as it gets tender while frying.