Kashmiri’s have developed the art of cooking to a very high degree of sophistication and evolved a cuisine quite distinct from that of any part of the world. Rice is their staple food and has been so since ancient times. The equivalent for the phrases bread and butter in Kashmir is Haakh¬ Batta known as (Green- Rice).Meat along with Rice some vegetables and salad are prepared on special occasions like Eid. A typical every day Kashmiri meal –lunch and dinner consists of a generous serving of rice (about 250gms), motion (100gms, mostly greens) cooked in oil, and yogurt (50 to 250gms). Kashmiris consume meat voraciously. Kashmiri cuisines is of two types _ Wazwan for Muslims and Rice for Pandits, they share a love for lamb this love a Kashmiri has for meat is unparallel. They are the highest Mutton consumers in the subcontinent. According to official data, around 2.2 million sheep are slaughtered in Kashmir every year on an average adding up to 21,000 tonnes annual meat consumption in the region. Despite being Brahmin most Kashmiri Pandits are meat eaters. The amount of mutton that is required to be bought for a Kashmiri Muslims prefer goat, especially young, while Kashmiri Pandits choose lamb. Meat is called (NENI) by Pandits and (MAAZ) by Muslims in Kashmir. In a majority of Kashmiri Pandits and Muslim cooking, bread is not part to the meal; its always rice at lunch or dinner. Bread is only eaten with tea in the morning or evening. The main daily staple food of the Muslims of Kashmir is plain cooked rice. They are typically not vegetarian, with very few exceptions. Meat stock is a salient ingredient even for so – called “vegetarian” dishes. A joke shared is; find me a Kashmiri vegetarian and I will give you a pot of gold. However they often eat vegetable curries, with meat being an expensive indulgence. The cooking methods of vegetables, mutton, homemade cheese (paneer) and legumes are somewhat similar to those of Kashmiri Pandits, expect in the use of onions, garlic and shallots by Muslims in place of Asafoetida. In Muslim cuisine, spices are less used as compared to that in Pandits dishes. Cockscomb flower called “Moaval” in Kashmir is boiled to prepare a red food colouring, as used in certain dishes. Pandits use the mildly pungent Kashmiri red chilli powder as a spice, as well as to impart colour to certain dishes. Muslims use chillies in moderate quantity, and avoid hot dishes at large meals. There is also a notable difference in the mode of service and eating between pandits and Muslims, especially in the case of feasts. Amongst Muslims usually four (4) persons eat together in one big tinned copper plate called a (Tram) in Kashmiri; this is a round vessel of around 45cm (18in) diameter typically beautifully embossed. Kashmiri cuisine consists of 36 meals. It was first bought here by king Timoor.

Email:---------------zeeshan1qe5@gmail.com