BM # 15   Day 7
Traditional Kashmiri thali consists of Wazwan, which demands lot of preparation. Infact, preparing Wazwan in itself is considered a great art. Lot of time and effort is spent on the making of this special feast. The cuisine of Wazwan has near about 36 dishes. The head chef known as Vasta Waza does all the requisite preparations. It is mostly prepared on some big family occasion or festivity.This compromises mainly of non vegetarian dishes.I have created a vegetarian thali selecting their best and most  popular dishes.

Kashmiri ‘s use a lot of  turmeric  and yoghurt, garlic and onion are not used much as in the case of other Indian cuisines. Other  spices used to add to the taste are dry ginger and saunf (aniseed).. Kashmir being the leading producer and chief exporter of saffron makes an extensive use of this to add color and flavor to most of their dishes. 

Kashmiri dishes make a regular use of dry fruits in their dishes.The curries, rice, even the chutneys have dried fruits to make them rich.They  use ghee to cook meals, though in urban areas, well educated families have started using mustard oil as an alternative, to avoid the intake of high fat in ghee.

Today’s Menu….

Snack
Kebab Nadir Shahi 
(Lotus Stem Kebabs stuffed with aam papad)

Curries
Raajma  Rismise
(Lentils simmered on slow fire with onions and tomatoes)
Methi  Chaman 
(Fresh fenugreek with cottage cheese)
Kashmiri  Dum Aaloo
(Potatoes scooped and stuffed with creamy cottage cheese served with nutty gravy)

Rice
Simple rice
Kashmiri  Meetha Pulao
(Sweet rice with fried nuts , cottage cheese cubes and saffron)

Roti / Bread
Kashmiri  Roti
(whole wheat flat bread infused with Kashmiri spices)

Accompaniments
Fruity Salad
(Fresh and dried fruits salad)
Doon  Chetin
(Apple chutney)
Walnut Chutney
(Interesting blend of walnuts with yogurt)
Al Raita
(Yogurt with bottle gourd)

Sweet
Phirni
(Rice custurd garnished with fresh rose petals, nuts and raisins with the aroma of saffron)

I am not new to Kashmiri cuisine as there is lot of similarity between Kashmiri and Punjabi food.A few spices differ which change the taste completely.We cook a lot of Raajma and the small red Jammu ke raajma are really sweet in taste.The big sized Raajma is made by the Punjabis. Dum Aaloo has lot of versions , but I like the version that I make where I stuff the potato with paneer, khoya and nuts.The gravy too  has a nutty flavor. Methi Chaman is the popular paneer dish with fenugreek..a little saunf changes the flavor of this amazing green.The soft cottage cheese cubes just melt in the mouth.

Kebab Nadir Shahi
Methi Chaman

Raajma Rismise

Kashmiri Dum Aaloo

Kashmir, as we all know has a beautiful lake and so they have production of Lotus Stem, which is used extensively in their cooking I have made some Kebabs from these Lotus Stems and filled Aam  Papad in these deep fried pattys.

They have a variety of rice to serve, I prepared white rice with fried onion to go with the Raajma Rismise, but I could not resist cooking the Meethe Chawal which are full of nuts , paneer, saffron and cardamon. I served Kashmiri Roti with the curries. This roti has a amazing flavor of spices, which are roasted and then pounded. The dough is binded with milk.

Coming to the accompaniments, I prepared Doon Chetin which is such a wonderful chutney and Walnut Chutney , this can also be used as a dip with some oriental fare. The Al Raita is mild , soothing and cooling. The Fruity Salad is simple blend of dry fruits as well as fresh fruits.And now coming to the recipes…..

Kebab Nadir Shahi
3………… medium lotus stem
3………… boiled ,mashed potatoes
1’’………..piece ginger chopped
4-5…….. green chillies chopped
½ tsp…. red chilly pwd
¼ tsp…. garam masala
2tbsp… roasted chana daal pwd
Salt to taste
Fresh coriander leaves
Dices of aam papad(dried mango cake)
Chaat masala
Prepare the lotus stem..check here.
In a big bowl, mash the lotus stem  and potatoes.
Add  ginger, green chillies, red chilli powder, cardamom garam masala powder, salt, roasted chana powder (or breadcrumbs) and coriander leaves and mix well. 
Divide into sixteen small balls and stuff each ball with a piece of aam papad and shape it like a patty. Heat sufficient oil in a non-stick pan and shallow fry all the patties until golden on both sides. 
Drain and place them on an absorbent paper.
 Sprinkle chaat masala. 

Raajma Rismise
1 ½ cups……….. red kidney beans (raajma),soaked overnight
2…………………….. bay leaves
2 med…………….. onions,finely chopped
1 inch piece…… ginger,chopped
6-8 cloves ……… garlic,chopped
3 medim …………. tomatoes,pureed
1tbsp ……………… coriander powder
1tsp …………………cumin powder
2tsp…………………. red chilly pwd
½ tsp……………….. turmeric  pwd
1tsp………………… garam masala
Pressure cook raajma with five cups of water and salt till soft. 
Heat oil in a deep pan. Add bay leaves and onions. 
Add ginger and garlic and continue to sauté till the mixture turns golden.
 Add tomato puree, mix and continue to cook.
 Add coriander powder, cumin powder, red chilli powder, turmeric powder and cook till the oil leaves the masala.
 Add raajma along with the cooking liquour and mix. Sprinkle garam masala powder.
 Lower the heat and simmer for about fifteen to twenty minutes on low heat. 
Serve hot with steamed rice. 

Kasmiri Roti
Kashmiri Meetha Pulao

Fruity Salad
Walnut Chutney

Doon Chetin
Phirni

Not forgetting the sweet…the Kashmiri Shufta is served with most meals…but I prepared  Phirni which is an all time favorite with most of us in the house. Garishing it with saffron ,fresh rose petals and nuts this surely is a grand finale to this rich meal…and to this wonderful Thaali event at BM.
For the next week I shall feature some of the Thaali Recipes…so do come back.


This Thaali goes to Valli’s Thaali Mela


Preperation of the Thaali
Cleaning and boiling of lotus stem……….1day in advance
Boiling potatoes…………………………………..1day in advance
Walnut chutney…………………………………..1day in advance
Doon Chetin..this will stay good in the frig for more than a week
Picking,and preparing fenugreek can be done in advance
Roasting and pounding spices can be done in advance
Phirni …………………………………………………..1 day in advance
For this preperation it took me over 3hours


Kashmiri Thaali

17 thoughts on “Kashmiri Thaali”

  1. I loved all your thalis and the information you gave about each thali. I will look forward to the recipes in the coming days.

  2. Awesome Vaishali..that's a great way to end this fantastic week..thanks for taking time in doing so much work! will be looking fwd to read the recipe..

  3. You have picked a lovely state to end the week long run…it is as beautiful as the state. You had the most entertaining and enagaging spreads of all..I will be making the waltnut chutney tomorrow out of this. And I will be visiting all the thalis at leisure again..

  4. Everyday u rock Vaishali, am so excited to see all ur dishes sometimes most of the foods u shared are truly new for a SOuth Indian like me..Thanks for all these wonderful feasts you shared with us..

  5. everything looks amazing..I actually did a paper on Kashmir when I was in culinary school and that was when I learned how to make Rogan Josh, but most of these dishes are totally new to me. I have a year's worth of recipes from all the thalis this week…and your presentations are always superb!!!

  6. Hats off to you Vaishaliji!!!! This is indeed is a Grand Finale for all the Thali Treat's you served us all this week!!!! Looking forward to rest of the recipes next week!!!!

  7. I have a Kashmiri friend and have heard about the dishes and tasted a few .. You have created an amazing platter all sling and taken th bm bar to an another level .. Totally rocked it 🙂

  8. Loved all your thali preparations. Really appreciate the time and efforts that went behind these amazing spreads. I am sure that you have introduced some new dishes to every marathoner. 🙂

  9. No words to describe the feast that you served up for this week. This one is no exception. Every one of those dishes look absolutely fantastic. Moreover I'm gonna blame you for the weight that I've put on for simply looking at your menus each day (just kidding;)…super super super…you simply rocked each and every day of this week.

  10. Great job Vaishali. Loved all the thalis that you created for us this week. I can understand the amount of hard work that went into preparing this feast. Looking forward to all the recipes 🙂

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