Glimpses:
A Cultural Heritage
Wazwan
The Wazwan
is Kashmir's most formal meal: a ritual serving
before the guest of all the food there is in the
house. This taste of hospitality must in turn be
fully appreciated by the guest, for the wazwan is
not a simple meal but a ceremony. Hours of cooking
and days of planning go into the making and
serving of a wazwan. Normally restricted to
occasions of celebration at homes, the wazwan
experience includes table settings for groups of
four on the floor where choice dish after dish is
served, each aromatic with herbs and the fresh
produce of the region.
The traditional Wazwan meal is served in groups
of four
First the Tash-t-Nari
is passed around, and diners wash their hands from
warm water in a samovar. The waza (chief
cook) personally supervises each dish which comes
out of his kitchen. even the ingredients for the
meal have been hand-picked, and effort has ensured
that each dish in this rich cuisine is
one-of-a-kind. Choice delicacies such as Methi
and Tabakmaaz, Roganjosh and Rista,
and a variety of Kababs and vegetable
preparations are served.
The Kashmiri delicacy, gushtaba, is served
piping hot
The meal concludes with
the Gushtaba, a very exclusive dish, and
one that is never refused, Phirni for
dessert and a cup of Kahwah, the green tea
flavored with saffron, cardamom and almonds, and
the wazwan is over - a meal that is an experience
in Kashmiri hospitality.
Click
here for Kashmiri Pandit Cuisine ....
| 
