Hours before Sehri, when Sahar Khans, the human alarm clocks, beat drums in the holy month, people wake up and prepare hot rice for the family.
During Ramadan delicacies ranging from barbecue, fruits and dates are served. Yet most people can't even think of skipping the rice - both at Sehri and Iftaar. It is a common refrain in Kashmir that if you've skipped rice, you haven't had a proper meal.
People in the Valley while inviting a guest say: “Waliv Batt-e kheyew”, which means come and have meals. The word “batt-e” shows the centrality of rice in a Kashmiri meal.
“Batt-e khyowa?” or "Have you eaten?” is the next question traditional Kashmiris will ask immediately after greeting someone. It is customary to ask whether they have eaten. The word “batt-e” stands for meal.
These days even restaurants and cafes selling Iftar packs have included different vegetarian and non-vegetarian varieties, but mostly with rice.
Rayees Ahmad Dar, 31, is popularly known as the tiffin man of Kashmir. During Ramadan Dar, his wife Nida Rehman and their team, prepare rice and a variety of dishes for the people. “We are delivering 150-180 cooked rice tiffins to the customers during Iftar and Sehri time,” said Dar, adding that 90 percent people order rice along with other dishes.
The significance of rice in Kashmir is such that even multi-cuisine Wazwan is showcased on a platter of rice. “Wazwan without rice is like tea without sugar,” says a senior Kashmiri cook locally known as Waze, adding that one can only relish Wazwan with rice.
Rice is the staple food of people of Kashmir and has been so since ancient times. Vegetable curries, fish and meat, along with rice, are the most popular food items in Kashmir.
People in Srinagar city, towns and villages eat rice on an empty stomach during Sehri followed by salted tea locally known as Nun Chai.
In the evening people break fast with dates, special Kashmiri Ramadan drinks made of basil seeds, locally known as Babri Treish, Firi’en (made of semolina and milk), Qateer (a drink of tragacanth).
The Iftar is again followed by eating rice with vegetable dishes, meat or chicken.
Hours before Iftar, people in the Valley start queuing up outside the shops of Kandurs, the local bread makers of Kashmir. The Kandur in the holy month prepare special bread made with butter, ghee, poppy and sesame seeds.
People in Kashmir eat different varieties of rice including Mushk Budji, a short bold aromatic rice variety grown in higher reaches of Kashmir valley. Mushk Budik has an earthy, nutty taste with a unique fragrance which distinguishes it from other varieties and most people do not afford and consume it routinely.
While in the towns, people eat rice varieties imported from Punjab, in rural areas they grow paddy in their fields and consume the home-grown variety throughout the year.
Kashmiri historian and poet Zareef Ahmad Zareef told Moneycontrol: “Since Kashmir is a cold region, rice does not fit our lifestyle. But because we were producing rice on our own, it became the main food for our two time meals.”
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar and begins with the sighting of the crescent moon, which, in the Valley, was on April 3 this year.
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