As Abdul Rashid from Srinagar curates a menu at le Meridien Gurgaon from his family kitchens, he shares with Riya Sharma that he hopes to continue his lineage though his recipes
As they say, a family that eats together, stays together. This is one of the reasons why Kashmiri cuisine is divided into two parts Wazwan and cuisine for Kashmiri Pandits . At the le Meridien , Gurgaon, Abdul Rashid, from the golden recipes that has been running into his family for years brought the Wazwan cuisine at the hotel. “Wazas are chefs who cook Wazwan and you cannot become a waza unless you are born into the family,” pointed out waza Rashid.
Rashid who hails from Srinagar told us that he started cooking at a very young age. “I used to help my mother in kitchen and my walid (father) and my grandfather were also in this profession. I learnt a lot from my father but there have been some dishes that I have also taught him,” he smiled.
As he sat next to us while explaining about the cuisine, he politely greeted us and said, “Why aren’t you eating anythingIJ You know, if you really wish to relish the flavour of the cuisine, then you should try eating with your hands.”
He insisted that we should eat first and then ask him anything about the meal. Thus, we began with starters we tried kishmish ki tikki, roastedlaal paneer along with zereshk. Zereshk are kind of berries found in Kashmir that the chef brought with him along with the treasure of his spices. Kishmish ki tikki, on the other hand, tasted the same as like any other tikki, but had an expected sweet flavour because of the raisins. Roasted laal paneer tikka was delicate and gave a tangy flavour because of the tomato puree. Then, we were served the waza chicken which was fried and crisp but the chef afterwards shared with us, “We only have limited chicken. We love mutton and that is why we have 40 types of mutton itself.”
As we were going to get some main-course for us, we saw waza Rashid bringing us a plate full of mutton along with rice. When we took a glance of the plate, it was no less than a platter full of at least five kinds of mutton. “This is a traami platter it is usually eaten during family gatherings and weddings where four people sit together and eat the meal in one plate (hence, the connection a family that eats together, stays together). The chef took plain rice first and served it along with rista, goshtaba, aab gosht and murgh yakhani. It was a rush of flavours in our mouth as we started withrista and goshtaba. The mutton was battered and was then given a round shape. “Everything done by hands,” as the chef told us. Both of them tasted similar, which gave us the taste of mutton along with the sauce in which they were cooked. Rista was cooked in red gravy and goshtaba in a white one. Next, we tried thekishmish korma which was prepared with a lot of dry fruits, had a different gravy and was a little sweet in taste. “There are usually no breads with the cuisine. You can find chicken biryani in some parts but mostly, people prefer white rice,” shared the chef.
Pointing out the difference between the Wazwan and the cuisine of Kashmiri Pandits, waza Rashid told us that Wazwan has more spices while the other one has more vegetarian dishes. “We prefer mutton and that is the only difference that I can point out,” he shared.
Though we were full after eating the platter, but we couldn’t resist ourselves from trying out the kesar phirni that the chef had prepared. It was spongy, not too sweet in flavour and cooked with just right amount of flavours.
The menu prepared by the chef is on till February 29 at the hotel. Eat, relish and hear some interesting anecdotes from waza Rashid.