CaLDRON February 2014 - Valentine's Day Special | Page 21
REVIEWS - MUMBAI
The meat virtually melted off the Rogan Josh.
called Vastawaza and his team of
wazas, revealed Chef Abbas, who is
also the Executive Chef at RK Sarovar Portico in Srinagar. Since this is
often organized during weddings,
people wrongly presume that Wazwan cooking is limited to marriages
alone.
is rarely revealed to anyone beyond
blood relations. This has made certain waza families very prominent
within and outside Kashmir,” Chef
Abbas added.
these mildly spiced tiny patties because the minced mutton meat did
not overpower the chana dal. The
subtle flavors of the mint enhanced
this combination.
A Meal from Heaven on Earth
Before we embarked on our culinary
journey, Chef Himanshu Taneja,
Executive Chef of JW Marriott
Mumbai warned us that the food
would be extremely spicy and added
that Kashmiri food had three major
ingredients – ghee, ghee and more
ghee! Concerned about our digestive
tract, we decided to just nibble on
the food and drink a lot of the ‘Rose
Milk Sherbet’.
The ‘Fried Rainbow Trout’, a fish
native to Kashmir’s cold rivers, was
butterflied and marinated in ground
mustard seeds and later shallow
fried. The fish had a crispy exterior
but the meat inside was perfectly
flaky. Served without any fanfare or
accompaniments, this would go best
with an ice-cold beer.
During a Wazwan banquet, guests
sit in groups of four and the meal
begins with a symbolic washing of
hands with water poured from tasht-nari jug. A large dish called trami
is heaped with rice and quartered by
‘Seekh Kebab’. Traditionally, 36 dishes are served during a Wazwan meal,
while guests drink copious amount
of steaming kahwa, to cleanse their
palate.“The culinary art of Wazas is The first dish we hesitatingly tasted
was ‘Shammi Kebab’. We enjoyed
passed down the generations and
CaLDRON February 2014
The ‘Lyodar Chaman’ was an afterthought that the chef whipped up
for vegetarians on our table. Though
we enjoyed the soft, creamy and
slightly fiery tikka immensely, its
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