A khaas Kashmiri feast for Mumbai

Dilnavaz and Aqeel Nedou belong to a family of hoteliers whorsquove played host to luminaries from around the world over the last 120 years a family that would take the Gandhi brothers hunting and whose registers hold plaudits from Mohammad Ali Jinnah to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and even Lawrence of Arabia The two are in the city to inaugurate a Kashmiri food fest Earlier Chef Surjan Singh spent a week at the Nedousrsquo hotels mastering Wazwan wizardry The family tells us about special dishes reserved for khaas guests and occasions in Kashmir From left to right Tujee Kebab on a skewer Gosht Tey Gogji Yakhni and Kashmiri Pulao Are there any foodsingredients that Kashmiris specifically associate with affluence Dilnavaz Nedou Saffron comes to mind immediately We make a special kahwah with saffron almonds and cinnamon when we host a dawat mdash a party at our homes Aqeel Nedou Guchchi a type of mushroom is an expensive specialty one whose exclusivity can be equated with that of caviar Itrsquos a wild mushroom thatrsquos only available in the depths of jungles between May and June DN As a child the morning after a storm we would trek through the mountains and jungles in Gulmarg to find these Chef Surjan Singh I brought these mushrooms from there So during the fest wersquoll be serving Kistawari Guchchi Haakh Haakh mdash Kashmiri greens also arenrsquot easily available in Mumbai but wersquoll be substituting Haakh with Kadam leaves which come close in terms of taste Arenrsquot some of the cooking techniques and procedures very elaborate Will the dishes be cooked the same way for the fest ND Most authentic recipes involve longdrawn processes Many dishes require overnight cooking and intense preparation Tabak Maaz ribs for instance takes a whole day to prepare The dish must be prepared on a very slow fire while a weight is kept on the ribs to flatten these And to prepare Rista meatballs in gravy the meat must be pounded on a stone by hand so that the air gets trapped inside This lends the meatballs a spongy texture which canrsquot be achieved by mincing the meat in a blender like you would for a sausage CSS We are using the original painstaking techniques for the fest and as far as is possible Irsquoll also be using authentic Kashmiri ingredients For Rogan Josh the authentic Kashmiri recipe would require the right cut of lamb and ingredients such as Wagah chillies and the beautiful cockscomb flower slow dried and pounded this lends the dish its subtle colour which I have brought down Besides few know that Kashmiri food is cooked in walnut and mustard oils Wersquoll be using these Have you modified traditional recipes to suit the Mumbai palate CSS The Kashmiri diet includes a lot of red meat mdash not goat but lamb sheep Wazwan feasts usually include only one or two chicken dishes in a 35dish spread But here wersquove had to alter the menu to accommodate a preference for seafood and chicken Wersquove also created an array of dishes inspired by authentic Kashmiri recipes like the Nadru lotus stem Walnut and Baked Anjeer Seekh DN In truth we dont have too many vegetarian dishes in our cuisine I can think of a handful of vegetarian preparations which are prepared in Kashmiri homes Therersquos Tamatar PaneerPaneer Tsaman prepared with big pieces of paneer and Haakh leaves from the spinach family mdash we have a Pundit Haakh and a Muslim Haakh the Muslim version being one thatrsquos prepared with more oil Then we prepare Nadru and Khatte Baingan mdash which is usually reserved for Wazwan wedding feasts Where does Kashmiri food draw its influence from mdash is it a fusion of North Indian and Pakistani recipes or is it a completely unique cuisine altogether DN Itrsquos a completely different cuisine During a visit to Pakistan I noticed that they they serve sheer chai there but their tea is a sweet preparation different from our sheer chai or noon chai a tea we prepare with pink salt CSS Noon Cha is served with Girda a crusty round bread which is like a flattened ciabatta but has fingertip indents AN Harissa is served in Pakistan It39s similar to Haleem in that it39s a timeconsuming preparation in which meat is cooked with dhaliya oats but its recipe doesnrsquot include lentils DN I was surprised to find Harissa as a main course served at lunchtime in Pakistan For us itrsquos a breakfast dish When we start the day with Harissa we are sated for the rest of the day Till Dec 15 7 30pm onwards COST Veg R1500 Taxes Nonveg R2000 Taxes Seafood and assorted meats R3000 Taxes you can also order la carte AT Nawab Saheb Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel 2 amp 3B Chinmayananda Ashram Powai Call 66927558