CaLDRON February 2014 - Valentine's Day Special | Page 20

REVIEWS - MUMBAI

WAH,
WAZWAN!

The traditional Wazwan meal is a feast to behold for the eyes and
the palate, with rich meat dishes unfolding one after another. Luckily,
the food at the Wazwan festival organized by JW Marriott, Mumbai
was a simpler affair, and didn’t weigh down heavily on the stomach.

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What’s Wazwan all
About?
Wazwan is the area where food is
served to large groups of people and
is cooked by a specialized cook
CaLDRON February 2014

Chef Abbas Bhat

T

JW Marriott decided to hold this
he very thought of Wazfood festival in January because the
wan invokes pictures of
a languorous meal of rich meat
The secret to great
dishes served course after course,
until you are unable to move and
gostaba lies in the
need to be escorted to your bed to
texture of the meat,
grab a much-needed siesta. Not a
very cheery thought if one planned
which is pounded
to dine at JW Marriott Mumbai’s
with to a paste-like
‘Wazwan Kashmiri Food Festival’
between 17th January and 2nd
consistency.
February, 2014. Surprisingly, and
mercifully, the food served during
spiciness of Wazwan food is perfectthe festival was not opulent. Instead,
ly suited for Mumbai’s blink-andit was simple food, simply served.
miss-it winter. However, chefs Fayaz

Ahmad and Mohammed Abbas
Bhat, who were hosting this fest,
faced an unusual dilemma. The Srinagar-based duo was stumped when
it came to including vegetarian
dishes in what is largely a meat-laden spread! They rustled up ‘Nadir
Yakhni’ and ‘Noorani Gobi’, which is
not strictly Wazwan fare, but at least
their vegetarian guests could savor a
slice of Kashmiri on their plate.